Ah Brandon, you were taken from this world too early.

…your defense has to facilitate your offense. Everything “defensive” is really a matter of doing AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE to make him miss while not messing up your alignment to hit him back…Don’t always try to stay out of his reach, or you’ll always find him out of your reach…Like Musashi says, “Do nothing that is without a reason”. Beware of gratuitous and wasteful motions that don’t serve any purpose.

Wing Chun trains fairly minimalist motions, with the notion that your movements should be minor and direct. Your object is to get closer and deliver your strikes as efficiently as possible. The quickest route is a straight line, and your movements shouldn’t bring you in and out of range. Excessive movement is wasted movement, period.

The thing that weakens an opponent’s offense is your own offense. Everything else (e.g. slipping without countering, blocking as an isolated movement) is just prolonging the inevitable.

In Wing Chun, if you can strike first, then do so. Simultaneous attack and defense are emphasized. Sometimes the best defense for an attack is one of your own. As Benn noted later, “Better to give, than to receive.”

Speed is very important. But quickness and suddenness are even more important. Don’t build up in speed. If you do, you will tend to miss against a person with movement, even though your punches are fast at full extension. This is because there is a discernible buildup in your acceleration. Relaxation is important for speed. Don’t tighten your fist up until you’re almost fully extended.

If you’re tense, you cannot move quickly. If you’re using a lot of muscle in the build up to your strikes, you’re moving too slow. Relax until the moment of impact for maximum speed and maximum effect.

Your arms are like two soldiers guarding a fort. When one of them leaves the fort to make war, he has to build a wall to protect his post while he’s gone. Also, in keeping with this analogy the other soldier at such times is extra vigilant.

If you attack, make sure your defense is good as well. In Wing Chun, a default position for the hand is “wu sao”, which has a hand back in rear guard position. It’s unusual to be striking with both hands at the same time, because that means that you have no defense.

In your stancing and movement, do not put more than 60 percent of your weight on either foot *except in brief extreme situations*. i.e. In the course of regular movement stand in balance. One-legged stances, stilted and straight knee stances, overextended forward stances, etc., are a big mistake both offensively and defensively.

If you put all your weight on one foot, you’re limited in your mobility. Keep it about equal, and you keep your options open. Being able to move in any direction will make you less likely to get caught off guard.

The article is filled with many more interesting tips, from someone who has way more experience than me. Check it out.

Mikhail Ryabko is shown demonstrating the style in the video above. The movements are quite reminiscent of Aikido, in terms of redirecting force and dealing with an opponent. While the demonstrations show that this may be a “soft” art, some quick short jabs, weapons, and ground fighting are shown in the demonstration video as well.

Of course, the style is not without its detractors, mostly centering around the psychic or internal parts of some schools. You be the judge:

It also doesn’t help that there are few clips of the highly skilled practitioners, and a lot of clips of the lesser skilled ones, for such a relatively unknown art. From the video I’ve seen, it looks like it incorporates many of the same techniques that are used to good effect in Aikido, Aikijutsu, Judo, and Jujutsu. Is this art good, and if so, how does one determine a good school? Such questions hold true for any style.

