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Wing Chun, as a combative martial art, is ultimately a way of training your mind and body to work in unison to give you advantage over an opponent in a fight.

The three empty-hand forms (Sil Lim Tao, Chum Kiu and Biu Jee) develop the body control and co-ordination to use your body structure to deliver maximum power.  Chi Sao allows you to develop the sensitivity in the arms of using the tools and techniques you have learned in the forms.  These alone will not make you a great fighter – your opponent will not stay still and engage in friendly arm-rolling….instead, you will need to bring the skills you have learned into a dynamic, changing interplay between you and your opponent.    How you bring your skills to the fight are covered here in what is termed the principles of combat.

 In Wing Chun, there are 5 main principles of combat:

1. Assuming structure
2. Intercepting
3. Breaking an opponent’s structure
4. Chasing
5. Adjustment

Assuming Structure

All martial arts generally adopt a pre-fighting position or on-guard stance that practitioners assume before engaging their opponent. Some of these positions are open, others are closed.  Bai Jong in Wing Chun is different – it is used as a reference point rather than as a fighting posture.    Bai Jong is a non-verbal readiness, a transitory position and the means of preparing for an attack.

This readiness includes many elements which happen simultaneously including assuming a calm and reflective attitude, focusing on the center-line (Chung Sum Sin) and mutual center-line (Chung Sin).  The correct “rooted” structural position of the stance is assumed with a mental focus on maintaining the plane of the shoulders and the hips perpendicular to the center-line between yourself and the opponent – positioning yourself so you have the best anatomical advantage / tools at your disposal to use on your opponent.

In Bai Jong you maintain an “asking hand” and “guard hand” – the asking hand is the hand that asks your opponent a question.  The guard hand is the hand that protects you when your opponent answers that question. Based on where your intention is, either hand can be an asking hand or a guard hand.  Initially, the asking hand is the Man-Sau and the guard hand is the Wu-Sau, although this could equally apply to Fook-Sau, Cross Tan-Sau, Bong-Sau etc.

The Man-Sau / Wu-Sau position acts like a target to the opponent (referred to as “facing”) and is used to protect the centre-line and maintain control of the inside and outside gates.  

Intercepting

A central theme to Wing Chun is Jeet  – meaning to intercept.  This refers to being proactive, thinking ahead to close-off an opponent’s ability to continue; deliberately placing your body in front of the opponent so as to limit their next motions.  The key when intercepting is to recognize the signs before an action has been delivered.

When not in contact with an opponent you must engage properly; to effectively use your structure and position to your advantage and disadvantage your opponent.  Learn to engage when an opponent is preparing, developing, extending, withdrawing, or in a transitory phase:  (1) Engage on Preparation: this is to enter just as an opponent prepares to attack you, (2) Engage on Development: this is to enter as the opponent initially delivers the attack, at which time they have not built-up sufficient momentum, power and extension to strike you, (3) Engage on Extension: this is to enter using the opponent’s full power, extension, momentum, and inertia against them, (4) Engage on Withdrawal: this is to enter when an opponent has withdrawn an attack that has missed or been deflected from connecting with its target.  (5) Engage on Response Check: after an opponent has delivered an attack – an excellent time to enter and counter-attack.

A Response Check relates to feeling the opponents intentions.  There are typically three ways to inquire as to an opponent’s intentions: (1) when sticking to the opponent, (2) when pinning or trapping the opponent, and (3) when setting-up or guiding the opponent.  In all three cases, the key is to apply forwarding pressure into order to get feedback as to how your opponent will react.

Breaking the Opponent’s Structure

Breaking the opponent’s structure is central to successfully applying Wing Chun in combat. This is what we refer to as Por Jung Sien (breaking the center of gravity or center-line) or Chum Kiu (sinking the opponent’s structure).  The aim is to break the line of the spinal column, or what we refer to as the center-line (Chung Sun Sim).   We do this by distorting or twisting this plane, thus breaking your opponent’s center of gravity, leaving their structure vulnerable to attack.  When we have destroyed the opponent’s base of attack, they cannot attack us anymore. This is what is meant by breaking the opponent’s structure.

In Wing Chun, we seek to destroy the opponent’s structure through constant forward pressure, or “crowding.” In Wing Chun, you want to constantly pressure your opponent, crowding his motions. Don’t allow your opponent to fully extend their blows, reaching maximum power or extension – move into their space when they retreat.   We can also break the structure by pushing or pulling and setting them up with strikes of our own.

Chasing

Chasing in Chinese is  Jui  – meaning to chase after.  Chasing is an intermediary movement designed to follow and cut-off an opponent’s movement and escape or flight – to continue and carry the battle to them.   When you have acquired a target, you must constantly seek to attain that goal.  You are chasing the opportunity to break the opponent’s structure and seek the advantage in positioning.  It is easier to move yourself than your opponent, except when they are retreating, or when you have already broken their forward inertia and have replaced it with backward inertia. The goal of chasing is to pursue the positional advantage, opening in an opponent’s structure, an opportunity to capture or control the line, knock your opponent off balance or to keep your proper facing and positioning.

Adjustment

Adjustment is the opposite of chasing – it is when there is a danger of having your structure broken.   In this situation you have to adjust your steps accordingly.  In Chinese this is called Wui Ma, which literally means “returning step.”   Although technically there is no retreating / stepping back away from an attack in Wing Chun adjustment is used to strategically re-group.  Adjusting the step is simply used as a better positioning devise for a in which you may re-assume a Bai Jong, changing and returning to the center-line (Chung Sin).

Conclusion

The five main principles of Wing Chun are central to its effectiveness as a fighting style.  The first three principles of assuming structure, interception and destroying the opponent’s center-line are the core for facing and stopping an attack.  If these are successful, there is no need for the last two principles – to adjust or chase the opponent.   These five principles offer an effective way of developing correct timing and positioning – key fighting tools in combat.

Copyright @ Craig Sands 2013