Can you use it for fighting?

 When considering the possibility of studying Ving Tsun people often ask the question, can it be used for fighting? I think this topic can also be approached in the context of my previous post concerning refinement and accumulation. Ving Tsun is a system, as such its effectiveness is determined by its results. Once you have a decent understanding of Ving Tsun as a system for gaining knowledge then it becomes relatively easy to map out a path to gaining fighting ability. Ultimately the answer to the question “can Ving Tsun be used for fighting?” is yes. The real question is are you willing to do the work necessary to make YOUR Ving Tsun useful for fighting. Unfortunately for most the answer to this question is often no because they are simply too lazy to do the work.

How does one become a fighter, one way is to simply start fighting. Through trial and error and probably several injuries you may actually become a decent fighter. Unless you have a great deal of natural ability your chances of success will be pretty slim with this method. Or you could take the Ving Tsun approach; identify the necessary attributes, internalize the essential principles; research and refine. There’s that word again…”refine”.

Another question to ask your self is what type of fighting are you trying to train for; sport fighting, professional, sparring with a few friends? Testing out the local biker bar? Have you identified what is necessary to be successful in these arenas? Have you determined what aspects of the system are applicable in these circumstances? Have you applied these observations to your training? Does the level of your effort match the level of the results you would like to achieve?

With all that said, this intellectual approach does need to be balanced with some practical experience. Any competent Sifu should be able to guide you safely through a training progression that leads up to full out sparring. Again it is important to be able to identify what your goals are so that your Sifu can help ascertain the most efficient path to that goal.

What do you want?