Although we say Ving Tsun is a traditional martial art, which is designed for real fight scenarios, unlike today’s modern arts, which focus on competition in a ring/cage or activities in the Olympics, Boxing, and/or Kick Boxing, and Ving Tsun, they still share a similarity.
In a real fight, we have to prepare for anything that could happen, such as attacks without rules and regulations. What can we humans do with our bare hands? All techniques can be divided into 3 types:
1. Direct hits: punches, kicks, elbows, knees: Boxing, kick boxing, karate, muay thai, etc.
2. Control, joint lock: elbows, shoulders, knees: BJJ, Judo, Aikido, etc.
3. Clinching, Wrestling: Muay Thai, Judo, Aikido, etc.
We can see from 1, we have a lot of choices, styles, to 3, fewer and fewer. I may not know some more due to my ignorance, but whatever they are, these are what we can do, the nature of our human body can do.
Ving Tsun mainly focuses on direct hits, among these direct hits, we punch, we use fists the most, boxing and/or kickboxing is almost the same (boxing no kicks allowed, except this), we all try to find the gap in our opponents’ guard, and throw our fists several ways, simple and direct, the simpler, the more direct, the more useful, doable in real fights.
However, that’s the only similarity. Ving Tsun is still a traditional Kung Fu, we have to prepare for all possible attacks, like I mentioned above, we also need kick, elbow, control, and clinching techniques, when the timing is right, when the condition needs, just don’t mainly do them, don’t initiate, actively do them, because they are harder to execute, those techniques themselves are difficult for beginners and the weaker one in a fight to do as well, It’s extremely risky if you can’t get it done, because every time you try, your opponent has many chances just land his/her hits on you, so if you perfom a lot control or wresting techniques on your opponent, your level have to be much higher than him/her, otherwise, it’s no better than just hit back, simple and direct, you may still can’t land the hit as well, but you hit your opponent, your opponent hits you, it’s fair, less risky, It’s the least you have to do to avoid getting hit.
Therefore, that’s also why boxing can be extremely useful as well; if your ability to deal with direct hits is no better than the boxer’s punches, you barely have a chance to do anything else.
