Safe to Hit Low I have come across some people who like to hit but low during Chī Sáu 黐手 and they do this because they cannot hit your face or chest. This is not good since your opponent can sometimes hit your face at the same time as you hit low. So you not hit […]
Holding Both Your Opponent’s Hands What is the best way to hold on to your opponent’s hands during Chī Sáu 黐手? If you are holding only one of their hands then your grip needs to be loose and you must not hold on for too long. Only hold them long enough to make contact with them. […]
Pulling Back the Hand Some people like to pull their hand back whenever they are grasped. This is actually not a good idea. Pulling away from your opponent’s hand means you do not want to be held down and so you try and pull your hand out. Whilst you are doing this it gives your […]
Staying Away from the Attack I have come across people who do not like to engage when they Chī Sáu. Every time they feel that an attack might come they stay away from the situation. This means we cannot interact in our Chī Sáu. Of course many people do not like to get hit, who […]
Kicking while doing Chī Sáu Sometimes we come across people who will try to kick us while we are practising Chī Sáu 黐手. Generally this is wrong. Why is it wrong? Chī Sáu should just involve the hands and not kicking, but it does not mean we should not use kicking techniques. If we want […]
Strong Hands When you do a lot of Chī Sáu 黐手 you can come across someone whose hands are so strong you cannot even move them. When this happens you can easily become intimidated or even scared. However, Wing Chun skill is designed to deal with strong people and in order to deal with it […]
Like to Páak Sáu 拍手 a Lot pt 2 If your opponent likes to use Páak Sáu 拍手 when we have one hand in contact, we can sometimes use Gūng Lihk 功力 in our Wuh Sáu and let them hit our forearm a couple of times without letting go of our Wuh Sáu. If our Gūng Lihk is strong […]
Like to Páak Sáu 拍手 a Lot pt 1 Some people like to Páak Sáu a lot during Chī Sáu 黐手. Páak Sáu is a very powerful attacking hand, but to use it you must feel that your opponent’s hand is tense this also means that we must not be tense ourselves when we Chī […]
Rolling slowly in Chī Sáu 黐手 If somebody likes to roll slowly in their Chi Sáu 黐手 it can mean they are very good and have very good sensitivity. Anybody who has good skill usually rolls more slowly because they want to find out where their opponent’s energy is and whether they are strong or soft […]
Rolling Fast in Chī Sáu 黐手 Another situation I have come across is people who like to roll very fast when you start to Chī Sáu 黐手 with them. They roll their hands up and down very quickly and do not change inside or outside very much. This is because to change the inside or the outside […]
Less Energy and Time A good martial art always uses less energy against someone stronger than you. With regards to fighting techniques, there are many, but a lot of them use a lot of energy in order to win or might put us in a bad situation, for example grabbing someone on the floor. If […]
Two Hands Against One If our opponent is taller with longer arms and very strong, we should first keep a good distance, but we cannot just always stay away and never attack. Of course, if we know we are not as good as them staying away to be safe is important, but we still need […]
Tall and Long Arms In Chī Sáu, if your opponent is taller than you and has long arms, what should you do? My Sīfú, Grandmaster Ip Chun, is only five foot two, he is a very small person. In the past someone asked my Sīfú the very same question in one of his seminar in […]
Safety on the Street How about the situation where someone suddenly attacks us out on the street? Realistically, if that person is very close to us and suddenly attacks us, we cannot defend it. So it is very important to keep a safe distance as soon as you are aware that someone intends to attack […]
Hit Us Suddenly at the Beginning of Chī Sáu During Chī Sáu 黐手I often come across people who I do not know very well and some who I have never met before. They may be beginners or may have done some other martial arts or even have done Wing Chun somewhere before. Once we touch […]
When We Hit Them, They Hit Back In Chī Sáu 黐手 it is common to come across the situation where you hit your opponent but they still hit you back. When this happens to you, you feel that it is not fair. Yes, you are right, it is not fair because you are not really […]
Be Gentle and Light First From my experience when we begin Chī Sáu 黐手 we always start off being gentle, light and quiet. Chī Sáu is not fighting. My Sīfú 師父, Grandmaster Ip Chun 葉準師父, always says Chī Sáu is partner training where we learn the Wing Chun way and skill. It is preparing us to fight […]
Quiet, Gentle and Still Everybody has been studying Wing Chun long enough has gained their own experience. All this experience is valuable. Sometimes we think that what we are doing is right, but a few years later, after more mistakes made and more lessons learnt, we might change our minds and realise it is not quite […]
Patience Studying Wing Chun requires patience. Many people just study for one or two years, some might just study for a few months and then stop. This is because they think that Wing Chun is not powerful enough and they want to be able to fight immediately. Yes, you can learn Wing Chun and fight after […]
Hitting the Right Way Over my 40 years of training Wing Chun I have seen many people easily give up because they do not believe their Wing Chun will work during a fight. What they forget is they are still learning and that it takes time. If we do not have enough time to practice […]
Think About the Problem The second important thing studying Wing Chun is to Chī Sáu 黐手 with as many people as possible. I have had very good opportunities in the West to do this and have come across people of all sizes: tall, short, fast, slow, strong and tricky. Every time I Chī Sáu I have […]
