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The Revival of Bare-Knuckle Boxing - An unexpected component of Wing Chun.
Most people today think of fighting systems as Asian. Some also even think of Brazil or Israel, but most don’t think of martial arts as being European or American. Some have heard of Bare-Knuckle Boxing but don’t equate it with other martial arts. They really don’t know how effective and brutal a street-minded European boxer could be. In fact, Bare-Knuckle Boxing was once considered one of the most effective empty hand systems in the Western world for self-defense.
When we think of Bare-Knuckle Boxing we envision the sport scene more than the self-defense aspect of the system. We think of the Queensberry rules and black & white visions of fighters who stood in a strange looking, more upright, primary fighting stance. People today consider the system a rather antiquated form of boxing which has grown to become a high level sport. That is exactly what it has become; A SPORT. There is a large gap between sport and self-defense, however. As a self-defense, today’s boxing has lost much of its street effectiveness. The Bare knuckle fighter of the past could handle himself quite well against any would-be attacker.
Early in the sport, men still used illegal
techniques that they
learned from their own fathers and brothers
or from the street. These fighters knew how
to hide illegal techniques within legal ones
like the straight right hand that would
slice the opponents lips to ribbons or the
eye gouge hidden within a jab. These guys
knew all the brutal, vicious,
fight-terminating shots. In fact, before
rules were in place and before today’s
boxing methods were birthed in the ring, men
were studying boxing as a self-defense
science. The practice of bare-knuckle boxing
dates back to ancient times and was
unparalleled during the Renaissance where
fencing science and human biomechanics were
meticulously applied to the system. European
bare-knuckle boxing is an almost forgotten,
yet very effective street self-defense
system. It is the original form of boxing, more
closely related to ancient combat systems.
It involves sophisticated
self-defense using fists, fingers, elbows,
knees, feet and even the head.
Bare-Knuckle Boxing or Western boxing or what
I call Long-Bridge
Boxing at my school is our indigenous
fighting system and is every bit as effective
as its oriental counterparts. It also makes
up a large part of our martial heritage. The
western art of boxing has also had a huge
influence on most other martial arts. One
system in particular, some believe, that was
greatly influenced by Western boxing is Wing
Chun. A look into China’s past will tell you
that Chinese practitioners had many
encounters with Western boxers. They
encountered a system of fighting they hadn’t
seen before because they were used to
fighting people of their own stature,
not the taller Europeans. These Europeans
kept their heads back,
with their weight on the rear leg. They
punched straight and took small, shuffling
steps, with a few low kicks or none at all.
This was totally
different from the Chinese methods as they
used low horse stances, with wide,
overreaching punches. Needless to say the
Europeans beat many of the kung fu fighters.
This is a matter of great controversy so we
need not say that this is indisputable. What
I submit to you is that Wing Chun would be
greatly improved by incorporating certain
key principles of Bare-Knuckle Boxing.
Bare-Knuckle Boxing came to our line through
my Si- Gung, Karl
Godwin who with his own teacher went in-
depth into the study of the roots of the
world’s martial arts. In particular those
of Western fighting arts, their development
and finally, their compatibility with Wing
Chun. As a result, my teacher, Bill Graves,
an early, senior student of Karl Godwin,
spent much time developing and refining his
Western influenced Wing Chun. He then passed
it on to me where this innovative method has
continued to blossom. The compatibility of
Wing Chun and Western boxing is nothing new
however. It has been recognized before.
Bruce Lee, an early Wing Chun practitioner,
found that boxing could fit the principles of
Wing Chun better than any of the Asian arts.
However, he failed to take note of the pure
street spects of the system and incorporated
some sport postures and methods. So my early
training in Wing Chun was a combination of
undiluted Leung Sheung (Yip Man’s most senior
student) Wing Chun as a skeleton with the
Western boxing expression. I learned the
sets without alteration but when it came to
sparring and ultimately fighting it was
certainly pre-sport
Western boxing. The posture was tilted back
with the arms extended upon interception
keeping the head away from the opponent’s
fists. All of Wing Chun’s concepts were in
place but the emphasis was certainly a
polished Long-Bridge Boxing articulation.
Back then drawing blood was common. Bloody
lips and black eyes and cheekbones were
expected. There wasn’t a night that I
wouldn’t go home without some injury.
Of course the way I train now is
much different. It’s all advanced, short
range centre-line control. It is the
opposite spectrum of my early training and
is considered advanced Wing Chun.
