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Wing Tzun and Competition |
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Wing Tzun has managed to retain its focus as a practical fighting art. It has avoided being modified into a competitive (rule based) point-scored sport or demonstration art. Wing Tzun tournaments are rare or unknown.
The more effective Wing Tzun strikes (eyes, throat and knee) are too dangerous even for freestyle competitions. Wing Tzun is therefore rarely seen in competition.
Wing Tzun is not just a collection of unrelated techniques. It has a core set of guiding principles which allows practitioners to decide what correct or incorrect Wing Tzun is. This keeps the art a pure and integrated fighting system, while allowing direction for growth that is consistent with its principles.
Since one of Wing Tzun principles is simplicity, 'growth' should be understood as 'refinement'.
These guiding principles are strictly practical and are part of the reason for Wing Tzun's uniquely scientific and logical approach to fighting. It is likely that Bruce Lee managed to develop Jeet Kune Do from Wing Tzun because Wing Tzun trained him to think about fighting in a scientific way.
All Wing Tzun techniques have a practical purpose. There are no flowery moves or graceful techniques that mimic animal movements. To the uninitiated, Wing Tzun can appear less effective when compared with more dramatic styles.
Like Hsing Yi, another linear style, Wing Tzun practitioners pride themselves on plain-looking but effective techniques. The crowd-pleasing elaborate moves used by Bruce Lee in his movies are not real Wing Tzun or Jeet Kune Do. Bruce Lee consciously choreographed more flamboyant moves to entertain his fans. His actual fighting style was simple, direct and effective.
Following this utilitarian approach, the names of Wing Tzun techniques are purely descriptive. For example - tan sau (dispersing hand), bong sau (wing arm), pak sau (slapping hand). Wing Tzun terminology is traditionally rendered in the Cantonese dialect of Chinese.
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