Wing Chun and Weight Training – the BIG DETAIL That Everyone’s Missing

I think there’s a big misconception when it comes to weight training and wing chun. Right now the two common schools of thought out there are that weight training can help wing chun or that weight training can hurt your wing chun:

1)      Some people are looking to get faster, increase their punching power, better their short range power through resistance or weight training…or

2)      Others feel that weight training stiffens you up, reduces your flexibility and makes you bigger and hence, clumsier when it comes to fighting.

I think there’s one huge detail that people are ignoring:

If you want to get good at wing chun, then practice wing chun.

If you want to get stronger or get that superhero body look, then for sure, weight training is the way to go.

Weight training will only help with wing chun to the extent that your wing chun is good. If your skills are crap, then your weight training isn’t going to help you no matter how much you can bench press.

With this in mind, you really have to figure out what your goals are:

1)      Do you want to get stronger?

2)      Do you want to punch harder?

3)      Do you want to gain size and look better?

4)      Do you want a stronger core?

5)      Do you want to get faster?

6)      Do you want better wing chun skills?

Each goal determines a specific path and workout program. But weight training won’t, at the end of the day, be the key element of making your wing chun better. Ultimately, if you want to be good at wing chun, you’re going to have to practice wing chun. There are too many complex neural connections, structural positions and muscle groups used that can’t be developed or stimulated through weight or resistance training whether you use dumbbells, kettlebells, resistance bands or bodyweight.

This said, however, once your wing chun gets good, then the added core strength and muscles from weight training will help. But it doesn’t go the other way around. You can’t expect that weight training leads to better wing chun. Only better wing chun leads to better wing chun. If your wing chun sucks, then no amount of weight training will ever help your wing chun skills.  On the flip side, if your wing chun is amazing, then weight training won’t ruin that.

The take home message is this:

If you want to incorporate weight training into your workout plan, go for it. Just be sure that you’re working out with the proper goal in mind. If you want to get stronger, be sure to lift to get stronger. If you want to get bigger, then be sure to lift weights to increase size. If you want to burn fat, you’re going to follow a plan to maximize fat burn.  BUT if you plan on working out for the primary purpose of improving your wing chun, you’re wasting your time.  Also I would recommend, if you can, that you train in wing chun first for at least a year or two before going into resistance training.  That way your wing chun skills will be decently developed in which will can actually reap some benefit from resistance training. 

Until then.