The origins of Wing Chun can be traced back to the Ching Dynasty in China over 250 years ago. During this time 90% of the Chinese race, the Hons, were unjustly ruled by the remaining 10%, the Manchus. The Manchus placed unjust laws over the Hons and banned them from the use of weapons and Kung Fu training. The Hons began training a revolutionary army in the art of Kung Fu in the Shaolin temple. Because the traditional Shaolin system took 15 to 20 years to learn, five Shaolin grandmasters met to discuss the merist of each of their styles. They chose the most efficient techniques from each style and designed a system that would take a shorter period of time, 5 years, to learn. This system was named Wing Chun which meant Hope for the Future. Before the system could be put into practice the Shaolin temple was raided and burnt. Of the five masters, only one survived, a Shaolin nun called Ng Mui. Ng Mui passed her knowledge of the system onto a young orphan girl whom she named Wing Chun. In turn Wing Chun passed it onto her husband and through the years the martial art became known as Wing Chun.

Wing Chun operates on a number of key principles. These include:
1. Avoiding fighting force with force. It focuses on deflecting any attack rather than trying to stop a blow dead in its tracks. Because deflection is used as its main method of defense, foot work is very important.
2. Using two arms at the same time. That is one arm is defending against an attack while counter attacking at the same time.
3. Adopting a central guard position which forces the opponent to attack or strike in arch. This gives the practitioner the advantage of striking the opponent's center.
4. Using linear movements when striking providing efficient economy of movement.
5. Focusing on the lead elbow and knee for defending against an attack. For example, the elbow will always indicate the movement of a punch and act as forewarning of the attackers intention.
6. Relying on the concept of contact reflexes to assist the Wing Chun practitioner in interrupting the attackers movement and launching a counter attack.

In its most basic form Wing Chun is widely known for its vertical punches. As opposed to other martial art styles, Wing Chun punches are thrown with the elbow down in front of the body and the fist held vertical. Aside from being a direct strike, having the elbow behind the fist during the strike means the punch is supported by the strength of the entire arm providing the greatest impact at a close range.

Wing Chun Chi is also known for a training method, called Chi Sao, a drill which involves two practitioners working together designed to improve contact reflexes. During combat, after the execution of a block or attack, a temporary contact is established. By having good contact reflexes the opponents next move can be detected allowing the Wing Chun practitioner to launch a counter attack.

A not so commonly known technique of Wing Chun is the Entry Technique. Used to bridge the gap, the Wing Chun practitioner enters into the range of the opponent raising the knee to protect the mid section while thrusting out the lead hand. This technique is quite effective for getting past an opponent's kicks and punches and provides the opportunity to launch a series of close range Wing Chun attacks.

More advanced Wing Chun techniques include finger jabs, elbows strikes and knees. However these techniques are beyond the scope of this article and have been mentioned purely for completeness sakes. While Wing Chun is considered by many as quite a simple art, it is extremely effective at close range and complements longer range fighting arts.