Grandmaster Tse’s Wing Chun Note 318

First Section of Síu Lihm Tào 小念頭 Pt 3

When practising the first section of Síu Lihm Tào 小念頭, many people find it hard to relax and empty the mind. The meaning of Síu Lihm Tào is minimising the thoughts. Siu小 manes small, Lim 念 means thinking, and Tao 頭 means head. Lim Tao 念頭 together means idea or thoughts. Siu Lim Tao tells us, whenever we are practising the form, in particular the first section, we should try to think of nothing. This is actually very hard, even impossible, as no one can fully empty their mind. An empty mind is a very profound level and it is not 100% empty. The first thing we should do, once we have the correct position, is relax the whole body. The first section is done slowly so we can relax and take our time. Even if we are tense, after standing like this for five minutes, we will be more relaxed. When we relax, all the muscles will relax, we will be able to feel the whole body and we will feel any blockages in the body. As this happens we will also begin to heal these as our Qi will flow to these areas and flow through these blockages, starting to clear them. Then we will get better and stronger.