https://shorturl.im/ayfWNBoxing is a sport, but it isn’t JUST a sport… You’re asking for generalizations, so let me preface it with this statement: speed, power, conditioning, and applicability vary from person to person; the way these are trained and the emphasis they are given also varies from school to school. A really good Wing Chun school is better than a bad boxing gym. Of course, the reverse is also true. On to the generalizations- “1. Can an average WC artist punch harder than an average Boxer? (I think no, but then again, i want experienced ppl answering this)” The potential for hard punches exist, but WC strategy, as explained to me, is to break the opponent’s structure and keep him off-balance with constant pressure. Thus, the chain-punches common in Wing Chun are designed less as knockout blows and more as fast, constant little impacts for rushing over the attacker. If you’re talking in terms of damage, a boxing combination is designed to do more damage than chain-punching. “2. is an average WC artist more physically fit than an average boxer?” “Average” is a loaded expression, but I’ll answer by saying that boxing generally emphasizes a higher level of fitness than WC. Even in its tamest version, “boxercise” is still a tremendous workout. Wing Chun isn’t known for this. Of the classes I’ve attended, physical fitness was not emphasized as much as “structure” and “form”. While there are parts of it that will make you break a sweat (Chi Sau is particularly demanding on the shoulders), if you wanted to get into shape, you’d be better off at a boxing gym. “3. Who can throw more strikes?” Depends on the individual, but Wing Chun is designed to deliver a high volume of strikes (chain-punches) that follow a straight line and require minimum recoil. Boxing punches generally require more space to execute and may or may not have an ephasis on speed. Certainly, the same person could chain-punch more times than they could throw a jab-cross combination in the same time frame. “4. Who can take a hit?” Again, it depends on the individual and how they train. However, when full-contact fighters (like boxers) meet those who don’t train full-contact, they tend to perform better. Heavy sparring gets one accustomed to getting hit and hitting back. My observation is that this training is less common in WC schools. “what about self defense? i know a boxer and a WC artist can defend themselves very well in a street fight setting, but who is more effective?” In general, WC fighters have more tools to work with, but boxers tend to train their tools more effectively. The emphasis on fitness and the harder level of contact in sparring would lead me to recommend boxing for someone looking to defend themself, though I would suggest supplementing it with a martial art that addressed self-defense situations in class. Boxing is great once punches start flying and the fight is still standing, but things like avoidance, evasion, weapons defense, and grappling defense aren’t really going to be covered in boxing. Wing Chun is OK for these but will not address them as much or as well, generally, as a class emphasizing pure self-defense. With that said, Wing Chun includes kicks, standing grappling (including sweeps and locks), and non-punching techniques like elbow strikes, chops, and finger jabs. It just seems to me that, although I respect the potential and a lot of the ideas of Wing Chun, it would produce better results for the “average” student if they sparred with more realism than is commonly found....
Show More