Bare Knuckle Boxing, Wing Chun and 'Sherlock Holmes'
A bare-knuckle boxing scene in the new Sherlock Holmes movie shows Robert Downey Jr. displaying his Wing Chun skills on screen. As a Wing Chun practitioner of many years, Robert Downey Jr. is finally able to display movements of the martial art that has helped him to change his life and conquer his addictions. When asked how it has helped him, Downey said, "its amazing." In his words, "I can't say how much it has impacted my ability to stay well and focused." He went on to say that Wing Chun not only keeps him in shape, it has helped him to be "more grounded, sensitive and more open to others."
This scene is also a good display of the difference between punching without gloves. Here is a short note written by my sihing (Jonathan Petree) about street self-defense and bare-knuckle boxing titled Bare Knuckle Boxing and Wing Chun Application from the New 'Sherlock Holmes' Movie.
In this age of gloved boxing, and gloved MMA fighting, very few people realize that true self-defense, and real fights that happen on the street are not gloved affairs. For example, you cannot ask an attacker to "hold on a minute while I put on my gloves". Most people think that they can simply hit with a bare fist the same way that they hit with a gloved fist. Unfortunately, so many have thought this way that the damage done by ignorance is so common that it has its own name. It is called, "a boxers fracture". Why? Because most folks still strike with a horizontal fist in street fights, just like they have practiced in the gym with gloves. Here are 3 simple rules: 1. If you are NOT wearing gloves and insist on striking with a fist, please do yourself a favor and strike with a verticle fist. 2. Better idea- If you are NOT wearing gloves, don't hit with your fists. Use open hand strikes that utilize the heel of the palm, or the edge of the palm. These can generate a tremendous amount of force, without the potential for breaking the delicate bones in your hand. 3. Study human anatomy and physiology. It will serve you well in the pugilistic arts. I recommend Netter's Anatomy, or Grey's Anatomy. If you can't find those books, simply go to a local library and begin your studies of the skeletal structure. Start with the skeletal structure, then move on to muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, etc.
© The Dragon Institute
