Muay Thai or Wing Chun for self defense?

I have done Taekwondo or 3 years, but high flashy kicks are not very convenient as I may be cold, have bad pants or be close to the opponent.





I have been doing research on Wing Chun for some months. I have learned the first form just for general knowledge when choosing a school. Wing Chun really attracts me with it's scientific fighting and speed plus being street practical.





But lately I have seen some videos and many comments on Muay Thai, and it seems very practical since it is uncorrupted with flashy moves, "traditional" training methods and trains hard giving more confidence.





Finding a good Wing Chun school is hard since many of them get carried away with the "soft" side and Muay Thai seems to attract alot of the hooligan "gangster" types. Which one should I do?





Please include in your answer advice on finding a school(for example, how do I tell the hooligans from the good muay thai guys?).

Muay Thai or Wing Chun for self defense?
in my opinion, Wing Chun is better for self-defense but Muay Thai is better for fighting in the ring.. you'll get lots of people on here telling you that a Wing Chun fighters always lose to Muay Thai fighters, but they're mostly basing that off of fights in tournaments where they have rules.. in a real street fight a Wing Chun fighter would get in close and poke your eye out, but of course that's not allowed in the ring.. don't get me wrong though.. Muay Thai is undoubtedly good for self-defense as well.. regardless of which martial art you pick, it's going to come down to how much you practice.. a Wing Chun student who practices for 1 hour a week is going to get slaughtered by a Muay Thai student who practices for 3 hours every day..
Reply:I wish I could be a better help, but I studied a martial art for many years. the Master was extremely skilled and I learned a lot. I can't remember the name of the martial art because my Master could not speak English. However, what we practiced involved a lot of hair pulling and scratching. In the more advanced classes you're taught how to bite people on the nuts.
Reply:orzgu, your teacher showed you how to bite people on the nuts? this teacher must of had problems. To answer the tread starter question, quick answer, if ou want self defense, chose wing chun, if you wanna go to tournaments, chose muay thai.





Point Finale
Reply:Both martial arts are very efficient, I'm biased to muay thai since I've trained it for 4 years. I don't know which schools your've checked out, but where i train the people are students and professionals, everybody is well-mannered and respectful, no hooligans or gansta wannabes (they'd get their butts kicked).





Muay thai doesn't have flashy movies, you train to fight, and it's definetely very practical. The best advice i can give you about a school, is just go and talk to the people, worst case scenario if they are hooligans, you'll make interesting friends, and remember you are to learn martial arts, even if you have to spar hooligans and gansta wannabees you'll still learn provided the instructors are good.
Reply:Very good question.





I really don't know much about Wing Chun, but based on the first answerer's response it sounds like it is a style that is very passive and chiefly defensive. This type of Martial Art would be well suited to you if you are not fond of pain and you want to be able to ward off an attacker with motion by deflecting and redirecting the attacker's blows - Effectively, make them give up and go away.





Muay Thai, on the other hand, is an Art I know a little about. The training involved is very intense, extremely demanding, and it is painful to be sure. Muay Thai is akin to street fighting in that you will learn to throw just about every kind of strike and kick imaginable. Far from being passive, it is a very aggressive, straight forward, attacking and conquering style of fighting that intends to inflict great bodily harm on the attacker or opponent.





The URL I am including below is for schools associated with the Thai Boxing Association of the U.S.A. Ajarn Surachai Sirisute was my trainer/manager during most of my fighting career. I guarantee you that this is the "REAL THING" - No hooligans here!





http://www.thaiboxing.com/schools.php?SI...





Have fun and remember to keep em up!
Reply:The style is much less important than your training style, and the individual school you attend. Even your high-kicking Tae Kwon Do can be great for defense. Picture this: If you can consistently deliver a powerful kick at your own head-height in 0.25 second, do you think you can develop an even faster kick at hip- or torso-height? Tae Kwon Do also includes elbow, knee, and forearm strikes, as well as short punches. Most schools just do not stress these techniques, so you'll have to practice them on a heavy bag on your own.


Spend some time personally checking out schools in your area. How you feel in the school will help you determine how well you train. If you find a school you like, see if you can have a frank discussion with a senior instructor, and share your concerns and desires. Most large schools usually have at least one senior person who is big, strong, and experienced enough to throw down a little harder with you. At 6'3 and 260, that person tended to be me :) Just make sure that they have a supportive attitude and let you set the intensity level. You should only be concerned with taking some solid hits - not receiving actual injuries.


You might also want to round out your experience with some aggressive grappling/trapping/throwing styles, especially those that include ground fighting. Your Tae Kwon Do training will serve you best from longer ranges, but probably leaves you lacking when someone throws you to the ground and lands on top of you.
Reply:In my humble opinion Wing Chung is best for self-defense, as that is what is was designed. Wing Chung teaches you weapons (butterfly knives), defense against weapons, and multiple attack defense.





For street fighting and self-defense I found it best to avoid the 'ring styles' of fighting, including Muy Thai.
Reply:Muay Thai is for fighting, Wing Chun is more for self defense.
Reply:you should try kyokushin karate,there are no hooligans in there