Wing Chun kuen san ying (body structure) strives to achieve several important goals. It works off simple, natural, geometrical shapes that can be reflexively assumed and easily maintained, even during stressful situations like combat (where more complicated mechanics can break down). Utilizing the concepts of the meridian line, the body is positioned so that it closes off direct access, obstructing the opponent before they begin (increasing the effort and time it takes for attacks). This skeletal alignment also naturally disperses incoming force, reducing the need for muscle movement (making responses faster and less tiring). These enable the practitioner to work as little as possible while forcing the opponent to work as much as possible.

While each individual motion will have its own unique characteristics, there are several overall structural principles that can generally be applied to most movements. It should be remembered that positions are always relative and depend on the build of the individual involved.

Lower Body

The ha san (lower body) is often referred to as ma. Although frequently translated as “stance”, ma is actually the word for “horse”. This reveals a dynamic rather then static nature. In Wing Chun kuen the horse should actively clamp like flexible steel and move like the wheels of a cart. It is the connection between the ground (the source of power in Chinese martial arts) and the upper-body. When standing it serves to root the practitioner to the ground. If an opponent pushes, he or she pushes the ground. If he or she pulls, he or she pulls the ground. When moving, the lower body functions like a spatula or a cow-pusher to disrupt, uproot, and send off an opponent.

Point the feet inward and grab with the toes. While standing, the feet are the ultimate connection between the body and the ground. The converging nature of the feet creates an internal rotation in the horse and aids in stability. The grabbing action of the toes helps with rooting.

1. Lower the posture and clamp the knees. Lowering the posture aids stability and helps ensure a rooted horse. Clamping the knees involves rotating them inward and closing them to one-fist distance. This provides a solid, pyramid-like structure for training and can help in the channeling of power from the ground. The two work in concert, however, as the knees are brought close together not so much by horizontally pressing them in as by sinking the posture to adduct them.
2. Tuck the hips under. The hips tuck under, joining the upper and lower bodies together. This is important in order to create the connection between the ground and the torso and to project power through that connection.
3. Drawn the anus in. Drawing in the anus helps to connect both the ren and du mai points, completing the microcosmic orbit.

Upper Body

The seung san (upper body) forms the link between the bridge arms and the horse. It should be sunken and relaxed. If it becomes tense, power will not be able to flow freely. When still it is said to be neutral like a standing crane. When in contact, the expansion and contraction of the torso (intercostals, chest, etc.) also works to generate and disperse certain forms of power.

1. Straighten the back. In general the back is kept vertical, leaning neither forward nor backward. This neutral posture is in keeping with Wing Chun kuen’s concept of the center. In application, it works with the rest of the torso, expanding and contracting when expressing or receiving power.
2. Relax the chest and abdomen. The stomach and chest are not tensed but naturally relaxed and sunken. As Wing Chun kuen can boil down to a game of seconds and inches, the relaxed body can react more quickly and the sunken posture can provide a slight advantage in reach (keeping the body a little further back).
3. Straighten the head. Since the head can weigh a fair amount, having it droop forward or back can affect balance. With the head in line with the upper and lower body, uniformity of structure is maintained allowing for proper alignment when standing and moving.

Bridge Arms

Kiu sao (bridge arms), sometimes shortened to simply kiu (bridges) or sao (hands or arms) are so named in Southern Chinese martial arts because they are the most common tools used to contact the opponent. Thus, the arms form the bridge between the practitioner and their target. Like the torso, the bridges are relaxed and adaptable (moving, it is sometimes said, like swimming dragons.)

1. Hang the shoulders. The shoulders should remain relaxed. Tense shoulders will stop the transfer of power from the ground and cause the body to rely on local arm power alone.
2. Close the elbows. Wing Chun kuen does not flare the elbows but keeps them closed towards the meridian line. This means that in most situations, the elbows are kept down and in near the body. The exact placement will vary (depending on the situation.) Keeping the elbow joint pointing down ensures a straight punch that is more difficult for an opponent to turn with or deflect from the outside, or to jam or lock. Keeping the elbows in minimizes exposed areas, reducing the opponent’s chance of stealing a strike. Furthermore, a flared elbow requires local arm muscle to maintain its structure. Closed elbows, on the other hand, put the entire body mass directly behind the punch. This allows the arm to remain relaxed and yet move with even greater power.
3. Extend the elbows. When the bridges go out the elbows are not restrained against the torso but move to a position roughly one-fist distance in front of the body. This is done both to increase the structural integrity of the arms and to prevent an opponent from using the bridges to lever the body.
4. Bend the elbows. The elbow should usually form an obtuse angle (greater then 90°). With a lesser angle, the bridge loses structural integrity and can be collapsed by an opponent. The angle should not be so great, however, that the arm begins to straighten. A straight arm can be slipped under or around, and can be more easily jammed and locked. Even with motions like the thrusting punch or darting fingers, the arms extend for only the instant in which power is applied, relaxing and naturally bending again immediately thereafter.
5. Center the wrists. The wrists tend to maintain a position along the meridian line. As with the elbow, this is both the simplest and most direct route to the opponent and allows the body’s full structure to be behind the hand. Oftentimes, the fingers will also be placed on the mutual meridian line, pointing intently towards the opponent. This serves to both create a threatening presence (like a snake about to strike) and to ensure proper dominance of the position.

Wing Chun kuen is not a technical style, it is a conceptual system. More then a set combination of poetic movements it is an ingenious index and guide to the core principles of Southern Chinese martial arts. The ideas are what are important since from them come the many individual applications and implications. Rather then forcing a practitioner to spend vast amounts of time repeating large numbers of fixed patterns it allows them to economically practice a few root points that can be applied in almost limitless ways. This maximizes training time and means that the art is not bound to material but can develop and grow as far as the practitioner’s intelligence and devotion allows. Body structure is a simple, yet integral part of this.

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