In this article you will learn basic Wing Chun training techniques.

There are some Wing Chun drills, but these techniques don’t come from any specific Wing Chun lineage. Rather, it is an overview of some fundamental Wing Chun techniques so you can get a feel for this martial art.

It includes stance, Wing Chun blocks and punches, basic Wing Chun kicks and other fundamentals.

If you do some Wing Chun exercises in this article and you like what you learn, then you can take classes or self-train with this Wing Chun book.

Wing Chun martial arts is a close-combat Kung Fu style which focuses on taking out your opponent as fast as possible.

As far as traditional martial arts goes, it was one of the most practical for self-defense in its time, and is still popular for this same reason today.

Wing Chun Kung Fu is also highly adaptable for all people since it values timing and structure rather than speed and strength. It means anyone can train in it - big and small - young and old.

One of my favorite things about Wing Chun is that it takes a relatively short time to learn. Only a few years. Of course, to become a “master” would take much longer.

Centerline Principle

The center-line principle is a core concept in Wing Chun Kung Fu. You want to protect your own center-line while controlling your opponent’s. You do this with footwork. Understanding the center-line will allow you to instinctively know where your opponent is.

Your centerline is an imaginary line drawn vertically down the center of your body. All vital organs are near the center of the body. Keep it away from your opponent by angling it away from him/her.

In a real fight you will probably not adopt this exact Wing Chun posture but it is a good fundamental stance for correct application of techniques when learning.

This is a standard Wing Chun neutral stance and is a starting position for upcoming exercises.

To adopt this Wing Chun stance, start in the half squat. Whilst keeping your feet in the same spot, turn on them so that one leg is in front of the other.

Put your hands up to around chest height. Whichever leg is forward most, the same hand is also forward most.

Your rear leg supports most of your body’s weight, approximately 70% of it. You should be able to lift your lead foot into the air if needed, e.g., for kicking. Keep your arms slightly bent.

Learning the correct way to switch sides helps to build strength in the legs, gets you familiar with how to turn your body, and introduces the correct use of weight distribution which helps with stability and increasing power in your strikes.

Start in the fighting stance.

Correct footwork is very important. Without it you will become unbalanced and your techniques will lose effectiveness.

The primary use of footwork is to control distance. Knowing when and how to close and gain distance allows you to effectively attack and defend. You want to attack without getting hit. When your opponent moves back, you can move forward and vise-verse.

There is no need to rush in all the time. Be smart. Always consider distance.

The actual distance you step forward will depend on the amount of distance you want to cover. The shorter the distance the more stable you will be. A half step is good for practice.

From the fighting stance step forward with your lead leg about half a step. Put weight on your lead leg and slide your rear leg up.

Learning correct technique in throwing a single punch introduces many important Wing Chun concepts including body alignment, weight distribution, changing hands, correct striking technique, balance, etc.

When striking your limb should never become fully straightened. This is true for all Wing Chun hand strikes and kicks. Not only is the shock bad for your elbows and knees, you will also be more likely to miss.

Start in the half squat position with your hands up and your arms relaxed.

Punch out with your lead hand. As you do so, tilt your body and turn slightly so most your weight is on your rear leg.

Notice the line of the body. You are angling out but punching to the center. Shifting your weight generates power and also places you out of your opponent’s attack line.

Your rear hand is your guard.

In this section you will learn some Wing Chun basic blocks.

Wing Chun Tan Sau

This lesson teaches the basic application of Tan Sau (dispersing hand), a Wing Chun arm and hand position primarily used as Wing Chun Hand blocks. It emphasizes the use of the body to do the work as opposed to just the hand.

It also introduces grabbing, the counterattack, and the concept of telegraphing.

Wing Chun defense deflects attacks as opposed to direct force-on-force. This allows the weaker person to gain leverage over a stronger opponent.

Tan Sau is a good way to deal with mid-level straight attacks.

Begin in the half-squat position with your hands up. Move your palm up and out from your center. Your elbow should end up about a fist-and-a-half length away from your body.

Turn your whole body to the side. Your hand and body turns together and your waist does the work, not your arm. Put your other hand inside, ready for defense

Wing Chun Lap Sau Exercise

The Lap Sau exercise (pulling hand) drill is one of a few basic Wing Chun speed drills.

It has several lessons. For example, it is an introduction to Wing Chun hand trapping with its grabbing and pulling.

Lap Sau is also a Wing Chun hand conditioning. Doing it will get you used to slapping your opponents strikes away.

It is important to remember that this is a training drill. You need to work together to make it work. It is not about beating your partner. It is about understanding Wing Chun Hand movements and the flow of energy between you and your training partner.

Begin in Bong Sau and have your partner place his/her arm on top of yours. Grab each-others wrists. It is important that you lock your elbows together.

Pull down your opponent’s arm by the hand.

The stomp kick, sidekick, and front kick are fundamental Wing Chun kicking forms. This lesson teaches how to do these three basic kicks on a single spot. It helps to improve balance, body position, leg strength and technique.

Start from the half squat position and then turn into the switching side’s position with approximately 70% of your weight on your rear leg.

Raise your rear leg so your knee is parallel to the floor.

Angle your foot out slightly as you kick your foot out. The sole of your foot is what would hit the target. The target is your opponent’s thigh or knee. Do not straighten your leg fully, i.e., your knee should not “lock” into place.

This is the stomp kick.

This Wing Chun elbow form will help increase response time, muscle memory, etc.

Your partner comes in to elbow. Step back and use your hand to defend. This stepping back helps to absorb the Wing Chun Elbow energy. If you do not step back, you will probably get hurt.

Your other hand then comes from underneath.

Mostly what these Wing Chun videos show is that when pitted against other pure martial arts, Wing Chun doesn’t fair too badly. But against an opponent that knows modern MMA, Wing Chun in a real fight is not practical.

These days, people take techniques from a variety of martial arts and combine them into street fighting that works. This is what you should do too if your aim is to learn practical self-defense.

Of course, if you want to learn a traditional martial art for all the other reasons people like to study martial arts, then Wing Chun is one of my favorites.

Anyway, this playlist includes:

Now you have seen a few of the fundamentals of Wing Chun. It is not much in the big scheme of things, but you can put together a basic Wing Chun workout with what is in this article.

If you want more Wing Chun practice lessons, I recommend Sam Fury’s Basic Wing Chun Training. It has many more Wing Chun drills and shows how to apply them in real life self-defense situations.

Get your copy today.

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