It is widely believed that the Wing Chun Kung Fu system was developed by a Buddhist nun named Ng Mui, trained in Shaolin Kung Fu, over 300 years ago in China. She synthesized all of the martial arts she had learned at the Shaolin Temple down to a simple and direct fighting style that anyone, regardless of size, could use. Her first pupil was a young woman named Yim Wing Chun. The nun named her style of Kung Fu after this student.
Wing Chun, along with other styles of Chinese Kung Fu were closely guarded secrets, usually passed on only to family members or close friends - and even then, only after years of proving themselves worthy. Until almost forty years ago, no foreigner had ever seen the Wing Chun fighting system.
In modern times, Grand Master Yip Man was the foremost authority on this very effective martial art. He began his Wing Chun training at a very early age. As his "sticky hands" (chi sao) developed, he became famous for his sensitivity and the uncanny ability to predict what his opponent was going to do next. To many westerners, Yip Man is most famous for being Bruce Lee's martial arts instructor.
While several martial arts practice distance fighting, not many of them specialize in close quarters fighting. Wing Chun practitioners are trained to fight against an opponent who is "in your face". This style is famous for "trapping" an opponent's limbs and redirecting their momentum to neutralize the attack. The Wing Chun fighter often simultaneously traps and strikes the opponent, a technique unlike most other fighting styles.