Characteristics

Balance and Structure

Wing Chun practitioners believe that the person with better balance and body structure will win. A correct Wing Chun stance is like a piece of bamboo, firm but flexible, anchored but yielding. This structure is used to either deflect external forces or redirect them into the ground.

Wing Chun favours a high, narrow stance with the toes pointed inwards and the elbows kept close to the body. All attacks and counter-attacks are initiated from this firm, stable base. Structure is never compromised for more powerful attacks because this creates defence flaws which an opponent may exploit. For example, a Wing Chun practitioner will not lean sideways to throw a high kick to an opponent's head. Moving your body's centre of gravity in such a manner results in speed penalties, aside from opening your groin to attack and your foot to grabbing.

Balance is related to structure because a well-balanced body recovers quicker from stalled attacks and structure is maintained.

Proper positioning of the arms will close holes in one's defence, allowing less room for an opponent to strike. For example, the forearm in the bong sau should be kept high so as to deflect punches upwards. The bong sau forearm is also kept forward because having it too far back weakens the leverage of the triceps and allows the forearm to be pushed back.

Relaxation

Softness (via relaxation) is fundamental to Wing Chun and essential to defeating an opponent's power. Some say that while it is possible to use Wing Chun while tense, such an unsophisticated approach is easily defeated by a skilled Wing Chun practitioner. Wing Chun techniques are performed in a relaxed manner, during both training and in actual combat. Even chi sao training can be misused if too much force is used.

• Muscles act in pairs in opposition to each other (e.g. biceps and triceps). If the arm is tensed, maximum punching speed cannot be achieved as the biceps will be opposing the extension of the arm. A tensed arm must first relax before beginning the punching motion. When relaxed at the onset, the punch may begin at any time. This saves time.
• Unnecessary tension wastes energy, causing fatigue. This can be critical in an extended engagement.
• Tension stiffens the arms, making them less sensitive in chi sao and reduces ability to sense and react to an opponent's intentions.
• A stiff limb provides an easy handle for an opponent to push or pull with, whereas a relaxed limb provides an opponent less to work with.

Centreline

Wing Chun emphasises attack and defence along an imaginary vertical line drawn along the nose, throat, navel and groin. The human body's prime striking targets are considered to be on or near this line.

A Wing Chun practitioner will strive to protect his centreline and attack his opponent's. Footwork is used to move your centreline away from an opponent's attack and to position your hands and feet to attack his centreline. Most hand techniques place one hand close to the chest, to ward off punches that manage to get past the lead hand. The elbows are kept low, to protect the centreline.

Wing Chun techniques are "closed": the limbs drawn in to protect the centreline and also to maintain balance. Generally, the hands do not move beyond the vertical circle that is described by swinging the arms in front, with the hands crossed at the wrists. To reach outside this area, footwork is used.

One subtle advantage of attacking the centreline is force redirection, or rather the lack of it. Hitting someone on the side (for example the shoulder) will cause the recipient's body to twist, harmlessly dissipating a portion of the attacking energy. Hitting someone in the centre causes more of the energy to be transmitted to the body. The closer the line of force is to the centre of mass, the less torque, and thus less rotation, result.