My Sīfú Ip Chun 師父葉準 I have been studying and practicing with Wing Chun over 40 years, from the beginning when I did not understand Wing Chun, to confusion and finally understanding. It takes a long time but there is one very important thing that we need to get it right and to reach a high […]
When Should We Start Practising Kicking? There is another question I was asked in the seminar, “When should we start to practice kicking?” We should actually start practicing from the very beginning, but we should focus on developing the strength of a leg not actually kicking. Wing Chun does not suggest kicking higher than the […]
Should Wing Chun Have Iron Palm? At a seminar, somebody said to me, “I have read some old books on Wing Chun. One of the books it mentions, that in the past, people who studied Wing Chun also trained Iron Palm and Iron Fist. Why don’t we practice this?” This is an interesting question! So first […]
Ancestor Instruction IX pt II “Carry on our ancestors’ path.” As Wing Chun practitioners this is what we should do. “Strictly follow their instruction.” This is more difficult. Chinese actually says, to follow of the ancestors’ instructions with discipline, however I have translated it as strictly. No matter what, to tell somebody to do something strictly or […]
Ancestor Instruction 詠春祖訓 IX Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction IX says, “Carry on our ancestors’ path. Strictly follow their instruction 繼先緖 謹持祖訓.” “Carry on our ancestors’ path” means we need to think about everything we practice in Wing Chun. We need to memorise the Ancestor Instructions and be able to recite them off by heart, because they are […]
Ancestor Instruction 詠春祖訓 VIII pt2 Ancestor Instruction VIII, “Protect the weak and small. Use your Kung Fu skill in a good way with integrity 扶弱小 以武輔仁.” Anybody who loves Kung Fu and martial arts wants to use it to find out how good they are. It is true, when we are studying we do not […]
Ancestor Instruction 詠春祖訓 VIII pt1 Ancestor instruction VIII, “Protect the weak and small. Use your Kung Fu skill in a good way with integrity 扶弱小 以武輔仁.” This is very true, and is the right way to do things. If we have a good fighting skill we need to use it properly, just like a policeman […]
Ancestor Instruction 詠春祖訓 VII Pt 2 We should not use our skill to fight when we have a problem, we should be calm and gentle and so give other people a good image of what martial artist is like. A good martial artist should be educated and well read, reading booking on good morals, like […]
Ancestor Instruction 詠春祖訓 VII Pt 1 Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction VII is, “Be gentle when handling any events and situations 常處世態度温文.” Ancestor Instruction VI said, “Nourish you Qi, confrontations and fighting are forbidden 學養氣 戒濫鬥爭.” This is very good rule, as we have talked about before, because avoiding confrontation and fighting is a good thing. However, it is even better […]
Ancestor Instruction 詠春祖訓 VI pt2 Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction VI, “Nourish your Qi. Confrontation and fighting are forbidden 學養氣 戒濫鬥爭.” Many people, once they have learnt a martial art skill like to fight. Of course, martial arts are for fighting, but someone who knows a martial art has an advantage over someone who does not. […]
Ancestor Instruction 詠春祖訓 VI pt1 Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction VI, “Nourish your Qi. Confrontation and fighting are forbidden 學養氣 戒濫鬥爭.” The cultural Chinese attitude is to be a gentleman or a gentle person, that is to say someone who is educated and is nice to others. This is the main Confucius thought which has been taught […]
Ancestor instruction V 詠春祖訓 pt2 Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction V say, “Practise your skill regularly, keep your skill with you at all times 勤練習技不離身.” After practising daily our skill will develop and our Gūng Lihk 功力 will become strong. “Keep the skill with you at all times,” means we need to use it, but we […]
Ancestor instruction V 詠春祖訓 pt1 Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction V says, “Practise skill regularly, keep your skill with you at all times 勤練習技不離身.” Any skill we learn from our teacher must practise otherwise how can we learn? Bruce Lee would practise 500 punches and 500 kicks every day, as well as other techniques and training. This […]
Wing Ancestor Instruction IV – pt2 The second part of Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction IV says, “Protect the Jing and Shen 保守精神”. Protecting our Jing 精 and Shen 神 is important. Jing is our sexual energy, we say that no sexual addiction helps save our energy. Every time we have sex we will feel tired and many […]
Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction IV 詠春祖訓 – pt1 The fourth Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction says, “Control your passion (including sex). Protect your Jing and Shen (energy) 節色慾保守精神”. Chinese medicine always suggests controlling one’s passion, which also includes not having sex regularly particular when you are well. This is in order to save your energy because all these things […]
Ancestor Instruction III 詠春祖訓 – Pt2 The second part of the third Ancestor Instruction is, “Unite and enjoy being a group 團結樂羣.” As a group, a Wing Chun school under the same Sīfú 師父 we should unite and enjoy being together as a group. When we love Wing Chun training and have a good Sīfú who we […]
Ancestor Instructions III 詠春祖訓 – pt1 The third Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction is “Love your Kung Fu brothers and sisters, unite and enjoy being a group 愛同學團結樂羣.” Love your Kung Fu brothers and sisters, this means you should be very close, then your training will be more enjoyable and you will develop quicker. Whatever we are learning […]
Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction II 詠春祖訓 Pt 3 The last part of the second instruction is “Love your country and respect your parents愛國尊親” This is quite right. We should love whichever country we are from. In the past, when these instructions were written, they were of course talking about China. Every Chinese person should love […]
Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction II 詠春祖訓 Pt 1 The second ancestor instruction is “Understand loyalty and courtesy. Love your country and respect your parents 明禮義愛國尊親.” If you watch the Ip Man葉問movies or the Wong Fei Hung 黄飛鴻 movies we see that the master is always very gentle, polite and courteous. When we have a high […]
Wing Chun Ancestor Instruction I 詠春祖訓 Pt 2 Every Wu Guan 武館 or schools has its own rules and discipline that it follows. That is a basic requirement for a Wing Chun student. They should follow the rules otherwise the Sifu cannot teach them. For a student to learn they must listen and follow the […]
Wing Chun Ancestor Instructions I 詠春祖訓 1 Meng Zi 孟子 said, “No compass, no ruler you cannot make a circle and a square 無規矩不能成方圓”. To build a house, to make a table or a chair, we need the proper equipment in order to get all our measurements right. Our Wing Chun ancestors gave us nine […]
Instructions from Ancestors 祖訓 In the old, traditional times, families had, and some big families still have them today, instructions for the family. We call these Jia Xun (Gā Fan in Cantonese) 家訓 – Instructions from the Family Ancestors. These are guidelines for the family’s offspring to follow to show them how to be a […]
Double Bóng Sáu 雙膀手pt 6 When we are in Double Bóng Sáu 雙膀手, we can also change from soft to strong Dāi Bóng Sáu 底膀手, which is like the movement in Tsum Kìuh (Chahm Kìuh) 尋橋. When we feel that the opponent’s hands are soft, but we still have some strength in our forearms, we […]
Double Bóng Sáu 雙膀手 Pt5 When we are in a situation where we are using the Double Bóng Sáu 雙膀手, we need to make sure our hands are soft and sensitive. If our opponent does not do anything then we can change one hand to a Tāan Sáu 攤手 and at the same time turn […]
Double Bóng Sáu 雙膀手 Pt4 When we are in the Double Bóng Sáu 雙膀手 position most of the time the opponent will attack first because they know that our position is bad and that our defence will be weak. In the Period of the Three Kingdoms三國時代 a large strong army came to attack a city. […]
Double Bóng Sáu 雙膀手 Pt3 If our opponent only lightly touches our Double Bóng Sáu, we can move our palms to above their wrists and quickly Laap Sau 擸手 them, pulling them in towards us, a little like Jaht Sáu 窒手. This will make them loose their balance and we can quickly strike using Pek […]
Double Bóng Sáu 雙膀手 – Pt2 Since both hands fingers are face each other we cannot redirect the opponent’s energy to both sides, so the Soft Low Bóng Sáu has a square on position, face to face with the opponent and no Jyun Mah 轉馬. They are a bit like the Dai Bóng Sáu 底膀手 […]
Double Bóng Sáu 雙膀手 – Pt1 In Wing Chun training we use Bóng Sáu 膀手 regularly. The more we use it the more comfortable we are and the better we are at using the Bóng Sáu energy. During my early days of Wing Chun whenever I used Bóng Sáu it was always a single Bóng […]
Continuous Wùh Sāu 護手 When we are defending we can also continuously use Wùh Sāu 護手. When our opponent attacks us we stretch our our Wùh Sāu and this become Coeng Wùh Sāu長護手-Long Wùh Sāu. The close Wùh Sāu is replaced be the withdrawing front hand and so the Wùh Sāu swop over. Every time […]
Continuous Cùng Kyun 冲拳 When training Wing Chun there are many techniques that we can repeat many times. However, most of the time I do not suggest that you use them more than three times, but there is one technique that you can use more than three times and that is Cùng Kyun 冲拳 – […]
Gaan Sau 挌手 After we have learnt how to use Kwan Sau 綑手 we then need to know how to use Gaan Sau 挌手. When practicing the wooden dummy we use these two techniques in every section. Gaan Sau and Kwan Sau I like bothers. Kwan Sau comes from the Inside to defend our centre and Gaan Sau comes […]
Kwan Sau 綑手 In Chi Sau黐手, when we are being attacked, Kwan Sau 綑手 is one of the best techniques to us, although it requires a certain Gung Lihk to do well. Kwan Sau is formed using a Taan Sau攤手and a Low Bong Sau低膀手. Once they attack we use Taan Sau to block their front […]
Step Back 3 Times If during Chi Sau黐手 our partner is using a lot of force that we cannot control, the correct thing to do is step back. However, there is a limit to stepping back. We should not step back more than three times, otherwise the opponent will be able to predict our movements […]
Ordinary In martial arts we need a certain amount of strength and power. In Wing Chun this comes from the legs. We develop a strong root during Siu Lim Tao 小念頭 by training on two legs and also on one leg. This is how we develop our power. We do not need to do a […]
Punching Fast When studying Wing Chun there are many people who like to punch very fast, because Wing Chun is a fast skill. However, if we punch very fast, it does not actually mean that we can reach our opponents quickly. Bruce Lee said, “Boards don’t hit back!” This is quite true. Wooden boards and concrete […]
Turn the Front Foot I have also see many people step forwards with their front foot turned to the side, in the same way does in Jyun Ma 轉馬. This means that when they step it is like doing Waahng Maah 橫馬. However this means the body is facing to the side and so we cannot walk very quickly. With our position […]
Can’t Step Back Many people have said to me they have been told that Wing Chun does not step backwards. I have never heard that. My Sifu, Ip Chun 師父葉準, has never said that, and when he does Chi Sau 黐手 he always steps backwards more than forwards. So many people have said it to me though, but I cannot imagine when in a fight we cannot step backwards. Imagine a […]
Leaning Forwards when Attacking When we are attacking, whether it is in Chi Sau 黐手 or fighting, we must keep our weight on back leg. This is one of the principles of Wing Chun. Many beginners, when they are learning attacking techniques, for example punching, often lean forwards and we can see their weight is on the front leg and the heel of their back foot lifts […]
