I can see what you’re saying Pacman. Though I don’t consider either thing a weakness per say. I look at it this way: if someone is looking to hit me he’s got to come close enough to me (and cross the bridge) to do so. Once an attack enters my threat envelope I can use wing chun or any other fighting strategy I want. Because of this, the YJKYM stance wouldn’t be any more a detriment at that range relative to any other range because it won’t be used until the person is close enough to be a threat.
The other thing too, is while in the past many have touched on the ranges of hand-to-hand combat, there really is one range—that is the range by which an attack can reach you and you can be hurt. Once there a person is a threat and should be dealt with. The other ranges that people might discuss (e.g. the kicking, punching, trapping, clinching, and ground fighting) are merely subsets of the overall fighting envelope.
The other idea about punching, I think I see what you’re saying…and I agree that the word trade-off is a better descriptor. But is it the ideal one?
Being balanced and rooted in your techniques will enable one to drive from the ground, whereby the hip is always an inherent component. The wing chun punch to me does use the body—but in a different way than say boxing. Because a major component of body unity deals with mating the shoulders to the hips, the hands to the feet, and the elbows to the knees—wing chun punches should be able to achieve decent power through the (short) movement through full coordination of the joints and movement. I know it’s not the same as my cross (see long drawn out thread on this) but it still has effectiveness.
"I don't know if anyone is known with the art of "sitting on your couch" here, but in my eyes it is also to be a martial art.
It is the art of avoiding dangerous situations. It helps you to avoid a dangerous situation by not actually being there. So lets say there is a dangerous situation going on somewhere other than your couch. You are safely seated on your couch so you have in a nutshell "difused" the situation."