The one thing I am more qualified than any other Wing Chun Sifu out there to do is to talk about how Wing Chun Kung Fu is essential for Cops to learn.
In 2001 I sat in front of my former Deputy Chief and Lieutenant for my second interview and was asked a good question. My DC simply asked, "do you feel you are able to protect yourself if hired?"
I was 26 years old, very in shape, very strong and a 15 year veteran collegiate wrestler. I answered, "yes" without hesitation. What I should have been asked was, "do you feel like you can protect yourself while being limited in what you can do to someone who is trying to harm / kill you?"
What Law Enforcemnt does well during training is addressing the Use of Force Scale. This is a pyramid of escalation and limits of what a cop can and cannot do based upon the actions of the subjects they are interacting with on a daily basis.
The Use of Force Scale has ranges which include Verbal Commands up to Deadly Force applications. The two major forces in this scale are not so much as Officer and Offender, rather, Officer's Perception and Public Perception.
As a former cop, there is nothing more aggravating than watching civilians who are ignorant, by definition, getting upset as to why a cop used physical force to someone they interacted with. Thanks to the invention of the video camera, civilians are now experts in "police brutality".
The main problem with video cameras is not what they see, but what they don't "feel." (I will do a video for this in the near future.)
The one major factor I learned from Wing Chun that translated superbly into my days as a street cop, were the concepts of relaxation and sensitivity.
No, I did not Chi Sau anyone I put into hand cuffs. But from all the sensitivity training I did, I was able to focus less on the arms of the person I was trying to take into custody and more into how their core, balance, position and musculature was effecting my ability to place them into custody. Such an instance was the very first time it dawned on me to "let go" of a subject's wrist I was trying to place behind his back. The subject began to resist me and I did the obvious action of struggling with his arm in attempt to pull it behind him. I was out weighed and out sized in general and then it hit; let go of his hand and attack his core. I released his wrist, jammed his arm into his torso and shoved him into the wall. That action completely took his balance and allowed me to grab the wrist again and transition it behind his back with much greater ease.
It was a glaring quesiton to me which I took with me on every call after that one: if you are trying to place someone's hands behind their back and they tense up, are you going to keep pulling on their arm or are you going to transition to their core, and how quickly are you able to recognize the need to do so? Does your Wing Chun training have purpose?
Police brutality lies in this area as well The officer's ability to transition into his / her next movement upon the information they feel during physical contact often is the precursor to what is seen as Police Officer's being brutal.
Police brutality or unnecessary escalation in Use of Force usually happens when the cop does not know when to do so.
This is where Wing Chun is superior to all other martial arts training including BJJ. The main reason is because Wing Chun starts standing and the last thing a cop wants to do is to go to the ground with 30 lbs of gear on their body. A cop fighting on the ground has no business in law enforcement as far as I am concerned. Granted, if you go to the ground, you need to know how to get back up asap, but it is essential for cops to stay on their feet due to terrain, subject / offender purpose and or multiple opponents.
Relaxation was the main Wing Chun principle I held with me the day I was yelling at a man during a domestic battery call. He was arguing with me and I was becoming aggitated, which just happen to be his goal. Just then I recalled my Wing Chun principle to relax to "feel" more information...just then I noticed his wife behind me who was just about to jump on my back! Had I remained focused and "tunnel visioned" on him, I would have never seen her and fallen victim to an ambush.
Wing Chun teaches a person to know him / herslef before knowing an attacker / offender. The more you know yourself, the far better your abillity will be on the outcome of an attack. When a cop knows him / herself more, their ability to deal with an offender will improve vastly even with factors that greatly limit their job. This translates on the bare minimum to confidence. Being a man who only stands 5'7" tall, I never had insecurity issues nor got myself engaged at taunts by offenders...all because I was self confident in my ability.
Remember, Law Enforcement Defensive Tactics and Martial Arts are two separate beasts and unless you are / were a cop, I feel you have no business teaching cops. You just will never understand the multi sensory effects of what they do on a daily basis as well as the emotional stress, the presence of outside parties with video cameras and the Use of Force Scale which Police are held accountable to.
But Wing Chun, above all others, is the martial art needed to truly bridge the gap between officers and themselves allowing them to operate within their Use of Force Scale with greater confidence and ease of outcome.
Dominick Izzo
Owner, Chief Instructor
Izzo Tactical Combat Martial Arts
http://www.izzo-training.com/
Wing Chun Kung Fu in Chicago
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