Holding on to a Seniors Hand A lot of people when they are doing Chi Sau黐手with someone who is more senior than them, like to grab and hold onto the seniors hand. This is a bad habit and all bad habits die hard. We must not get into bad habit when doing Chi Sau when […]
Turning Sideways During Chi Sau黐手 When practicing Chi Sau黐手 some people like to turn their body to the side. This means they have one leg forwards and one leg backward, one hand is more forward than the other and also the shoulders are not square. This causes an imbalance when rolling the arms as obviously one arm becomes longer than the other and whilst this may […]
Toes Out, Heels In We can easily just focus on our hands during Chi Sau, really we should focus more on our legs and this is the key to good Chi Sau. If we watch people doing Chi Sau, but instead of watching their hands you watch their legs, we can see who is good […]
Do Not Move Your Head Many beginners, when they start doing Chi Sau黐手, will move their head when they are attacked. Of course this is quite normal for a beginner as who is not afraid of being hit? However, in Wing Chun training we need to face it, even if the fist is very close […]
Bad Posture During Chi Sau黐手 there are some students who do not keep a good posture, most of them hunch their back because they are trying to keep their elbows in it and it is an easy mistake to arch the back. This is wrong and we should not allow our elbow position to affect keeping our back straight. If the back is not straight then we […]
Single and Double Hand Contact During Chi Sau黐手 some students always keep contact with one hand only and this is also a bad habit. They do this because they are afraid of being too close whilst doing Chi Sau. However what they forget Chi Sau is actually about close distance. When we have a long distance the opponent can use kicking, jumping, and long punches. When […]
Bad Inside and Outside Hands In Chi Sau we have Taan Sau 攤手 and Bong Sau 膀手, which are inside hands. We also have Fuk Sau伏手, which is an outside hand. During rolling hands we need to know how to change from the inside Taan Sau to the outside Fuk Sau. We also need to know how to change from the outside Fuk […]
Do Not Hit Back Another bad habit during Chi Sau黐手 is ego. When we practice Chi Sau we need to think of it as training so there are no winners or losers only improving together. If this is the case we do not need to worry about being hit. My Sifu, Grandmaster Ip Chun 師父葉準 says, “Without getting hit we […]
Step Back If our opponent makes us tense what should we do? The answer is we should use a foot work to step back and keep a distance so that they cannot get close to us. During double hand Chi Sau, a lot of students do not know what to do when they are attacked and their opponents Taan Sau攤手 or […]
Relaxation in Chi Sau Every time we Chi Sau we should try to relax. Naturally when we are fighting or in a situation where somebody is attacking us we will become tense. When studying Wing Chun we need to learn how to relax during these situations during the confusion and during the danger. Relaxation is the key for Wing Chun and for […]
Make your opponent Tense. I have come across many people who try and pull their hands out when they have been grabbed. This is also a very bad Chi Sau黐手 technique as the more you try to pull your hand out the more tension you will create in the body and the more tense you […]
Do Not Be Afraid If Your Hands Are Grabbed As I said last time, holding on to your opponent’s hands is a very bad habit in Chi Sau黐手. Having said that, from time to time we will hold our opponent’s hands, but we will not hold on for too long and we will also not hold […]
Holding the Hands In Chi Sau黐手 there are some bad hand techniques that will not lead us to a high level of skill. Some people feel afraid when they Chi Sau with seniors and this makes then tense and use a lot of strength and grab hold of the senior’s hand. This is a very […]
Do Not Hit Low I have been studying and practicing Wing Chun for over 40 years. During this time I have come across so many different hands. At the beginning of learning Chi Sau 黐手, I did Chi Sau like I was fighting, later I did Chi Sau like I was learning more about defence than attacking, much later I […]
Teui Ma 退馬 – pt 2 As we looked at last time, Teui Ma退馬 is the way of stepping backwards. When we step back we must never step back in a straight line, we must step back at an angle so your opponent cannot catch you. We can step back, to the left or the right, we […]
Teui Ma 退馬 – Part1 As we talked about last time, the first four methods of footwork in Wing Chun training are Jyun Ma轉馬, Waahng Ma橫馬, Jeun Ma進馬 and Teui Ma退馬. The first three are covered in Tsum Kiu尋橋and so this leaves on Teui Ma, which is stepping backwards. Because we do not have Teui Ma […]
7 Star Footwork 七星步法 When training Tsum Kiu (Chahm Kiuh)尋橋, we should concentrate on footwork as this is the main purpose of Tsum Kiu. In the form we are introduced to Jyun Ma轉馬, Waahng Ma橫馬and Jeun Ma進馬. However in Wing Chun training there are 7 different kinds of footwork which I gave names to in […]
Two Dai Bong Sau低膀手 When we practice Tsum Kiu尋橋 we learn to do the Dai Bong Sau低膀手 whilst we do the Jeun Ma進馬, in the third section. however when we continue practicing Wing Chun and go on to learn the Wooden Dummy 木人椿 we will learn another kind of Dai Bong and this time the technique is what we expect the Dai Bong […]
Dai Bong低膀 and Taan Sau 攤手 In Tsum Kiu in the sequence where do Dai Bon we also do Taan Sau. Do you know why we need to do it like this? No matter whether it is a normal Bong Sau膀手 or a Dai Bong Sau, it can be vulnerable to someone using Tok Sau托手. […]
Dai Bong Power In Tsum Kiu尋橋, after using Dai Bong低膀 we change to Taan Sau 攤手. As we step forwards we push with the Dai Bong and when we stop we change the Dai Bong to Taan Sau. This must happen in the correct way. As we start our Jeun Ma進馬 our palms turn up […]
