Master Tse’s Wing Chun Note #155

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 look good for attacking with the forward hand and the short hand, which is close to the body, is good for defending, it is not good for developing a good level of Chi Sau. Chi Sau  trains the entire body including both the left and right side,  therefore we should be square on to each other to begin with so that our shoulders line up and that we can use both sides of the body and not only our favourite side. If we turn the body to the side to Chi Sau then it also means that are one side you can use both hands to attack and defend whilst the other side you cannot use either hand and this is a very big disadvantage. Your opponent can go to your weak side and attack your back and with one punch it is over. Chi Sau Training prepares you the fighting. Therefore we must be good on both sides. If we are not in contact and have enough distance between us before we fight, standing sideways is fine, but when you are at a high level you can openly face your opponent.

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