Tenets of Wing Chun include practicality, efficiency and economy of movement. Wing Chun techniques emphasize these tenets to maintain its ideals on effectiveness.
Wing Chun believes in using the least amount of required force in any fighting situation. It believes properly timed positioning and practical movements can and should be used to defeat an opponent. This is achieved through balance, body structure, and relaxation.
Most Wing Chun attacks take the straightest possible path to the target based on the concept that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Primary targets all lie along the centerline, an imaginary vertical line bisecting the opponent's vitals (throat, heart, stomach, groin). The Wing Chun punch is delivered centrally from the practitioner's chest rather than diagonally from the shoulders in the first two forms. This helps teach the centerline concept. In the later forms, the punch is delivered diagonally from the shoulder to the centerline. This is because the distance is shorter than bringing the hand from the shoulder, to the center of the chest, and then down the centerline at the opponent.