Wing Chun vs... ?

When most of us train, it's usually against another Wing Chun/Ving Tsun/Wing Tsun practitioner. It makes sense, of course, because it's practical. At the same time, however, if we don't get exposure "outside the box" of our normal training, what might we encounter?

Some will say that if your training is correct and dedicated, you have no need to experiment with training against other styles. I can definitely understand that logic, and admittedly, I tend to agree with it. If everything's "spot on," so to speak, and you stick to your fight vs. falling into the trap of the opponent, then your odds are very good that you'll come out on top.

But does this mean that that's an absolute fact? To me, it doesn't. That might sound like I'm taking both side, and to be honest, I am. But that's also because I understand both sides.

You see, the way I see it, Wing Chun is literally the most efficient and effective martial art in existence. If it weren't, then I'd train what is. Everything has its pros and cons, of course, and in the end, it comes down to the practitioner him/herself for how effective they are. But concept and applications-wise, Wing Chun is it. In that, however, we also have to take into account our opponent.

Because there's still an air of superiority in what we do, sometimes a lot of folks that train in Wing Chun think that just because they're Wing Chun practitioners, they'll automatically win. And naturally, that's not the case. We see it repeatedly when someone, even someone who's trained for years or is popular, gets into a fight, they get pummeled by a basic haymaker or some kid who's never had formal training.

So how is that possible? A lot of reasons, really. For one, the art and method is only as good as the person training it. It can be the best thing since sliced bread, but it still has to be trained in order to work. Also, "environment" and "luck" can be factors, too. Maybe the person got blind-sided or wasn't feeling good, ergo, he/she isn't really capable at that moment to do anything.

But additionally, it can also be because this person never experienced anything other than what they've always trained in class. If you do the same thing over and over again, you tend to get used to it. And if you get used to it, then sometimes you get "lax" with training.

On the flip side, if you periodically train with non-Wing Chun practitioners, you get a brand new sense of the "what if's." Many of us have said "what would I do against a boxer? Or a tae kwon do guy? Or a Muay Thai fighter? Or a Brazilian jiu-jitsu guy?" And these are valid questions, because all of these methods are out there. They're right now and heavily trained.

I was sparring with a practitioner far superior in skill to myself one time, so much so that I was getting tossed around everywhere. I had very little control, getting dominated almost at every turn. I was backed into a corner, and out of no where, when I had no where else to go, suddenly I exploded with a spinning backfist and really rang his bell. Definitely not Wing Chun, and even years after not training tae kwon do, I was surprised that my body even did it! I didn't "think" about it or "try" to do it; instead, it just happened. And I almost dropped him right there.

That's a perfect example of what "can" happen if we don't get experience with other methods. If you don't know what "can" happen, and if you only train in Wing Chun, never at least getting to work with someone that will do everything they can not to fight how you fight, then at least as I see it, it's a detriment to your skills, even if in a small degree.

But that small degree can mean the different between domination, and a backfist coming out of no where.