Dai Bong低膀 When we are practising Tsum Kiu尋橋, whilst doing Jeun Ma進馬 we also use Dai Bong and Taan Sau攤手. This is the section after we do Dang Geuk蹬脚 and we start to walk using the Jeun Ma. The Dai Bong is unusual as it is strong whereas generally Bong Sau is soft, in particular the […]
Third Kick In Tsum Kiu (Chahm Kiuh) 尋橋 we kick three times. The first kick is after Jyun Ma轉馬 and Waahng Laahn Kuen橫欄拳, where we do Chaan Geuk鏟腳. The second kick is after Wang Ma, when we have withdrawn our fists and turn the body then we do the Dang Geuk蹬脚. The third one is the same Dang Geuk which we do after the […]
Dang Geuk 蹬脚 The second kick in Tsum Kiu尋橋 is Dang Geuk, this means straight bouncing out kick. It is like Jung Kuen衝拳, Wing Chun’s punch. This kick comes before Jeun Ma轉馬 and after we turn the body we lift the leg then kick out. That kicking out movement we call Dang蹬 in Chinese. When we use Dang Geuk the standing leg is […]
Chaan Geuk 鏟腳 In Tsum Kiu (Chahm Kiuh) 尋橋 there are two kinds of kicking techniques. The first is Chaan Geuk鏟腳 and the second is Dang Geuk蹬腳. We do Chaan Geuk when we are standing in Jyun Ma and holding Waahng Laahn Kuen. Chaan Geuk means shovel leg. The leg is like a shovel throwing soil from the ground into the air. […]
Feet Together In Tsum Kiu the sequence of Jeun Ma進馬, Taan Sau攤手, Dai Bong 低膀手 ends with both feet together after the 3 steps. Many people ask what this is for. The answer is actually it has no meaning it just makes the form tidy and neat. We should never put our feet together if we have to […]
Jeun Ma 進馬 The other kind of footwork is Jeun Ma進馬. Jeun 進 means forwards. Ma 馬 means step, so Jeun Ma means step forwards. During fighting or Chi Sau 黐手 we need to step forwards in order to get a better situation for position. For example, if we want to attack and the distance is not close enough we need […]
Waahng Ma橫馬 Waahng Ma橫馬 means walking sideways. Waahng橫 means level, that means sideways in a straight line. Ma馬 is stance but in this context it means walking or step. In Tsum Kiu we walk sideways and take three steps. We do not count the first step after the Chaan Tui鏟腿, but the three steps after […]
Jyun Ma轉馬 – Part 2 Practising Jyun Ma 轉馬 takes many years to get it correct. I have never come across a beginner who can do it straight away. This is because non trained people do not know where their weight is and in Wing Chun we need to put out weight on our heels and […]
Jyun Ma 轉馬 Jyun Ma 轉馬 is the first footwork we learn in Wing Chun and it is a very important part of Wing Chun. Before this we have our facing stance Yih Jih Kihm Yeung Ma二字鉗羊馬 , which trains us to be in close range and with two hands in contact. If we do […]
Three Sections in Tsum Kiu 尋橋 Tsum Kiu尋橋 has three sections, just like Siu Lim Tao小念頭. When we study Wing Chun we will notice that Wing Chun likes to do things three times and there are three and also eight sections. How do we know there are three sections in Tsum Kiu? For this we […]
Pek劈, Jam枕, Muht Sau沫手 In Tsum Kiu尋橋, we often end a sequence of movements with Pek劈, Jam Sau 枕手 and Muht Sau沫手. From there we will do a Sau Kuen收拳and gather the fist. Pek is chop, which is obviously an attack. After this we do Jyun Ma轉馬, to turn back to the front and then […]
Mai Jarn Kuen埋㬹拳 Once we know Waahng Laahn Kuen 横欗拳, we should also learn about its brother, Mai Jarn Kuen埋㬹拳. Mai Jarn Kuen is a bit like Tann Sau 攤手, only holing a fist instead of an open palm. In Tsum Kiu 尋橋 the first three steps with the Bong Sau 膀手 and Wu Sau護手 […]
Tsum Kiu part 4 – Wan Lan (Waanhng Laahn) Kuen 橫欄拳 In Tsum Kiu尋橋 see many Bong Sau 膀手 and Wu Sau護手. This means that Bong Sau and Wu Sau are very important in Wing Chun. I have already mentioned that Taan Sau攤手, Bong Sau, Fuk Sau伏手 and Wu Sau are the for major, […]
Tsum Kiu 尋橋 Part 3 – Wan Lan (Waanhg Laahn) Sau横欗手 and Chong Kuen冲拳 In Tsum Kiu there is a Sequence of techniques that link together: Wan Lan Sau and Chong Kuen. When I first leant it I did not understand the application was until my Sifu, Grandmaster Ip Chun葉準, explained it. When we use the […]
Tsum Kiu 尋橋 part 2 In Tsum Kiu, after we have opened our stance, we mark the Centre, then we punch and then we perform Tsum Kiu Sau尋橋手. This is an application of our Kiu Sau橋手, our bridge hand. Normally we will attack our opponent with a punch, palm, chop our even our fingers. Not […]
Tsum Kiu (Chahm Kiuh)尋橋- part 1 After we have finished Siu Lim Tao (Siu Nihm Tauh)小念頭 we will start to learn Tsum Kiu. Siu Lim Tao is basic training, training Gong Lik功力, Fa Ging發勁 and basic techniques. Tsum Kiu is the second form and is about footwork and the using the forearm which we call […]
Story of Ip Man studying Wing Chun 葉問學習詠春的故事 Part 20 After a few years Ip Man graduated from St Stephen’s College and returned to his family in Foshan. He went to visit his Sihing, Ng Chun So, who had taught him most of the Wing Chun skill before he went to Hong Kong. Ip Man told him […]
Story of Ip Man studying Wing Chun part 19 After studying with Uncle Leung Bik for six months, Ip Man treated him as his Sifu. Although Chan Wah Shun was his Sifu, Ip Man was only 12 years old when he studied with him, and Chan Wah Shun was already old. Most of the time […]
Story of Ip Man pt 18 Ip Man paid close attention to what he was being taught by Uncle Leung Bik. Leung Bk taught him how to hold his fist in a different way to the normal Wing Chun fist Yaht Jih Chung Kuhn (Kuan) 日字沖拳, and this new fist was called Saam Jim Kuen三尖拳, […]
Wing Chun Note 117 Story of Ip Man Studying Wing Chun葉問學習詠春的故事 Part 17 “One red spot in the centre of China (this means it is a very important thing in Chinese Kung Fu World). Do not teach and tell the bad people about it. If you teach and tell them, then it will cause your […]
Story of Ip Man Studying Wing Chun葉問學習詠春的故事 Part 16 “Chinese Medicine is equal to Kung Fu. The knowledge to heal and hurt someone is the same拳理與醫理同道，傷人與救人一理.” After hearing Uncle Leung Bik 梁璧 said this Ip Man thought a lot. Sometime later, during one lesson when Ip Man was doing Chi Sau with Uncle Leung Bik, […]
