In this post we go over how to learn wing chun at home.
Like all martial arts, Wing Chun is best learned in a school or one to one from an experienced and reputable instructor.
However given the current state of technology and the internet it is entirely to learn just about any skill online or through video and books.
Also with many areas in the world going through lockdowns and movement restrictions, it is not possible to even access good Wing Chun teachers and learn from them.
While it is always best to learn from a reputable teacher or instructor there are three main reasons why it is perfectly acceptable to learn and train Wing Chun at home.
Why Learn Wing Chun at Home?
There are no instructors or teachers in your area, region, state/province or even country
If you really want to learn Wing Chun and it is something you feel passionate about then don’t let anyone tell you, “You Cant learn Wing Chun on your own at home!”.
Because in my opinion you can.
You can learn just about anything if you have good learning resources and the dedication required to put in the work consistently on your own.
Okay, so while you may not become a Grand Master or even a top Wing Chun fighter if you learn Wing Chun at home – for many people this is not the goal in the first place.
For many, many people who have become interested about Wing Chun through movies, books, or an interest in Bruce Lee and Ip Man, it is fine to be able to grasp the fundamentals and learn and master the basics learning from home.
Lockdowns and Movement restrictions mean you cant access teachers and schools
Another reason people want to learn and train Wing Chun from home is due to lockdowns and movement restrictions due to COVID.
In this case your best option would be to learn and train online as it may be difficult even to order and get videos and books delivered to your physical address.
So online courses, E Books and video instruction (Free on YouTube and paid membership sites) may be your online option to learn Wing Chun at home.
Lack of Time or Money to attend live classes
In a lot of cases Wing Chun schools and private instruction may be just too expensive for many people.
The monthly fees to train at a school and the fees for grading sessions can be too much to afford for a lot of people who want to learn Wing Chun.
In the case of these people a one off purchase of a Wing Chun DVD, Book or online course would be a lot more affordable.
Also many people who are busy with work, study and family commitments just cant make it to Wing Chun classes and training sessions and so for these people learning and training from home would be a better fit for them.
Learning at your own pace from home suits many people due to a lack of time and money to attend live classes.
7 Steps to Learn Wing Chun at Home
So if you are someone who cant or don’t want to attend in person Wing Chun classes or learn in person from a teacher then you can learn Wing Chun at home.
Especially if you are interested as a beginner to learn the basics then yes you definitely can learn wing chun at home.
Follow the east steps outline below and you will be in the best position to start to learn wing chun at home and possibly progress your training even further with live instruction when you have the time and money to be able to do so.
1. Do Your Research Online on the Different Systems and Lineages of Wing Chun
There are a variety of Wing Chun styles and many teachers that present their lessons online or in video or book format that you can start to learn from fairly easily.
There are many different lineages that make their instruction available online and you can research them and decide which one is the best fit for you.
An excellent example of a Wing Chun lineages with great instructors who share their teachings online and in video format includes the Ip Man -> Wong Shun Leung lineage.
Wong Shun Leung was one of Ip Mans top students who also helped teach Bruce Lee when he trained Wing Chun in Hong Kong. And from this lineage come great teachers also who learned from Wong Shun Leung who have very god video instructional.
Wong Shun Leung style is known as Ving Tsun (pronounced Wing Chun) and he was known for testing out his Ving Tsun against other stylists in rooftop battles or ‘beimo’ where he was called the ‘King of Talkking Hands’ for his numerous fights and wins over other martial artists styles using his Ving Tsun he learned from Ip Man.
And his students have passed on his style without alteration and include:
- Gary Lam
- David Peterson
- Phillip Bayer
2. Set Up Your Training Space
You dont need a lot of space and you can perform much of the wing chun training in open areas such as parks or at home in your garage or back yard.
Sometimes you may only have your living room at home and if this is all you have then be sure to make sure there is sufficient space and you wont be disturbed too much when you want to train wing chun at home.
But you must have a space to train so getting this sorted out early is important so you can truly begin your wing chun training at home.
