I’ve trained in other martial arts, boxing, silat, kickboxing, karate, and wing chun.
The wing chun strikes are not strong compared to the other martial arts, but the strike placement and continuous strikes make the difference.
With wing chun, you can’t stand back and let the fight come to you. Once you’ve decided to attack, you have to attack with everything to end the fight quickly. Strikes to the throat, chain punches, elbows, etc.
The typical wing chun student is not physically fit compared to boxing students, so it’s important to end the fight quickly.
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Comment: You are right. However, some lineages do train power strikes like the L-Hook (and elbows, knees, and stomp kicks) mentioned in the article.
I also find Wing Chun schools don’t spend any or enough time on conditioning, which I think is a mistake in general – people like to get into shape, lose weight, and get toner bodies. So conditioning would definitely help from a marketing point of view for a school.
All things being equal, a fitter person will outlast a less fit person.
But… the problem most people overlook is that conditioning is NOT the determining factor in a life or death fight, according to research… https://wingchunlife.com/Wing_Chun_Life_News-fight-conditioning
Ending the fight is what it’s all about in a violent encounter.
Very powerful strikes or average power strikes only matter if you hit the right targets.
This article helps put a few things into perspective: https://wingchunlife.com/Wing_Chun_Life_News-fight-conditioning
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Comment Anonymous: It’s not all about the punch
I strongly believe that true martial arts and self defense has more to do with the combination of blocks/defensive moves and counter attacks and punch/kick combinations, then one hard hitting blow.
Sure a strong blow to someone’s head or vital area is nice, but what about the entry techniques and finishing moves? For a sucker punch or a bar swing, a hard punch might be effective if it gets in on one try, but in most real life situations the conflict last a few seconds longer than that.
It’s during the duration of the contest that a person’s skills as a martial artist comes in to play. I have been hit by Wing Chun punches, and believe me, they can be pretty hard!
