Bernie Gunther
Fundamentalist Druid
Yep, I've heard good things about Simon Lau
Wing chun or Tai Chi?
- Thread starter miss giggles
- Start date
Unless I've missed it you haven't said whay you want to do Martial Arts - Is it for pure self defence or sport/fitness as this can make a differnce in waht art you want to do
Wing Chun is very stylised and you spend ages standing on the same spot practicing the same move and take quite a while to get any real benefits from it in a practical sense, but it is ostensibly more combative and was invented by a woman .
Tai Chi on the other hand is rarely taught combatively these days but from health perpective it's very good for the body (and you feel very relaxed at the end of a session) but takes a long time before you cans start to use it practically -
The art I recommend to most woman who are thinking of starting something is Silat, an Indonesian/Filipino martial(and incorporates some of the Escrim mentioned earlier - in particular knife fighting) and to my mind one of the best fighting styles out there. As with most though it takes a while to be really good but in the interim you can at least still competently defend yourself - The conditioning is excellent from both a strength ,flexibility and fitness and yet it can look as gracefull and fluid as dancing
Edited to add:
Disclaimer - To any knowledge martial artists- yes I know these are very simplistic overviews of the arts
but complete beginners are not ready to grasp some of the more obvious concepts that the more experienced take for granted
Wing Chun is very stylised and you spend ages standing on the same spot practicing the same move and take quite a while to get any real benefits from it in a practical sense, but it is ostensibly more combative and was invented by a woman .
Tai Chi on the other hand is rarely taught combatively these days but from health perpective it's very good for the body (and you feel very relaxed at the end of a session) but takes a long time before you cans start to use it practically -
The art I recommend to most woman who are thinking of starting something is Silat, an Indonesian/Filipino martial(and incorporates some of the Escrim mentioned earlier - in particular knife fighting) and to my mind one of the best fighting styles out there. As with most though it takes a while to be really good but in the interim you can at least still competently defend yourself - The conditioning is excellent from both a strength ,flexibility and fitness and yet it can look as gracefull and fluid as dancing
Edited to add:
Disclaimer - To any knowledge martial artists- yes I know these are very simplistic overviews of the arts
but complete beginners are not ready to grasp some of the more obvious concepts that the more experienced take for grantedVirtual Blue
ready
Wing Chun was never invented by a woman. I only discovered this fact a few months ago.
The woman myth
Virtual Blue said:
Yeah I came across this a while ago as well and spoke to my wing chun mates and no one seemed to be buying into this new theory too much. I thinks it's plausible but not definitive (yet). It's similar for other martial arts too - if you read up on the history of Escrima and Kali you'll be hard presed to find two people who agree on the origins , due partly to the secrecy the martial arts seems to embrace and the lack of any really written documentation - but I had forgotten about this alternative theory - hence my bold statement about Ng Mui
scott_forester
probably talking shite
"if you read up on the history of Escrima and Kali"
Most of them claim to have developed their system just by fighting, very few ever claim to have learn't of anyone outside their family. But what would MA be without long pointless arguments about who learn't what from whom?
Most of them claim to have developed their system just by fighting, very few ever claim to have learn't of anyone outside their family. But what would MA be without long pointless arguments about who learn't what from whom?
ill-informed
passive aggressive master
I did wing chun for quite a few years, in england, taiwan and then scotland where i had the best teacher ever, unfortunately he moved to australia and i've never found a good teacher since. I went to one club where the instructor tried to beat me up to show the other students how rubbish my traditional style was and to have a go at my ex-teachers teacher, something i took great offence at and so never went back. So the point here, as has already been said, find a good teacher.
I've never had to fall back on the wing chun to defend myself but it has got me out of some situations by not flinching and standing my ground, even when out-numbered.
Wing chun also teaches you to just push people away, detach yourself from being held down, as well as flooring them if that's what the situation demands.
And also with the training once you've got the basic movements right you can do chi sau (sticking hands), which is hugely enjoyable, good exercise and makes defence and attack become second nature.
I've dabled in most martial arts, and they all have their benefits, but overall, imo, for someone who wants a bit of confidence in tricky situations, good exercise, meet some nice people and who isn't interested in going round kicking people in the face, then wing chun can't be beat.
btw louloubelle, i've also got that bendy condition, it was only diagnosed the other week when i saw an osteopath, i've always known i was a bit bendier than normal, but was unaware that that was why i kept dislocating or that the condition had a name.
I've never had to fall back on the wing chun to defend myself but it has got me out of some situations by not flinching and standing my ground, even when out-numbered.
Wing chun also teaches you to just push people away, detach yourself from being held down, as well as flooring them if that's what the situation demands.
And also with the training once you've got the basic movements right you can do chi sau (sticking hands), which is hugely enjoyable, good exercise and makes defence and attack become second nature.
I've dabled in most martial arts, and they all have their benefits, but overall, imo, for someone who wants a bit of confidence in tricky situations, good exercise, meet some nice people and who isn't interested in going round kicking people in the face, then wing chun can't be beat.
btw louloubelle, i've also got that bendy condition, it was only diagnosed the other week when i saw an osteopath, i've always known i was a bit bendier than normal, but was unaware that that was why i kept dislocating or that the condition had a name.
october_lost
It's not hip any more...
http://www.wingchun.org.uk/home.htm
Alan Gibson is seen as an authority on Wing Chun, if you follow his pages Im sure you might be able to find a good instructor.
If your thinking of fitness though, I would think kick boxing would be more up your street, especially as womens groups are quite popular.
Alan Gibson is seen as an authority on Wing Chun, if you follow his pages Im sure you might be able to find a good instructor.
If your thinking of fitness though, I would think kick boxing would be more up your street, especially as womens groups are quite popular.
onemonkey
winmonkey
after a couple of years pause when i haven't had time to attend any lessons, i had long promised myself that i'd get back into tai chi now i am a full time student.. but this thread has got me thinking of first trying something complementary to my existing style with some external elements (and that might get me fitter for a chang! )
so going to try the university ju-jistu and shaolin Nam-pai-chuan (kung-fu) this week. see what they are like..
(at £2.50 a session they are loads cheaper than my tai chi instruction but obviously that might be a false economy)
so going to try the university ju-jistu and shaolin Nam-pai-chuan (kung-fu) this week. see what they are like..
(at £2.50 a session they are loads cheaper than my tai chi instruction but obviously that might be a false economy)
Johnny Canuck3
Well-Known Member
miss giggles said:
Tai Chi isn't a martial art; it's basically an exercise routine.
If you want to learn what would normally be described as a martial art, take wing chun.
toggle
wobbly
Johnny Canuck2 said:
Now that would be funny if it wasn't so ignorant. Tai chi is often taught simply as an exercise regime, often by people who have no clue at all what it actually is. If you had ever seen someone who had learnt tai chi as a fighting style, then you would know it. it has a very unique appearence and is very effective, tai chi is considered by many as an advanced style, it's often recomended to promicing students of other chinese styles as a way to improve their skills as a fighter.
#as i think i have mentioned here before, it's not something i would recommend a beginner, but it is definately a martial art.
a quick google of tai chi chuan should give you enough information to dispel your ignorance.
