A a student of Wing Chun kung fu one can make great use of simple physics.
Force can only have one direction at any given time. It can be deflected and change direction. This is a form of deceleration.
Remember the feeling of being a passenger in a car that is being driven roughly. When cornering you are being pushed around in the seat, mostly towards the outside of the corner. The harder the car turns, the more you’re pushed to the outside (if you turn left you are pushed to the right of the car).
Now imagine making a slap block or Pak Sao against a straight punch. If you slap and push a long way you are using more energy and causing more ‘cornering’ by the fist. In this case you are working harder by absorbing (or 'opposing') more energy from the strike and moving further than you have to. Traditional Wing Chun training teaches that the Pak Sao proceed only as far as is necessary to avoid being hit. Any more is waste. Recall the Win Chun principle stating that we do not choose to oppose force with force.
Similarly, striking can be made more efficient with an understanding of force and lines. A strike made along a circular path is wasting time and energy by constantly cornering. It is also causing a complicated change in the balance of the practitioner. Traditional Wing Chun teaches linear striking. Both these examples relate to the principle of “Economy of Movement”.
Linear Strikng Principle
The shortest path between two points is a straight line. Angular or round strikes are inefficient and expose more vulnerabilities. Correct Wing Chun training teaches strikes that follow a linear path. The straight line means that the time required to execute the strike is at a minimum. Force can be generated from the feet and transmitted through the body (with correct footwork and posture) most efficiently. This results in fast, powerful and interruptible striking.
Position and Footwork
One’s position is controlled by the footwork. This is very important. If you try to alter your position without using any footwork your balance will be compromised and targets exposed. If you use poor footwork the result will be the same or worse.
Your position determines your range. Correct Wing Chun Wooden Dummy (Mook Yan Jong) training teaches good positioning to achieve advantageous range. Then there are the principles to determine footwork that provide for this good positioning as well as providing advantage in the lower gate, defending against leg strikes, allowing for good acceleration, balanced kicks and effective chi gerk (sticky legs) training.
When facing an opponent in parallel stances one should position one’s front foot to the outside of the opponent’s foot. In crossed stances one should position the front foot to the inside of the opponent’s foot. You will see the effects of these in considering blind-side theory of Traditional Wing Chun (refer to WWCKFA schools and documents).
Good positioning allows consistent and highly effective techniques that use two arms simultaneously. Imaginary lines that represent angles around the body help to define the positioning. Imagine a view of the practitioner form above and imagine lines coming out from the center like a clock or compass. These are the lines that will represent:
- The First Center; the Center Line
- The Second Center; The Central Line
- The Third Center; the Center of Confrontation, and finally
- The Fourth Center
Traditional Wing Chun masters will smile warmly if you ask them about the fourth center. To find training in these principles join the World Wing Chun Kung Fu Association .
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