I used to study Taekwondo and now thinking about learning Wing Chun. Will I be able to use my kicking skills like a spinning kick in Wing Chun?
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Answer: The quick answer is no… but, if you know how to do it your sifu probably won’t mind if you use it in class from time to time, especially as a finishing move.
However, you won’t find a Wing Chun sifu that teachs AND trains his or her students how to execute a spinning kick during class.
Wing Chun places a lot of emphasis on stable expressive mobility, in Wing Chun it’s called “Interruptability”.
Simply put, it means being able to change direction and/or turn an attack into a defensive move or a defensive move into a simultaneous counter-attack — in mid-flight.
In order to pull off “interruptability” it’s vital that you don’t OVER-commit to any move.
If you over-commit, you can’t change directions or turn a defensive move into an attack (and vice-versa) until you’ve completed the initial move… regained your balance back to neutral… and then launch your next move.
For Wing Chun practitioners that takes too long!
Once you’ve launched a spinning kick (or spinning back kick) there isn’t much you can do, until you’ve finished the move.
PLUS, a Wing Chun sifu won’t purposely teach students any move that requires you to turn your back to your opponent (such as a spinning kick or spinning back fist).
Wing Chun artists spend their training career perfecting and using “both-hands-at-the-same-time”.
When you purposely turn your back to your opponent, you can’t use either hand AND you lose visual contact with your opponent.
Both are a big no-no for Wing Chun-ers.
