I guess it depends on what type of fighter you want to be - and how hard you train. I can tell you that you need to know your limits when you engage in any type of training. While training Muay Thai I have experienced two types of medium degree injuries - one was a calf spasm which gave me a lot of pain for about 2 months. The other was is an elbow hyper extension (I missed the bag with a punch and extended my arm a little too much - this one kept me from training for 6 weeks.
If I had been stubborn and kept training while injured I could have ended up with more serious injuries - hence breaking my body.
Your body will tell you when you need to stop or slow down - and you better hear it if you want to last long.

Now - are you concerned that training will "break your body" - or that your fights will break your body?

the only reason i would take kung fu is so i can make that wuwuwuwuwu sound when i jump up onto a tree branch.

fights. i see muay thai movies and see them getting a huge powerfull kick in the head and think "f**k, i don´t want to get a kick like that", im pretty sure it hurst like hell, and u get problems in the brain.i dont want a martial art to screw me up, i want a hobbie, a self-defence system and a little bit of fighting sparring (fighting in tournaments is someho, out of question coz of the dmg).wing chun seems to fit me, it has the blocking (not resisting, directing the power) but its main principal is the striking.it has sparring, and good for self-defence.about the last one, is it effective?and is the missing of kicks a important part?i would like people to answer and givme theyr opinion about wing chun, please, but other suggestions will be very apreciated, including muay thai.thank u and again soz for allways keep saying and asking new things : P

Hmmm - in that case you shouldnt worry. Even if you train in Muay Thai it doesnt mean that you will be getting kicked in the head - at least not in training. And yes, you can receive major blow to the head and get knocked out - but this is also likely to happen in Kung Fu as well. At least Muay Thai trains people to do a strong low kick - and not many people are flexible enough to pull off that high kick - and then - most of those who can kick high are not strong enough to be able to kick the head without preparing the kick (and you will be able to see it coming).

Thats it for high kicks - now, even as a hobby, you can train Muay Thai and never experience a head kick knockout, even if you do a couple of Amateur fights. The reason for this is because for most Amateur fights people are required to wear shin guards and any type of KOs are not likely. Training as a hobby is a good idea if really are concerned about possible brain damage (which would show up later on in life) or you can train Jiu Jitsu and trade the brain damage for arm or leg problems haha - or not train in anything and experience heart problems due to lack of exercise hehe.

My suggestion is that you start training right away on the Martial Art of your liking - for whatever reasons - in this case I think you are interested in Hard Kung Fu (something like Wing Chun perhaps). Try it - see if you like it for a year or two and compare it - try something else (maybe even while you are practicing Wing Chun).


As for your specific questions on Wing Chun - I'm afraid I can't answer them because I have not practiced Wing Chun - only heard great things about it.

Has anyone in this forum experienced Wing Chun??

i don't like kung fu because you could be a master at the tiger style but some kid that knows the bufferfly style can beat you.

Wing Chun is a good kung fu style and combat tai chi.

I think it all depends on how you fight, if you are agressive or laid back, no matter what martial art you do it will still influence your fighting style and will help you in any way. but the sparring and pad work of MT makes you see openings quicker, fast reaction and good focus for making shots.

alot of fighting ends up different to what imagined tho, like scrappy on the ground.

Sanshou and Sanda are kung fu based fighting systems...basically Chinese kickboxing...what is translate d as free hand fighting

pretty funny
most Kung Fu styles teach multiple animal styles (5 animal systems are very popular)

I study Chi Lin and formally Hung Gar, you can still get injured in training, we do the body conditioning (aka kicking solid objects with our shins and arms etc.) I dont think you will take a powerful kick to the head in class unless you pi$$ off your sifu Kung Fu in general is very effective in a fight as well as the whole mental benefits side of things[/quote]

It is the fighter not the style. I have seen some smart Kung fu guys kick butt. and then I have seen some morons with a black belt around thier waste get ass raped on the streets....not litterally!

I was going to say, that is a mental image you would not soon forget

I agree it is the fighter, but it is also the instructor..if he sucks the student is likely to suck as well....again not literally.......

good it is not literally....I hope that is not how the instructor promotes his students!

but the instructor can suck, and the student gets good alone...but of course the instructor if hes sucky will always help the student suck....this is a strange topic right now....

you could also do combat sambo, that is like half kickboxing, and half wrestling with submissions, also there are no deliberate strikes to the knee joint in kickboxing so if you plan on doing that into old age that may be very beneficial for your bodies health

hmmm nice...i allready do bjj so it will make my grounf work even better.afraid that there isnt nothing like that in lisbon, but ill search for it, thanks!