The key foundations to training in Wing Chun are 1: Stance- Yi Ji Kim Yeung Ma, 2: The Single Centre Line Punches- Chi Ng Kun, and 3: the Turning Stance- Jun Ma. 

With only mediocre ability in any of these three areas a student will only ever achieve superficial Wing Chun, no matter how long they train at it.

In the traditional way of training (which the head instructor and others in the academy have done) each of these components are trained at individually for months. That is to say the student would open their Yi Ji Kim Yeung Ma and maintain it for a couple of hours at a time for about six months and not do any other training. The same practice applies for the Single Centreline Punches and Jun Ma. 

This kind of training is, possibly, a little extreme for many people, and it may not really be necessary for one to have good functional Wing Chun, provided they train hard when they are training. However if one wants the best quality Wing Chun, the traditional training is still the best way to train. 

It takes a great deal of time, effort and dedication, often more than many people have to dedicate to learning Wing Chun, however it is possible. 

The main point to take from it is that the importance of training in those three things, out of the entire system, cannot be overstated. Yi Ji Kim Yeung Ma, Chi Ng Kun and Jun Ma can never be “good enough” there is always room to improve those three aspects of Wing Chun.

Once students have gained acceptable proficiency in their Yi Ji Kim Yeung Ma, their Chi Ng Kun and their Jun Ma they will gradually be introduced to what we call our “Foundation Training Set” of techniques which is a group of fifteen solo and/or partner drills that consist of repetitive movements drawn from Wing Chun’s forms. 

These techniques build, one from the other, on various aspects of speed, strength, power, coordination and sensitivity by isolating important techniques and repeating them thus allowing students the time and the training to ingrain the things that will underlie the rest of their Wing Chun.

The Single Centreline Punches, are the basis of all arm techniques, and the kind of striking power one learns in the punches is basis for all kicking techniques that a student will learn as well. 

These punches, if used in a practical self-defence situation are not particularly practical; however what one gets from training at them is irreplaceable in terms of self-defence. 

Through training at the punches one gains the correct kind of striking force that we wish to cultivate in Wing Chun, sometimes called “Inch Force” and we learn to focus it and strike with it in the most effective way. 

The punches have an impact upon Wing Chun’s kicking techniques, as well as the leg blocking techniques, since they use exactly the same kind of striking force. 

Additionally, through training at the Single Centreline Punches students also learn to coordinate their arms and to apply the striking force through both arms at the same time, this feeds directly into a student’s ability to affect simultaneous attack and counter. In short, the Chi Ng Kun forms the foundation of everything a student of Wing Chun will do with their arms, and quite a bit of what they will do with their legs. 

In short, the Chi Ng Kun forms the foundation of everything a student of Wing Chun will do with their arms, and quite a bit of what they will do with their legs.