Master Tse’s Wing Chun Note #131

 Jeun Ma 進馬

The other kind of footwork is Jeun Ma進馬. Jeun 進 means forwards. Ma 馬 means step, so Jeun Ma means step forwards. During fighting or Chi Sau 黐手 we need to step forwards in order to get a better situation for position. For example, if we want to attack and the distance is not close enough we need to step forwards using Jeun Ma.  One of the principles of Wing Chun is the weight is never on the front foot, it is either 50:50 or more on the back foot. With the weight on the front foot, although it makes our reach longer and so we can attack from further away, it also means that if we miss our target then we can be over committed and our opponent can pull us and make us lose our balance. So when we attack we must never overcommit and always think about if a technique fails. This is part of Wing Chun philosophy.

When practicing Jeun Ma we keep the front leg, toes and heel in a straight line with the heel of the back leg.  The toes of the back foot should point out slightly about 45 degrees and the weight should be distributed 70% on the back leg and 30% on the front leg. When we step forwards the front foot must keep as close to the ground as possible and once the front foot touches the ground we immediately we drag the back leg up closer to the front leg. Remember once we stop moving the feet the distance between both feet should be shoulder width. Now we can repeat Jeun Ma many times.

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