Grandmaster Tse’s Wing Chun Note 399

Three Forms – Part 9

The third form, Bīu Zī 標指 – Thrusting Fingers, covers distance – long and short. It has three major techniques. The first is Kāp Jāang 扱踭 – Covering Over Elbow, the second is Bīu Zī 標指 – Thrusting Fingers and the third is Mahn Sáu 問手 – Asking Hand.

When we are fighintg at a very close distance, we will use the Jāang – elbow. When we are at a long distance, we will use the Bīu Zī and if we have lost the contact, we will use the Mahn Sáu. From this we can understand the purpose of the form and why it is called Bīu Zī. I think the Wing Chun ancestors chose the middle distance for the majority of our fighting techniques, not close enough to use the Jāang and not far enough way to use the Mahn Sáu. The rest we can imagine, and it means we should be able to fight at close distance and long distance. Many people think that Wing Chun only fights at close distance, but this is wrong, Wing Chun should be able to cover all distances when we are fighting, not only close. When we are very close, we should not only use the Jāang, but also can use the shoulder, my Sīfú 師父, Great Grandmaster Ip Chun 葉準, is very good at using his shoulders to strike, even though we do not see this in any form. From this we can imagine we can use the head butt, the hip, the chest and even the back, when we are close enough to the opponent. In the end, we can use any part of the body.