Fighting experiences

One of our former students was a young police cadet (RCMP) in need of some self defense training. After less than a year of Wing Chun training, this officer was sent up North. He reported that being a rookie, he got the job of breaking up six wild fights in a period of two months. Fighting, apparently is a popular pastime there. He said that the people he dealt with were of the lumberjack variety, outweighing him by as much as 50 pounds. In all six fights, he came out unharmed. The attackers mostly swung at him with hooking punches. We asked him what was it about Wing Chun that helped. He commented that the principle of attacking down the centerline with straight punches is what prevented him from getting injured. However, he said that an officer has to be careful about the use of excess force.

Another officer that we taught also applied his skill on various occasions. For him, a variety of techniques were successful. In one instance four attackers were sent to break up a party that had been crashed by 150 teenagers. When the officers arrived, most of the teenager scattered, but about half a dozen remained. One of them suddenly attacked an officer from the side. The officer turned and applied a vertical palm hit to the attacker's nose. The officer reported that the attacker passed out instantly from the shock; however, there was no damage done.