Our training methods are unique to our line
and I believe it is the
“Little Idea” that Wing Chun can and should
be. But as a teacher I have
come to understand the importance of
retaining that early longer range Western
Long-Bridge Boxing. My experience has been
that without its influence, a
three to eight year practitioner of Wing
Chun is predominantly a mid to short
range fighter who finds kickers and anyone
who fights at, or just outside of,
boxing range to be problematic. I say this
with all due respect not
wanting to ruffle feathers, but I’ve touched
hands with many of the major
lines’ practitioners only to find them
wanting. They could not deal with
someone who kept them out of their comfort
zone. In other words, I found
that their interpretation of Wing Chun was
somehow limited by tradition. It
lacked presence and innovation. There is
something else that eludes many Wing Chun
practitioners and that's the anti-grappling
aspects of Wing Chun
which is an essential part of my system but
who’s subject I will save for
another article. I am by no means saying
that Western Boxing in itself is an
unabridged system. I am simply saying that
the ability to reason like
our Western fathers has greatly improved our
Wing Chun. As a
teacher I feel that the most important thing
I can do is to look at my
students as people I can help. I put their
needs first, so teaching the
Long-Bridge aspects of Wing Chun is first.
To me it’s all Wing Chun but I
emphasize the Long-Bridge because of its
brutal effectiveness. Its emphasis is on
destroying the attacker efficiently and
quickly at a longer
range than is traditionally taught to 99% of
Wing Chun practitioners. This
gives a less skilled student more time to
respond with adequacy by reason of
distance created by larger footwork and
additional arm extension. The
footwork is not different than Wing Chun,
just larger. Much of the training is
efficient interception, footwork and
straight, leg-powered punches with
simultaneous deflection. Keeping your head
away from the action and greater
mobility is key. After they are proficient
they go into what we call mid-range
(where most Wing Chun lives) and then at
higher levels to short- bridge
or very close quarters training. Innovation
is a concept that we value,
so as a system we view Wing Chun as
complete. That means that it works against
boxers, kickers and grapplers, guns, edged
weapons and blunt
instruments.
I was not looking for Western Boxing when I
found my teacher but
it was a pleasant surprise. One that I value
greatly to this day. We possess not only the
skills of the fathers of Wing Chun but also
that of our
Western fathers. To quote my Si-Gung, “The
principles of both arts combined,
form the basis for a more scientific
fighting method. The assimilation of
Western physics, philosophy, and other
disciplines into the already
effective Chinese Wing Chun creates the
potential to develop all of the
physical and psychological attributes of an
individual. This combination of
East and West would allow Yip Man to be
joined by Da Vinci, Vesalius,
and other great thinkers as the builders of
the ultimate pugilistic system.“
In other words, there is room for tradition
but innovation should rule the
day. Although Bare-Knuckle Boxing is almost
gone in the United
States, it is still a vital part of our
training. More importantly, there is
the idea of ownership of our fighting
system. The idea that Wing Chun serves
us and not the other way around. The
tendency is to cry, “Heresy!”, but the proof
is there for all to see. If you can’t deal
with various types of
fighters and you get grappled down and
knocked out by a powerful right hand,
then your martial art is useless. If your
Wing Chun can’t deal with all comers
then you should question it. I don’t mean
change it. I don’t mean alter
the sets in any way, although some of you
have. I mean if you find a place of
deficiency in your system then alter your
training methods and your manner of
interpretation of the sets. We have not
altered the sets passed on to us,
but certainly the training methods are up to
date and answer ancient-to-modern
martial questions. This has created a
seamless fighting system whether armed or
empty-handed.
A renaissance of Bare-Knuckle Boxing has taken
place in our school and I intend to conserve
and develop it. This vital
component of our Wing Chun has allowed us to
better appreciate Bruce Lee’s
efforts to incorporate fencing and Western
Boxing into his system. Tradition
is good but if it begins to make any part of
the system ineffective then
its got to take a back seat to well
thought-out training. I think that’s what
Bruce Lee meant more than anything in his
pursuit of expression in martial
arts. Not the technique of the minute or the
jack-of-all- trades mentality
that is so prevalent in JKD today, but the
concepts of more effective training
and the idea of a complete fighting system.
This unexpected component within our line and
the mentality behind it, has unequivocally
paved the way
to a Wing Chun that has come-of-age.
About the Author: Armando Sainz has
been involved in martial arts since 1979. He
is the
owner and chief instructor of Centerline
Academy of Martial Arts and
provides instruction for adults and
adolescents in Wing Chun Kung Fu in the
Jacksonville, Florida and Beaches area. He
is the most senior student of
Sifu Bill Graves and seventh-generation Sifu
in a line of senior students from
Yip Man (Bruce Lee's teacher). Armando is
also skilled in Chen Style Tai
Chi Chuan, Chi Kung, Dragon PaGua Chang, the
classic Shantung weapons of
China, Ju Jitsu, Western Boxing, Tae Kwon Do,
Filipino weapons fighting and
Tang Soo Do. Armando has had the privilege of
training many Military Personal and Civilian
Law Enforcement including Military Police,
State and
Local Police and FBI.
by: Armando Sainz, Centerline Academy of Martial Arts, http://www.centerlineacademy.com
Article date: January 2007.