Again you do not need a huge amount of space but having some space to move around and practice forms, footwork and some shadow boxing and drilling is crucial.
3. Plan your training into your week each week
Be sure to make time for your training and plan into your week each and every week so that you can learn and improve consistently.
If you don’t plan your training sessions into your weekly schedule it is likely you will miss training and wont prioritize training enough to stick with in the long term
I would recommend you begin with two sessions per week or 30 minutes each just to get started.
Then after two weeks you can increase this to 3 sessions.
The main thing is to get into the habit of training each week, even if only twice per week.
And you need to plan this into your week and make time and prioritize your training if you are serious about learning Wing Chun at home.
I definitely recommed starting off with a program you can more easily stick with for at least a month. This will build the habit and ‘flex the muscle’ so to speak so you are used to training – even if only a couple of sessions per week.
Stick with the plan below for a month and you will be more likely to carry on with your Wing Chun home training for longer.
Example Progressive Wing Chun Home Training Plan Week 1 - 2 by 30 minute sessions (Tues/Sat) Week 2 - 2 by 30 min sessions (Tues/Sat) Week 3 - 3 by 30 mins sessions (Tue/Thu/Sat) Week 4 - 4 by 30 mins sessions (Tue/Thu/Sat)
4. Invest in some equipment or make your own
There are some pieces of equipment that will really your wing chun training at home.
And these can be purchased or made at home yourself.
Wall Bag the wall bag is great for practicing your punchng form and the signature chain punch or wing chun.
It can be made with a cloth bag filled with sand. It is small enough to make a smallish target so you practice striking the same point with each chin punch.
A heavy bag is another very useful piece of equipment that can be used to practice all the strikes in wing chun as well as practicing movement and footwork to get in and of range or a large target without a partner.
The Wooden Dummy is a very expensive, large and heavy piece of equipment it may no be something you want to invest early in your Wing Chun training at home.
But you can definitely make use of what is available to construct something similar to use as a substitute for the wooden dummy.
5. Buy a Wing Chun Training Course or design your own
There are many courses available online that you can purchase or learn for free though sources such as YoutUBe.
Starting out learninnig wing chun at home as a beginner you probably will not know how to structure your training so this is where a structured course or curriculum can be extremely helpful.
OFtentimes some of the best structured curriculums you will have to pay for to access.
But there are also free resources you can use if you cant or dont want to pay for wing chun learning resources to use at home.
But generally a basic wing chun training session at home would include:
- Forms – especially Sil Lim Tao and Chum Kiu
- Footwork and movement drills – turning, stepping and striking
- Punching drills – on the wall bag or heavy bag
- Shadow boxing
- Conditioning to finish
6. Keep a Training Log
Track your and journal your Wing Chun Training sessions.
Write down after training what you learned or improved on or what needs more work. And use this log as the basis for your next training session.
This way you will have weekly goals and targets to hit i.e improve your Sil Lim Tao; 300 chain punches this session and so on.
This will help you keep progressing and improving when training Wing Chun at home.
If you learn Wing Chun at home, you wont have a coach or teacher pushing you or telling you what you need to work on or pointing out where you made mistakes.
This is the biggest disadvantage if you do learn Wing Chun at home.
So you really need to keep track of your training workouts. This also is great when looking back and reviewing the progress you have made over time.
7. Video Your Training Sessions
Along with a training log I would also suggest taking video of yourself.
Again most people can do this on their mobile phones and keep a pretty good quality recording of their session or at least individual techniques such as kicks and punches.
It is motivating and encouraging to see your improvement in your movement and techniques from when you sfirst started and comparing that with your movement several weeks and months into your training.
You can also better compare your movement and technique and performance of forms with the video instruciton you are following if you video yourself and watch and review your sessions.
This will help you improve much faster.
Also you could post videos of yourself on Wing Chun forums and ask for help and assistance if you are willing to also accept criticism.
There are definitely more experienced Wing Chun practitioners who would be willing to help you on the many online forums and spaces where you could share videos of your Wing Chun training sessions at home.