Story of Ip Man Studying Wing Chun葉問學習詠春的故事 Part 15 As Leung Bik梁璧 Chi Sau黐手’d with Ip Man he found that Ip Man attacked using punches and palm strikes, because of this Leung Bik could tell that Ip Man did not know enough about body structure. Then as Ip Man punched at him he suddenly […]
The Story of Ip Man studying Wing Chun 葉問學習詠春的故事 Part 14 Leung Bik did not just Chi Sau with Ip Man he also explained every single hand technique to Ip Man, but he also let him find out by himself how to correct his hand skills. This is because there is more to a hand […]
The Story of Ip Man Studying Wing Chun 葉問學習詠春的故事 Part 13 Each time Ip Man went to visit Uncle Leung Bik梁璧, he learnt more about Chi Sau黐手 from him. Leung Bik told him, “Chi Su is the most important part of Wing Chun training, but Forms are combine some of the skills to make movements, […]
Story of Ip Man Studying Wing Chun葉問學習詠春的故事 Part 12 When Ip Man met Leung Bik for his first lesson Leung Bik said to him, “Do not let Kung Fu structures control you!” Ip Man had never heard that before and did not understand. Leung Bik smiled and then explained, “Many people who learn Kung […]
Story of Ip Man Studying Wing Chun葉問學習詠春的故事 Part 11 Ip Man was very happy. He missed his Wing Chun training. He could practise his forms on his own, but he missed Chi Sau黐手. He had a wooden dummy in Foshan, but he could not practise here in Hong Kong. He knew that the essence […]
Story of Ip Man葉問學習詠春的故事 Part 10 Ip Man was so surprised to hear the name Leung Bik梁璧. Leung Bik was his Sigong Leung Jan師公梁贊’s, eldest son! Leung Jan was the person who had brought Wing Chun to Foshan. Throughout Chinese official history you can only really trace the roots of Wing Chun back to Leung Jan. […]
Story of Ip Man Studying Wing Chun葉問學習詠春的故事 Part 9 After three days, Uncle contacted Ip Man and invited him to come and see him again. Ip Man was very happy to hear from Uncle as he wanted to find out how his Wing Chun skill was so good. He also thought he might be able to learn […]
Story of Ip Man Studying Wing Chun葉問學習詠春的故事 Part 8 Ip Man began to speed up and use more and more strength, punching quite fiercely at Fung’s Uncle’s face. Suddenly Fung’s Uncle changed position and he was not there and so Ip Man hit only air. But suddenly he felt a palm on his right shoulder and […]
The Story of Ip Man Studying Wing Chun 葉問學習詠春的故事 Part 7 When Ip Man touched Fung’s uncle’s hands he immediately knew that he had a very high level of skill. Ip Man remembered what his Sifu, Chan Wah Shun陳華順 had told him, “When you Chi Sau with someone and their hands are hard and full […]
Story of Ip Man studying Wing Chun 葉問學習詠春的故事 Part 6 That afternoon, after school, Fung told Ip Man about his uncle and how he was also from Foshan and knew Kung Fu. Ip Man accompanied Fung to his house, where Fung’s uncle was already there. Ip Man thought Fung’s uncle was between 40 and 50 […]
Story of Ip Man studying Wing Chun 葉問學習詠春的故事 – Part 5 After that fight, Ip Man’s name spread out in that area. Of course Ip Man’s classmate Fung also went around telling people how good Ip Man was. During this time, a relative, who was like an uncle of Fung’s, came to stay with Fung’s […]
Story of Ip Man Studing Wing Chun 葉問學習詠春的故事 Part 4 When Ip Man was 17 year old, his older sister suggested he should go to Hong Kong to continue his education. So for the first time Ip Man left Foshan and went to study at St Stephen’s College in Hong Kong. At college he met […]
Story of Ip Man Studing Wing Chun 葉問學習詠春的故事 Part 3 Although Ip Man was only 7 years old, he listed to his teacher Chan Wah Shun陳華順 and worked very hard. When he was 13 years old his teacher became very ill, he called up Ip Man and the most Senior student Ng Chun So吴仲素 to […]
Story of Ip Man Studing Wing Chun 葉問學習詠春的故事 Part 2 Chan Wah Shun陳華順 Sifu took the 20 Dai Yeung大洋 from the 7 year old Ip Man. However he said to Ip Man, “I cannot teach you. Also I will not give you the money back.” Ip Man looked at Chan Wah Shun and knew something was […]
Story of Ip Man Studying Wing Chun 葉問學習詠春的故事 Part 1 Ip Man was born on 1st October 1893 and passed away on the 2nd December 1972. He was born in Foshan 佛山, Guandong Province in China. Foshan means Buddha Mountain. The story about how it got its names goes that in 628 BC some people digging and they discovered, […]
Ip Man Story There have been three Ip Man movies in which Donnie Yen has played the role of Grandmaster Ip Man. He did very well playing this role and these movies have created a lot of interest in Wing Chun and Ip Man has become a hero for many people. Ip Man is my Sigong師公 […]
Daily Siu Lim Tao Practising Siu Lim Tao 小念頭 is a very important part of our training and we must do it every day. When you are new to training, start with five minutes and increase to ten minutes and then eventually up to half an hour a day. If you can do this all […]
Sau Ma收馬 After the three punches at the end of Siu Lim Tao 小念頭 we close our stance and this is the end of the form. When you watch someone practising Siu Lim Tao, just the very beginning and the very end, you can see how good their Wing Chun is. Wing Chun relies on […]
Left Side First & Three Times When we perform our Wing Chun forms we always begin on the left side and we perform many movements three times, but of course not all the movements. Some we do four times, but we always start on the left and most of the time, if we repeat techniques […]
Other Ways to when Someone Grabs You There are other ways to deal with someone who grabs your wrist. If they grab your right wrist with their right hand, turn your right hand into a Taan Sau 攤手 so that your fingers point towards his throat and then step forwards towards him. This will be […]
When Your Hands are Grabbed Very Hard If someone really grabs hold of your hand, let say their right hand grabs your right wrist, as this is the normal way to grab, as we have already said, you cannot use Chaan Sau鏟手. If someone if strong, then it is impossible to chop their hand away, […]
Application of Chaan Sau鏟手 Chaan Sau is also known as Muht Sau 沫手.” Muht沫” means “Wipe “so “Muht Sau” is “Wiping hand”. A long time ago my Sifu, Grandmaster Ip Chun葉準師父, told me a story about a famous Wing Chun Sifu who gave a seminar in the West. A student asked him about the application […]
