A question for Wing Chun experts: is it possible to be skilled at Wing Chun if you have big muscles?

Question

The branch of Wing Chun I study teaches that big muscles are not condusive to success as a Wing Chun fighter. I'm into body-building though and I don't want to give that up to improve my Wing Chun skill.

So I was wondering if anyone has any experience with doing Wing Chun with big muscles. I can see how it makes it a bit more difficult to squeeze your elbow in (which is pretty important in Wing Chun) when you have big muscles.

Am I destined to always be at a disadvantage as long as I have big biceps? I think that the extra strength I gain by building muscles makes up for the disadvantage of not being able to squeeze my elbow in as much as someone with smaller muscles could do.

Answer 1

In Wing Chun, the biceps cause disadvantages as the flexibility of the arm will be limited. The preferred muscle build up is the triceps which can be gain by Chi Sao exercises. Wing Chun emphasis on the extension and also contraction of the arm so thats why big biceps are not really suited for it whereas triceps are perfect, as punches which depend on extensions is more powerful with the use of it. So stop building your biceps and start with your triceps.

Answer 2

A gold sash at my school is a powerlifter. He is an awesome Wing Chun practioner.

It's a load of crap that you can't do Wing Chun with big muscles, have a look at a gymnasts arms and chests are you going to tell me that they're not flexible? Your body will do what you train it to do, if you maintain your flexability as well as your size you should be fine. I would say you should try training for strength instead of size though as it will benefit you more and you will get almost as big that way but it will be more beneficial for Wing Chun. Remember that Wing Chun is the middle ground between softness and hardness, it is not all soft, it's main principal is just enough or to be economic, so essentially if you are bigger and stronger than your opponent their is nothing wrong with using that to your advantage.

PS. If you're worried about getting your elbows into the center what about girls? Don't they have something that might get in the way too? Boobs Maybe lol.

Oh and while elbow position is important, it doesn't have to be dead in the center to work.

Answer 3

In Wing Chun, the fighter does not rely on brute muscle strength. If muscle is everything, then it’s only a matter of time until one meets an opponent stronger than oneself. Power comes from the entire body working as a single entity, not just a single limb. The straight punch, for example, is a linear vertical-ish punch in Wing Chun. As the fighter steps forward, the body moves before the hand. The elbow is aligned to the hip. Energy travels to the core of the body, and flows into the elbow, through the forearm, and out though the knuckles. It should punch through the opponent, Penetration Power! There are much more details such as: Don’t use Shoulders, elbows inwards, don’t lean, attack with both sides of the body, spine straight, pelvis forward, knees bent but not too much. Therefore, Stamina would be more important than muscle power, but that does mean that muscle is meaningless. A very important muscle for most fighters is the core! The core is your trunk, such as the abdominals and the oblique. The core is very important for a martial artist because it provides balance! The Oblique and Back Muscles help the power of your strikes! The Rectus and the Traverse Abdominal muscles protect your organs! It’s also important that you train the back muscles along with it since they are antagonist muscles. An imbalance of the two opposite muscles will cause structure problems. How can you dodge all of your opponent’s attacks? In Wing Chun, there is Centerline Theory, an imaginary line that looks like a vertical axis that runs in the middle of your entire body. This is the line where one takes the most damage. Other martial arts have this theory as well, but Wing Chun emphasizes it more. Since Wing Chun is more linear and head-on type of fighting, the straight line between you and the opponent is the shortest distance! Therefore, if you and your opponent were to attack each other at the same speed, the one that attacks straight will hit first. Also, techniques in Wing Chun should not be seen as purely offence or purely defense. A straight punch can attack while deflecting the opponent’s attack at the same time at the proper angle. You do not have to dodge the attack, you deflect them as you attack their center. In Wing Chun, conventional speed is not too important. The Timing speed is important! My answer is: TIMING! Bruce Lee’s water quote talks about adaptability. If you put water in any container, it just takes on that shape. Water flows and crashes and it is VERY Adaptable!

Answer 4

Well I'm no master, but Wing Chun was supposedly developed as a martial art designed for women so I guess you need to decide whether you really want to learn it for self defense purpose or for it's exotic appeal. If self defense is your reason then you're probably better off practicing a martial art best suited for your build. If you're in it for the appeal and novelty then keep going, You can always modify your stance or hand position to compensate for your big upper arms. That's what Bruce Lee did when he changed his basic hand position in Wing chun Chi Sao practice and beefed up his forearm muscles to compensate.

Answer 5

VA Thomas is one of the best Wing Chun teachers in the US. Here's his picture, http://www.sixharmony.com/bio.gif If you have a smaller bulk than he does, don't worry about it. Just make sure you can stretch out well. If you can't extend, you can't reach, and you won't be as explosive with your punches. Too much 'dead' muscle isn't a good thing but it doesn't mean you can't do Wing Chun just because you are 'cut.'

Answer 6

Guess I shouldn't be answering becasue I'm no expert but I like to toss out my 2 cents worth so here it is.

I think that, in general, people that are muscle bound or body builders have a disadvantage when it comes to any martial art. They have less mobility, in general. I would think that overly large muscle, other than a look of fitness, would be a disadvantage for any art.

Answer 7

"How much can you bench?" If you will soon be wealthy only get getting a buck for each time somebody requested you that! Make use of this program https://tr.im/x0Ny9 in order to impress them.
Simply how much do you benchis became so essential and for this reason folks are constantly trying to boost their bench. Nothing thinks just like putting still another plate to the club when it's your turn to use the benchin your gym.
The Critical Bench program will allow you to enhance your benchwith the 5x5 technique. 5x5 approach suggests that you will do the same fat for 5 distributors of 5 sets. You intend to locate a weight that will weakness you by the past rep of the final set. This sort of education places great number of strain on your muscles and they have nothing else to complete but respond and become stronger.

Answer 8

In my opinion the number one resource online that teaches how to build muscles (pounds of muscles) and burn your body fat is http://www.goobypls.com/r/rd.asp?gid=552

I'm following the method myselft with very good results so far.
In order to build muscles and burn your body fat you should follow the same method I'm using. Its a revolutionary but still very simple online program. I've been following for 2 months now with very good results. Check it out here http://www.goobypls.com/r/rd.asp?gid=552
Hope it helps.