Master Tse’s Wing Chun Notes #1

Relaxed Hands are Dangerous

I remember when I was studying with my Sifu, Grandmaster Ip Chun, back in 1985 or 86, he told me that his father, Grandmaster Ip Man had said, “In Wing Chun, when you Chi Sau with someone and you don’t feel anything from them, that means his level is high.” At the time I understood what he meant, but I could not do that.

Today now I can Chi Sau with someone so that they do not feel anything from me. This is because I can relax. When we are not tense we can feel our opponent move, so it is very good for us. Only I know them, they do not know me. When they make a strike, I can react perfectly, if they do not I can take them by surprise and strike them.

Relaxed hands are dangerous, as Sun Zi says in The Art of War, “Know your enemy and in a hundred wars you will win a hundred times.”

Michael Tse