Siu Lim Tao Part 3 – Chaan Sau鏟手 (Muht Sau 沫手) There is one more application at the end of the form and that is Chaan Sau and this part really does belong to the end. It is usual for other applications to combine certain techniques together, however we repeat Chaan Sau three times, the […]
Siu Lim Tao Part 3 – Bong Sau 膀手Taan Sau攤手 Continuing in Part 3 of Siu Lim Tao, after the Bong Sau 膀手 we change to Taan Sau 攤手 and then Dai Jeung 低掌. The entire application comes from using the Bong Sau to contact the opponent’s opposite hand. For example they punch with their […]
Siu Lim Tao part 3 – Bong Sau 膀手 The next application of Siu Lim Tao 小念頭 part 3 is one of the most famous Wing Chun hands – Bong Sau 膀手. We must be good at Bong Sau and it might take three years to become good. At first everyone’s Bong Sau used hard […]
Siu Lim Tao Part 3 – Gaan Sau 挌手 The second application in part 3 of Siu Lim Tao is Gaan Sau. Gaan Sau is rarely used because it comes from a lost contact. When we are practising Chi Sau we are in contact all the time and if we lose contact we catch the hand back […]
Siu Lim Tao Part 3 – Paak Sau 拍手 After we have done parts 1 and 2 of Siu Lim Tao 小念頭, we now focus on part 3. The purpose of part 3 is applications. There are many applications in Wing Chun and also a many basic hands. One of the basic hands is Paak […]
The Second Part of Siu Lim Tao – Faat Ging 發勁 The purpose of the second part of Siu Lim Tao is to develop Faat Ging 發勁. “Fa發” means” Release “and “Ging勁” means “power”. Bruce Lee called it “One inch punch寸勁”, but in Wing Chun we call it Cheuhng Kiu Faat Ging 長橋發勁. “Cheuhng長” means […]
Weight on the Heels When we are practising Siu Lim Tao小念頭, once we have opened our stance, we do not move our body until the end of the form. Our weight should be on our heels, as our heels relate to our centre of gravity and connect our whole body through our skeleton. Our heels […]
Weight on the Legs, Upper Body flexible When we practise Siu Lim Tao 小念頭, particularly in the first part, we must take our time. We will train our Taan Sau攤手, Fuk Sau伏手, Wu Sau護手and we will also train our wrist which occurs during Huen Sau圈手 and Jam Sau枕手. In the beginning, most people should be […]
First Part of Siu Lim Tao 小念頭 – Gong Lihk功力 Siu Lim Tao 小念頭 has three parts which we need to practice and develop. The first part is for developing Gong Lihk 功力, the second part is Fa Ging 發勁 and the third part is training basic applications 手法. When we are studying Wing Chun […]
Breathing When you have been practising Siu Lim Tao小念頭 for long enough and you can easily stand for 15 minutes, you will start to notice more about your body. You will feel good and your eyesight, mind and hearing will all become better. At this point a lot of people start to think about their […]
Empty the Mind It is very difficult to empty the mind. This is one of the main aims in Buddhist and Daoist training and it is not easy. All Chinese skill relates to Qi氣, the energy which flows inside our bodies that makes us healthy and strong. All traditional Chinese Kung Fu starts with training […]
What Siu Lim Tao 小念頭 Means The first form we learn is Siu Lim Tao 小念頭 . “Siu小” means ”Small”, “Lim念” means” Idea” or “Thinking” and “Tao頭” means “Head”, so Siu Lim Tao means – small thinking head or small idea head. Actually” Lim Tao念頭” together means “Thought” or “Thinking”, or “Ideas” and everything comes […]
Withdraw the Fist收拳 After punching and our fist is still in front of us, we open the palm and then rotate the wrist to the inside and then out. The fingers should be relaxed and our strength should be in our wrist. At the end our fingers are pointing outside and then we close or […]
Wing Chun Fist – Yaht Jih Chung Kuan 日字沖拳 Punching comes next in Siu Lim Tao 小念頭. It is called Yaht Jih Chung Kuan and it means the fist we hold in vertical is like the Chinese Character “Day日”. “Chung Kuan 沖拳” means “Punching”. We always use the left hand first and then the right hand. This is because […]
Fists by the side of our Chest After we have marked the centreline we withdraw our fists back to the side of the chest. In Wing Chun forms we like to keep the fists by the side of our chest when we are not using them. Other styles of Kung Fu prefer to keep their […]
Mark the Centre 拿中線 After we have formed the perfect Yee Zi Kim Yueng Ma 二字鉗羊馬 we need to maintain that position. Wing Chun training requires a lot of feeling and so we must feel that position and know if we have got it wrong, e.g. the feet too wide or narrow. We should be […]
Hoi Ma 開馬 Everything we do in Wing Chun starts with Hoi Ma opening our stance. In all Chinese studies whether it is calligraphy, cooking, reading or even eating, our posture and attitude is very important. A good posture will create a good internal energy and so a good circulation. Then we can relax and […]
Learning Structure How should we study Wing Chun Kung Fu? Should we learn all the forms in order? For this, there is no doubt. We start with Siu Lim Tao 小念頭 , then Tsum Kiu 尋橋, Biu Zi 標指, Wooden Dummy木人椿, Baat Cham Dao 八斬刀 and finally the Luk Dim Boon Gwan六點半棍. However, this is […]
Baat Cham Dao 八斬刀 The Baat Cham Dao 八斬刀 are unique weapons and perfect for Wing Chun practitioners. “Baat 八” mean” Eight”, “Cham 斬” means “Chop” and “Dao 刀” means “Knife” or “Broadsword”. So the form has eight knife techniques. It is a short knife, which when we are holding it and flip it over, […]
Luk Dim Bun Gwan 六點半棍 How about the Luk Dim Bun Gwan 六點半棍 – Six and a Half Point Pole? The Luk dim Bun Gwan was not originally part of the Wing Chun System. It was added when Wong Wah Bo黄華寶and Leung Yee Tai梁二娣 exchanged skill. Wing Wah Bo was one of the Wing Chun […]
Wooden Dummy木人椿 How about Wooden Dummy 木人椿 training? We all think that we must learn this at the end, after we have completed Biu Zi 標指. Actually it is not necessary to wait so long. After we have learnt Siu Lim Tao小念頭, even if you have learnt well, I do not think that you will […]
