When people ask me about wing chun and why it was the art I chose to pursue, they are usually bombarded with hundreds of ways that wing chun training has helped me…sometimes my enthusiasm gets the better of me and people are left overwhelmed, sorry they asked or just freaked out by this kooky zealot.
So in the cold light of day with time to actually slow myself down I thought would write about just 3 immediate benefits you will receive from Wing Chun training.
1) Fitness. Yes this may sound a little obvious but the actual movement and exercise during a wing Chun class will help with your flexibility – stretching your muscles and joints. This is a big side effect for me I didn’t know how unfit I was until I started to train regularly. Also the flexibility to touch my toes was also great bonus. Exercise also relaxes you and helps you cope with stress. So there is also a mental health aspect to it. Some people prefer the gym, but I like to have some purpose to my exercise rather than pounding away on a treadmill
2) Self-defence: Well as you might think this goes without saying. Learning a martial art is about being able to defend yourself from an attacker and develop the basic skills of a fighter. Depending on how far you want to progress, you can become an elite tournament fighter or just devote the right amount of energy into it that will enable you to defend yourself in an altercation should the need arise.
A benefit if this is an increase in confidence. Learning to fight to put it bluntly in today’s society is seen as quite the macho skill. Learning this skill will have an impact on how you perceive yourself, some of those latent fears will disappear and also once you learn this, you will soon discover there are other skills you can learn outside of martial arts that previously you have been too scared to pursue. That’s true in any endeavour and having confidence in yourself is the number one key for a happier life.
3) Finally Wing Chun in easy to and quickly to learn. It is low impact it won’t put unnecessary strain on your joints or body.
You will need to be a little conditioned. That will cause a bit of soreness when you start, (especially when training on the wing chun dummy) however when you get into your routine you will learn that Wing Chun encourages a more graceful approach to martial arts. This does not rely on brute strength. Therefore this is a skill you can enhance and develop even in later life. So it is something that can stay with you for many years.
