Self Defense in Ving Tsun
One of the most common question I ask my new student is: “Why do you want to learn Ving Tsun?” 8 out of 10 will respond by saying “I want to learn how to defend myself” or “I want to defend myself against bullies”, which in some ways are a reasonable answer. However, my response to them goes like this….
“The best defense is to NOT get yourself into that situation in the first place or Learn to RUN FAST!”
But in the event you had no choice but to retaliate, then I am going to say it bluntly, “self-defense don’t exist.” Which translate to if someone is threatening you and you can’t run away, then punch first, punch hard and go. I don’t teach people to wait for the attack and then respond with a special deadly move, because by then, you are probably going to get punched first. I teach people to understand their personal space and if someone is invading my space and I feel threaten, I am going to attack first. Simply put, attacking is the best defense. However, how hard, fast and accurate your punch or kick is dependent on your training. Can you punch or kick with power and know where to place it with your eyes closed? Or do you need to think about it? If you need to think about where to hit or how to hit, you are better off learning how to run. Can you accept the fact that there is a possibility that you will get hit, but be able to minimize the damage done to you? These are unavoidable facts. The faster you learn to accept this, the better prepared you will be.
Most people are usually shocked to hear of my response and I really don’t like to sugar coat it because If I don’t teach them the reality of fighting, I end up causing them more harm or even worse, providing them with a false sense of security. That is something I cannot live with as a responsible instructor.
The Ving Tsun I know have always been to attack the attacker and to minimize the amount of injury I will incur. However how Ving Tsun help in this situation is part of the learning process. Such as attacking weak points, using angles to your advantage, striking fast using proper stance and leg power and striking accurately. The unique aspect of Ving Tsun is that we start off training by learning how to respond within striking distance from each other first rather than starting from afar and closing the distance. Once you are comfortable knowing how to respond in close contact then we start to work on distance fighting. So in some cases, this actually helps the individual to remain calm and relax under pressure.
The above are my very broad approach and answer to this particular common question, how I actually teach it in details is harder to describe in words and will be quite lengthy (which I will spare you all with).
However, I will end with the following:
If someone has a knife and is robbing you for money…..give them your money! (unless you know you are going to get stabbed or cut no matter what, then I suggest you run fast or grab something, a rock, a broken stick, a chair etc and fight for your life. )
If someone has a gun and is robbing you for money…. GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY! (If they are going to shoot you, you are probably going to get shot. PERIOD. In that case, pray and hope for the best, unfortunately.)
Your life is worth more than the money in your wallet or the jewelry on your body. Learn to live to fight another day. Staying alive is MUCH MORE IMPORTANT!
I have never been in a situation where a knife or a gun was pulled on me on a daily basis, so for me or anyone to teach self defense against that type of attack is mind boggling to me to be honest. Unless that particular individual has been attacked by weapons all the time, and even then, I question why that person gets himself in those position in the first place. Every reasonable Martial Artist I have ever met, will always tell you to run when weapons are involved.
Stay safe and stay alert!