Learn in the Correct Order We have three bare hand forms. Siu Lim Tao(Siu Nihm Tauh)小念頭 is the basic foundation and teaches us the basic skill, energy and applications. Tsum Kiu(Chahm Kiuh)尋橋 is for footwork training and Biu Zi 標指trains long and short distance skills. We can see that these forms have their own training […]
Less Forms are Better When we learn Wing Chun forms, we start with Siu Lim Tao (Siu Nihm Taum)小念頭 and then move onto the second form Tsum Kiu(Chahm Kiuh) 尋橋 and finally the third form Biu Zi 標指. We only have these three forms. In most Chinese Kung Fu styles there can easily be over […]
Bong Sau 膀手 and Wu Sau護手 There are many ways to play, or use the Bong Sau 膀手. However before this we must use the basic Bong Sau first. With this Bong Sau, the forearm is soft, the elbow is higher than the wrist and the energy is in the upper arm. You should contact […]
Wu Sau 護手 Application When we have one hand in contact, for example when we are using Bong Sau 膀手, we must also have a Wu Sau護手 at the centre of our body at the same time. Wu Sau is very important when we have one hand in contact or even if we have no […]
Bong Sau 膀手 Energy Bong Sau 膀手 is one of the 4 major hand techniques of Wing Chun. It takes many years to master because it needs to be soft. It is always easier to make the body hard and strong since we just need to train it. However, when training just to be strong […]
The Second Fuk Sau伏手 There is another way of performing and using Fuk Sau伏手. This time we use the palm to lightly hold onto the opponent’s forearm. This Fuk Sau can be found in the second section of Siu Lim Tao after we do Double Tok Sau we turn the palms down and this is […]
Taan Sau, Fuk Sau Must be Correct We must be good at the four major hand techniques of Wing Chun: Taan Sau攤手, Bong Sau膀手, Fuk Sau伏手and Wu Sau護手. Of these techniques Taan Sau is the most common as in some ways it is the easiest to do right. It needs to be quick when we […]
Holding the Position Longer When we practise Siu Lim Tao 小念頭, during the first section we do not move a lot. This is important training as if we want to move quickly and accurately we must first train slowly. The first section is the part of the form that contains the very slow movements. On […]
Not Moving During Chi Sau Many people when they are practising Chi Sau 黐手 do not move their feet. This is not very good because when doing Chi Sau two of you stand very close to each other and in this situation it is easy to use a lot of energy. During Chi Sau we […]
Wing Chun Wooden Dummy Residential Course 20-23 Apirl 2017, UK Study the complete 8 Sections fo the Wing Chun Wooden Dummy Form with Master Tse. The Wing Chun Wooden Dummy is a very special training method. Although there are other Kung Fu styles that have wooden dummy training, few of them are as sophisticated as the […]
I have taken students to China and Hong Kong many times, to visit my teachers, and each time is always challenging. This time I took 44 students. Originally it was meant to be 46, but at the last moment, Tor and Nina were not able to make it and this was a pity as it […]
Kicking in Chi Sau Some people when they find it hard to use their hands during Chi Sau like to kick or sweep their opponent. We should remember that Chi Sau is not fighting and is not about winning and losing. If we only want to win and hit our opponent then we will not […]
Feeling your Weight Although we start with our stance square and our weight even on both legs, it does not mean we cannot step with one foot forwards and the other one backwards. For example, if we want to use Gaau Cha Sau交叉手to trap our opponent’s hands we need to step forwards in order to […]
Even Weight In the beginning, when we are practising Chi Sau黐手 with a partner, we should face each other square on. This means shoulders to shoulder, chest to chest face while we roll hands, in particular, our stances should be square on and our feet shoulder width apart. I have come across people who like […]
Double Wu Sau 雙護手 In Chi Sau, if we want to defend ourselves well, we must be able to contact with one hand. When one hand is in contact, the other hand should be a Wu Sau護手. We can use a one hand contact when we are not sure of the situation. Most of the […]
Step Back and Let Go During Chi Sau 黐手, when the opponent is on the inside and we have both hands in contact on the outside it is easy for them to hit us with their Taan Sau 攤手, particularly when they have double Taan Sau 雙攤手. In this situation, you might not know which […]
Kwun Sau綑手 After we have learnt three attacking techniques, we need to learn a few defensive hands. The first one we must learn is Kwun Sau綑手.” Kwun綑” means “Wrap Around”, so “Kwun Sau” literally means” Wrap Around Hand”, but in this context it means” Rotating Around Hand”. In Wing Chun the Kwun Sau rotates from […]
Outside Paak Sau外門拍手 After we have learnt how to attack from the outside using Gaau Cha Sau 交叉手 and from the inside using inside Paak Sau 拍手, we should learn how attack when we have one hand in contact. When we are doing Chi Sau 黐手 we must learn how to move to change the […]
Inside Paak Sau 內門拍手 When we are doing Chi Sau we need to be able to attack whether our hands are outside or inside. When the hands are on the inside we can use our second basic attacking hand – Paak Sau 拍手. Being inside means we have one Taan Sau 攤手 and one Bong Sau […]
Gaau Cha Sau 交叉手 Once we can Gwo Sau過手, which means we can do anything and move in any direction, we need to try and use Wing Chun techniques to attack and defend. When we want to attack our opponent, there are three techniques we need to learn. The first is an attacking technique from […]
Gong Sau講手 In the 1950’s, in Hong Kong, students of different styles of Kung Fu and martial arts would meet on the flat roof tops of buildings (the buildings could be 10 stories high) to compete against each other. Many different styles were involved, Hung Kuan(Hung Ga)洪拳, Wing Chun 詠春，Choi Lee Fut 蔡李佛，Bagua Jeung 八卦拳，Shaolin […]