Master Tse’s Wing Chun Note #206

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 they will need to slow down a little but instead usually they just continue to roll very fast. This means they do not understand how to feel their opponent’s energy and just focus on techniques. Techniques without understanding the energy of opponents do not usually work. Every attacking move they make based on speed and this is not better than the based on energy. Some are even based on strength and this is also not as good as being based on energy.  Some people can be faster than you, some people can be stronger than you but if you train and base your technique on energy and sensitivity then you will know how to make the perfect adjustments. If they roll their hands very quickly and we follow their speed we can easily be hit this is because we are in their comfort zone- fast rolling and fast hitting.  Following the opponent’s way to roll is dangerous, so we should slow it down.  How do we do this?

To do this we need some Gūng Lihk 功力, we can stop rolling on our Tāan Sáu 攤手, Bóng Sáu 膀手 or Fuhk Sáu 伏手.  When we do this they will find it awkward and this is how we feel the energy and control the situation. However if you do not have a good level of Gong Lihk, then you need to move away and use one had instead.