• Capoeira: Mark Dacascos’s performance in Only the Strong is the definitive showcase piece for this art on film. Covering a bit of the background and some of the training styles, it combines some rather unlikely and goofy plotlines with fun choreography. The only other movie with Capoeira that comes to mind is Tom Yum Goong, which has a fight between a Muay Thai fighter (Tony Jaa) and Capoiera fighter (Lateef Crowder).
• Okinawan Karate: Sadly, the most known film introduction to this style is The Karate Kid and its sequel The Karate Kid Part II. What’s funny about it is that Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita didn’t actually know Karate before doing this movie. Shortening the complexity of the style to a few moves and cutting out the actual rigorous training found in Okinawan Karate appealed to Western audiences while hiding the depth of the art.
• Tae Kwon Do: If you haven’t seen Best Of the Best, go out and rent it now. Martial arts movies (especially Western martial arts movies) are known for their over the top cheese factor, but BOtB takes it to an all new high. If you don’t find yourself snickering at some of Eric Roberts’s lines, you must cry while watching daytime soaps. I mean, the random inclusion of Christopher Penn and James Earl Jones? It’s a whole new level of dairy product to enjoy. Bonus: getting to see a lot of different “hardcore” training styles of the Koreans, and Phillip Rhee’s skills.
• Muay Thai: Only one film really stood out for me on this art: Ong Bak. Tony Jaa kicks some serious butt in this film; just ignore the storyline. (The exclusion of Kickboxer from this category is not accidental.)
• Drunken Boxing: Jackie Chan introduced the concept of Drunken Boxing to the mainstream with the Western release of Legend Of the Drunken Master (released as Drunken Master II in Hong Kong). However, to really get at the raw style underneath, you have to turn to the older, original Drunken Master, also starring Chan. Jackie Chan made up the moves, it’s true; however, it’s still the most recognized example of Drunken Boxing in cinema today.
• American Boxing: One word: Rocky Like there could be any other? With an emphasis on the difficulty of training and the grittiness of the ring, Sylvester Stallone delivers a, um, knockout performance.
• Wing Chun: There’s a film called Wing Chun with Michelle Yeoh, which roughly includes some elements of Wing Chun history. However, the actual fighting is a bit stylized, so it’s not the best example of the art. For that, you have to check out The Prodigal Son and Warriors Two. Both of those use Wing Chun in all choreography, as well as include some background on the training. Yuen Biao nicely portrays a young impetuous Leung Jan under the tutelage of Leung Yee Tai and Wong Wah Bo in Prodigal Son, then comes back as Money Changer Wah in Warriors Two. Sammo Hung provides extra martial arts prowess and comedy in both films. Just try not to snicker too much at the Praying Mantis fight at the end of Warriors Two.
• Shaolin Kung Fu: For this, you have to turn to the Gordon Liu classic:Thirty-Sixth Chamber of Shaolin. With background on the different chambers and rigorous training styles, this movie set the tone for the kung fu movie genre to come. Gordon Liu again brings Shaolin flavor to the scene in Shaolin Vs. Wu Tang.
• Wu Tang Sword: Ziyi Zhang set the screen on fire with her graceful performance in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which brought critical acclaim to films coming out of the East. Another good example is Shaolin Vs. Wu Tang, with Hoi San Lee showcasing the art.
• Hung Gar Kung Fu: The Once Upon a Time In China series defined Hung Gar’s presentation in Hong Kong cinema, with Jet Li’s explosive performance telling the story of folk hero Wong Fei Hong. (Interestingly enough, Jackie Chan plays a younger Wong Fei Hong in the Drunken Master series.)
• Savate: Remember Vorstedt (Derrick O’Connor) kicking the crap out of Riggs at the end of Lethal Weapon 2? This is the only example of Savate in film that I know of off hand.
• Aikido: Steven Seagal actually knows Aikido! I know, shocking. His style is a rather hard one known as Yoshinkai Aikido, and you get to see a bit of it in Above the Law.
• American Kenpo: I haven’t seen this film (yet), but I hear Jeff Speakman did a good showcase of American Kenpo in The Perfect Weapon.
• Tai Chi Chuan: David Carradine’s role as Kwai Chang Caine in the TV series Kung Fu is probably the best recognized example. Of course, bonus points go to Kung Fu Hustle for its portrayal with the Landlord (Yuen Wah). The Tai Chi Master may also give a nice representation, but I haven’t seen that yet.
• Kenjutsu / Iajutsu: It’s easy to just lump all Japanese sword fighting together, and say this includes Kendo and Iado. It’s also easy to just give this a blanket statement of “Samurai” — but that wouldn’t be quite right. I think in terms of application, I’d have to give the nod to The Seven Samurai, the amazing Akira Kirosawa flick that inspired The Magnificent Seven.

Well, that taps out my mind, though I know I’m missing a bunch. What other styles am I missing?

That Shaolin guy is fast. Yes, they’re just playing tag. Yes, in general, with any martial art, whoever trains better will be the winner. It’s still cool.