Wing Chun Kuen (its proper name 詠春拳) is bascially a close-quarter fighting art which contains offensive and defensive elments; which in turn can generate aggression, calmness and ideally both. When a practitioner only concentrate on application and sparing but not do any forms at all, as he/she advances in the art, he or she will start to hurt other people because of lack of control and temperment. In life, nobody like an aggressor and those who could be your good friends would stay away and you are likely to end up with those who like to bully others! Yes, having Wing Chun Kuen by your side, you are powerful when fighting, but weak in social interaction. The solo forms witin the art, not only they can help you to enhance techniques but also calm the mind and cultivate self control of using one’s strength that’s applicable to a given scenario. More importantly, you will be more approachable!
If you are into competition, arts like boxing, karate, Tai kwan do, etc which are geared to win and training with aggression is the normal requirement. It is inevitable that you are likely to hurt yourself or others in this scenario. Competition has its appeal, it can bring short lived glory (if you win) and temporary aknowledgement from peers and even if you don’t win, the process of interacting with different opponents can be quite an experience! Sometimes, accidents happened, usually caused by too much aggression and the adamant desire to win, but that’s inevitable in competitive sport. Wing Chun is NOT a sport, but an art – like any other art, requires effort, time and good learning attitude. For men, age between 15 – 45, the competitiveness, application and sparing elements are very appealing in this age group, but as you get older, you would think differently!
Tai Chi太極 is like yoga 瑜伽, ballet芭蕾舞, chi kung氣功, with martial art elements roll into one! The calmness and graceful movements when performing a particular form is very soothing; to the body as well as to the mind. The deep breathing involved also help to nurish internal organs with plenty of oxgen. Appropriate weight distribution and proper movements with the joints are quite beneficial, but if this is not done properly it can hurt the joints. However, the benefits outweights the fear and its very thareputic- very good for removing stress! Above all else, it can tone down aggression and enhance body balance and movements and with calmness comes self control ! Although Tai Chi in the past was based heavily on the martial art side where the speed of movements were fast and furious due to unsettling social unrest at the time in China. Today, that martial arts elements has been tone down a great deal in many families of Tai Chi, though some maintained the fighting elements more than others (e.g. in Chen’s Tai Chi cannon form). In addition, one of the main advantages of learning Tai Chi, you are not being restricted by your age, even a 75 years old man can learn it quite easily without the need of any strenous exercise! And is cheaper than golf!
In summary, if you are a Wing Chun practitioner who has been practing the art for more than 10 years properly, then the moment you noticed that your personality has changed and become more aggressive; then learn some Tai Chi to ‘balance’ your Wing Chun and continue to monitor your progress. Remember, a good martial artist should contribute to the good of the society and at the very least, not to breed ‘thugs’ to our society! As for Tai Chi, almost all the practitioners aims for the healthy aspect of the art and really have no interest in fighting or any sparing scenarios. Only the very few (usually young men) have the desire for its fighting elements and if so, they are likely to move on to other fighting arts like, boxing, karate or Wing Chun!
Which art do you want to learn first ? Well, that depends on your personality – for example, if you are a timid person, then Tai Chi first or if you are quite atheletic, then Wing Chun first. However, after chosen a particular art, you must at least spend 6 months to get the foundation correct for your chosen art, before move on to different art. In our modern world today, people like to try everything and want a fast result. Sorry, there is NO short-cut in the real martial art world !
In the case of Wing Chun and Tai Chi, both arts compliments each other. Some does and some doesn’t: for example – Judo & Aikido : complimentary, boxing & Capoeira: non-complimentary, karate & Tai kwan do: compimentary, etc… Having said that, in all the fighting arts, each would have some kind of solo practices, be it patterns or forms or a combination of exercises; all these help the practitoners to train up their bodies and minds; one way or the other!
Wing Chun and Tai Chi, if learn deligently and practice consistantly can open your mind to further enhancement or improvement….!