Wing Chun is a martial art made by a pair of girls. If you think all martial arts are for tough guys, then you haven't tried Wing Chun.
I don't train in any Wing Chun club myself these days, but there are still plenty of local clubs in Birmingham to choose from. I love Wing Chun in the way that I feel it, but I so rarely see it being taught in this way.
Who knows who's right or wrong when training with inflexible drills? But Sticking Hands is a very sensitive, open-minded training exercise. There's not much room for blagging when you test a guy by his sticking hands.
So when you check out your local Wing Chun Kung Fu club, pay special attention to the teacher's sticky hands.
Like Bruce Lee said, absorb what is useful, disregard the rest, and add what is uniquely your own. But be careful of offending some teachers who may not be keen to welcome free-thinking students.
Thinking of joining a local Wing Chun Kung Fu club in or near to Birmingham, UK? You may find this map of local clubs quite useful...
Wing Chun Kung Fu is a Chinese martial art, adapted from Shaolin Kung Fu. Shaolin itself is the grassroots of most popular styles of oriental martial arts, having been practiced widely in China for 1500 years, since Bodidharma brought Buddhism to China from India.
Wing Chun was founded by Ng Mui, a Shaolin Nun who escaped the destruction of the Shaolin temple a few hundred years ago with 4 other grandmasters, often called the Five Elders. Ng Mui taught a teenage girl called Yim Wing Chun, after whom the style was named.
Wing Chun was made with the intention of simplifying the basic Shaolin martial arts moves and making them more efficient in combat, with less focus on performing arts or imitation of animals.
Wing Chun is primarily focused on striking, and of course also on blocking strikes.
Wing Chun (from Cantonese Chinese) is also known as:
Kung Fu (from Chinese) is also known as: