Grandmaster Tse’s Wing Chun Note 436 

Fist by the Side of the Chest

Someone asked me why in Síu Lihm Tào 小念頭 – Reducing Thought – Wing Chun’s first form, when hold the fists up by the side of the chest, what kind of energy should be there. The answer is, it should be relaxed. However, first of all we must understand why we hold the fists there by the side of the chest. Generally, when we are doing Síu Lihm Tào we want to focus on the hand that is moving. This is obvious in section 1 and 3 of the form, section 2 is different. In section1 and section 3 we focus on practising one hand at a time and the other hand should relax as it is not its turn yet and it has to wait until the other hand is finished. If is like performers in a demonstration, whilst one person is performing, the others must wait behind or to the side of the stage until it is their turn. So the fist by the chest should relax and not disturb the other hand. Also it helps to maintain the posture. The second section of Síu Lihm Tào trains Faat Gihng 發勁 – Releasing Power, and then we can practise with both hands. Of course we can also practise with one hand, but it is good for beginners it is easier to use both hands.