How many Wing Chun schools actually spar?

[Mortal_wombat]

For the record, I am not a fan of the chun. Sure I enjoyed Ip Man the movie, but that's as far as it goes. Im currently doing boxing and kali at GAMMA owned by Sled Dog one of the founding Dog Brothers. Both are proven arts, both have their techniques pressure tested. I am enjoying the shit out of my training.
I have this friend though who trains not so alive Japanese arts(akijiujitsu + kendojutsu). Not a fan of either art, but it is his life he can do whatever he wants. He is enjoying the shit out of his training.
Recently, however he has expressed an interest in the chun and asked me if I wanted to try a class with him. Since wing chun empty has a resemblance to kali empty hand i'd figure that I'd feel right at home trying out that one class with him. So I google'd WC schools in my area and came across the following video

The video starts off as one would expect a wing chun to start then at about 1:53 we see sparring, with mma gloves on. The contact seems to be very light. Definitely lighter than what I do in boxing, I guess that's a step in the right direction? Is this typical for wing chun sparring? I thought most chunner don't spar? Does hard wing chun sparring exist? Would it be polite for me to ask one of their students to test my boxing "skills" against their Wing Chun "skills"?

[jspeedy]

Probably wouldn't be the most polite thing to try your boxing vs wc in a class setting. That said if you build a rapport with the group perhaps it would be more appropriate. I try to keep in mind when one visits a class it is because you are there to learn their interpretation and fighting method. Many schools tend to be rather passive and just want to do their thing and be left alone. If you don't care and want to test yourself that's one thing, just be aware that you might be viewed as a dick. If you want to spar email or call the instructor ahead of time and let him know your intentions. That or get your buddy to find someone interested in sparring and do it outside of class.

[MrGalt]

How many Wing Chun schools actually spar?

My rigorous survey of every practitioner I have run into here, on MAP and other forums, and in person says, "all of them."

...just don't expect to agree with their definition of what that means.

[W. Rabbit]

My rigorous survey of every practitioner I have run into here, on MAP and other forums, and in person says, "all of them."

...just don't expect to agree with their definition of what that means.

Can we just fucking replace the term "spar" with "struggle"?

[BJMills]

Can we just fucking replace the term "spar" with "struggle"?

Only if we can turn around and replace 'struggle' with 'patty cake.'

They all patty cake.

problem solved.

[Ero-Sennin]

If there is no potential for blood, bruises, or crushed egos, than it isn't sparring dammit. Even light contact sparring has the potential for these things. Patty cake, and playing limp noodle flailing hardcore, does not provide much.

[Permalost]

That chun vid was weird. Spinning kicks, spinning elbows and roundhouse kicks aren't really standard chun, although I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. The broadsword work wasn't wing chun either.

[bobyclumsyninja]

Those guys were going ok. If they're not being taught to engage the hip for power, their kicks will look like that, and if they're being shown arm punching rather than kinetic linking in the manner of boxing (using the balls of the feet and sunken center of gravity to root your shots while driving the hip for power) their "hard" sparring is gonna kinda look like that.

I thought I'd sparred decently hard, until a talented person actually went 80% on me, and wow had I been wrong.

The kind of sparring they're doing could probably be done daily, which is good. Medium to hard sparring (in the combat sport sense) is impractical for most people more than once or possibly twice a week.

[W. Rabbit]

The broadsword work wasn't wing chun either.

It looks like part of the Single Moon Flowing Knife form.

[chucksmanhood]

Inb4 OP gets humbled by a Chunner.

[Holy Moment]

Just another manic Chunday!

Wish it was Tsunday!

That's my fun day!

[Mortal_wombat]

[ghost55]

Given the amount of kicks seen in the video, I would not be at all surprised if at some point someone with experience in both styles tried to mush them together.

[W. Rabbit]

So I was on their website and I read the following:
"The name “Wu Xing”, meaning “Five elements” in Chinese, was chosen to emphasize the Vietnamese origins of our branch of Wing Chun (Vinh Xuan), which contains the five animal forms of Shaolin. Each animal is associated with an element, thus forming a complete system of techniques."
Im not particularly knowledgeable on the topic of Wing Chun lineage/history, but what does Shaolin have to do with Wing Chun? Since when does the Chun have animal forms?

Wing Chun contains SOME Shaolin traditional 5 animal stuff, but not all of them. Not by a long shot.

In the legends, it contains some elements of Snake and Crane. I've never seen a single Wing Chun video illustrating other animals (tiger, leopard etc) that are common to the Southern styles that Wing Chun grew up around...

[Mortal_wombat]

Does wing chun have weapon sparring or is it just forms? What about CMAs in general? I don't ever recall hearing about a CMA that trains weapons in an "alive manner" a la Kali, kendo, fencing, etc.