Positional advantage is a combative position relative to an opponent. It is used extensively to describe a situation of significant tactical advantage over an opponent in open-hand conflict (i.e. without weapons) in William Cheung's Traditional Wing Chun Kung Fu and Ian Protheroe's Classical Wing Chun.Positional Advantage
In physical altercations, positional advantage is significant because a defender who has attained positional advantage: *is not as open to an attack from the attacker's rear hand *may control the attacker's lead limbs (one arm and one leg) *is in range to attack or defend both hands *is able to redirect their opponent's force In the words of

Sifu Shifu () in Mandarin, or sifu in Cantonese, or sai hu in Hokkien, is a title for, and the role of, a skillful person or a master. The character 師/师 means "skilled person" or "teacher," while 傅 means "tutor" and 父 means "father." Though ...

Ian Protheroe, "as long as your strongest side is facing your opponent's weakest side, you have the advantage".Ian Protheroe ''Wing Chun Theory and Composition'', 1998, p.47 Although positional advantage has been adopted specifically by Classical and Traditional Wing Chun practitioners, the term is applicable to all martial styles, both with and without weapons. Related concepts include centre and central line theory. These terms are used to describe many different things by Wing Chun practitioners (see the Wikipedia entry for

Wing Chun Wing Chun (Chinese: 詠春 or 咏春, lit. "singing spring"), sometimes spelled Ving Tsun, is a concept-based fighting art, form of Southern Chinese kung fu and close-quarters system of self-defense. In Mandarin, it is pronounced "Yong Chun. ...

for more information).

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