There I was—standing in front of an established Wing Chun teacher when someone asked a point-blank question:
“Sifu, what should I do if I get taken to the ground?”
With a self-inflating breath and a look of pity reserved for foolish questions, the Sifu answered:
“Don’t go to the ground.”
That moment told me more than he intended.
Not about the student—but about the instructor. Because answers like that don’t reflect wisdom.
They reflect a lack of knowledge, real-world experience, and a refusal to confront the limits of one’s own training.
The student, sadly, accepted the answer as gospel truth.
Training resumed as if the question had been answered.
But it hadn’t.
Let’s Call It What It Is: Absurd
Saying “don’t go to the ground” is just as naive as saying:
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“Don’t get stabbed.”
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“Don’t get shot.”
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“Don’t have a heart attack.”
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“Don’t choke while eating.”
It’s like telling someone who can’t swim: “Just don’t go in the water.”
While they’re standing on a sinking ship.
It’s just as helpful as yelling “Don’t have a heart attack!”
While someone’s already clutching their chest and collapsing.
Yes—avoidance is ideal. But life doesn’t ask your permission.
Violence doesn’t wait for a polite invitation.
Reality Sets the Rules
If you’re actually training for self-defense—as most Wing Chun practitioners claim to be—then face the truth:
The attacker sets the terms.
The when. The where. And, for this discussion, the how.
You don’t get to choose whether you go to the ground.
You only get to choose whether you’re prepared when you do.
The Three Real Enemies
In a real-world fight, you’re not just up against your opponent. You’re up against:
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The Attacker – unpredictable, explosive, and intentional.
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The Pull of Gravity – constant and inescapable.
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The State of Falling – where your brain fractures: half trying to stay upright, the other half just trying to survive.
That third one?
That’s the killer.
Because when your mind’s consumed with staying upright, you’re no longer a fighter.
You’re prey.
Wing Chun is designed to exploit that state in others.
But most practitioners never train for when it happens to them.
So What’s the Answer?
You train for it.
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We drill breakfalls to reduce injury.
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We practice ground strikes to stay dangerous.
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We develop tactical recovery to regain structure and initiative.
Not because we want to grapple.
But because we refuse to be helpless.
On your back, kicking becomes more efficient—because balance is no longer a factor.
Trapping and striking still apply—if you understand context.
Centerline still exists—horizontal or vertical.
Even five minutes per week changes your response under pressure.
You stop freezing.
You start seeing options.
The Right Mindset
It’s not about embracing the ground.
It’s not even about expecting to go there.
The mindset is simple:
Avoid going to the ground.
But never lie to yourself with “Don’t go to the ground.”
“Don’t” is delusion.
“Avoid” is tactical realism.
A Failure of Exposure, Not Intention
To be fair, many instructors aren’t trying to deceive.
They just never trained for the ground—because they never had to.
Historically, that made sense. Wing Chun developed in a world where ground fighting wasn’t a major concern.
But that’s not the world we live in anymore.
Since the rise of MMA in the 1990s, traditional blind spots have been brutally exposed.
If you’re still ignoring ground fighting in 2025, you’re not preserving tradition.
You’re preserving denial.
Principles or Posturing?
We’re not trying to become BJJ fighters.
We’re not entering tournaments.
We’re not chasing submission wins.
That’s their world.
Ours is self-defense.
And in that world, pretending the ground doesn’t exist isn’t discipline.
It’s cowardice.
Wing Chun is a system of principles.
If those principles are truly universal, they should extend to every range—including the ground.
If they don’t?
Then either Wing Chun is incomplete…
Or your understanding of it is.
Final Word
You don’t have to become a grappler.
But you’d better understand gravity.
You’d better know what your structure becomes when you’re horizontal.
And you’d damn well better have a plan when your back hits the dirt.
Because if your answer is still “Don’t go to the ground,”
you’re not teaching martial arts anymore—
You’re just teaching denial.
About the Author
Dale Steigerwald is more than a teacher—he’s a relentless student of performance, pressure, and precision. With nearly 30 years in Wing Chun and a professional background in education, he blends martial arts, neuroscience, and biomechanics into a practical system for combat intelligence. Dale holds the Brian Cain Mental Performance Mastery certification, is currently completing EXOS XPS and XPS+ credentials, and is preparing for the CSCS exam. He runs the Academy of Ving Tsun Kung Fu, where he trains serious practitioners to move with intent, read structure instead of noise, and fight smarter—not just faster.