BASIC POINTERS TO WING CHUN TECHNIQUE
Essentials
The Posture And Stance
The Focus
Chi Sao
Good Habits/Bad Habits
Engineering In Wing Chun
1. ESSENTIALS
In order to learn and improve in the most efficient manner, then you must cohere to these following points:
Eager to learn
Disciplined
Self Benefit
Practice the Form(s) Ritualistically
2. THE POSTURE AND STANCE
The reason I mention the Posture and Stance is that many students pick up bad posture due to a LAZY INSTRUCTOR who has not corrected faults in posture.
Wing Chun was designed for a specific posture. If this posture is not applied in training and in combat, your structure will be much weaker than those who have a correct posture.
The Correct Posture is as follows:
Straight back
Slightly bent knees
Feet shoulder width apart
Toes pointing inwards - correct angle is when you point them at your opponent's centre line whilst still having correct angle in your arms
Shoulders Down - eventually you should be able to keep them down and stay relaxed (Bong Sao etc)
Bottom (Arse) is to be tucked in
With all these points in mind you will be able to use them in training and make them natural eventually. The Posture and Stance go hand in hand. Together with the correct angles, the Stance and Posture will create your Structure. Add to all of this your Focus, and the result is your Chi (Mental and Physical power combined), which some people call spiritual.
The Correct Stance/Structure is as follows:
Entire body relaxed yet focused
Dead Wood Forearms
Heavy Elbows
Focus on Centreline
Angles of arms at elbow = 110° even when in transition from one hand to another (Tan Sao to Bong Sao etc)
Angles must never collapse - you may have to move back if your stance is too weak to handle the pressure
Tan Sao, Bong Sao and Wu Sao - Fingers on Centreline
Fook Sao - Wrist on centreline (other hands you will understand automatically where to place once you get the hang of Tan Sao and Fook Sao)
When moving you must stay in the correct posture and stance as well
When you are training your stance and it is improving you will find that your opponents pressure will sink through your relaxed body to the souls of your feet. This pressure will push hard against the floor and make your opponent fight the floor rather than you.
3. THE FOCUS
Do you find it hard to believe that mental focus will actually make any difference to your body?
Don't worry if you do, because I once had the same problem but my Instructor's powerful stance soon inspired me to believe as I felt his focus go through my body.
Mental focus must be forward always. From practicing Siu Lim Tao to Chi Sao to Full Combat. Eventually powerful practitioners will be able to focus in every direction at once therefore covering a kind of sphere around the body with your focus. I have many years to go before I can reach this myself.
All the most powerful masters know that Tsui Sheung Tin has the most powerful mental focus of any master, therefore in my eyes Tsui Sheung Tin is the current Grandmaster of Wing Chun. Sadly many disagree.
But these people who disagree are little girls who are too scared to challenge the old man's power. From Jim Fung to William Cheung they have all fallen to Tsui Sheung Tin's Mighty Wing Chun.
You may have noticed I believe the students of Yip Man to be the most powerful. This is due to much more experience and mental training as well as the teaching of the system not being pure in some schools such as "Wing Tsun" (The MacDonald's of Wing Chun).
4. CHI SAO
This is the most important drill in any Wing Chun technicians day. Beginners can use these following pointers for single and double rolling hands. Whereas the more advanced may refer to these points for their Chi Sao (Sticking Hands) technique.
YOU WILL NOT BENEFIT FROM TRYING TO STRIKE THROUGH A WEAKNESS IN YOUR OPPONENT!!! ONLY YOUR OPPONENT WILL!!!
Keep that last note in mind as YOU are the one who wants to benefit most from Chi Sao. These following points must be adhered to in order to improve in the most efficient manner.
Correct Stance and Posture
Correct Angles (must not let your arms collapse)
Focus
Concentrate on controlling your own centreline rather than attacking your opponents centreline (if you do this they will become an attachment to your body and you can manipulate their stance)
elbows in
fingers pointing
Wrist on the centre again with the Fook Sao
Again relax your shoulders - otherwise go work out on them because you are going to have a hell of a time doing Chi Sao for long periods if they are tense
Beginners must start off slow and check positioning of angles and fingers etc
Make sure you are not pushing from your arms - remember dead wood cant push as it is DEAD
Be sure to maintain the full power when rolling as well as positioning - if you stop focusing when rolling from hand to hand you will collapse.
In Chi Sao Chasing Horse (Chi Sao driving your opponent backwards) - remember your stance is from the floor into your opponent
Those who have a good stance and also have a good understanding of Chum Kiu will definitely be difficult to Chi Sao with As they understand how to confuse your line of force - making you push in directions that will Destroy your Structure
Every now and again try to punch your opponent just so he can make sure he covers his centreline
The beggars hand Tan Sao seems to work better in Chi Sao when underneath Fook Sao but the plain Tan Sao which many use seems to be better for rolling from Tan Sao to Bong Sao (this is for me anyway)
CHI SAO SPARRING
If you are not able to apply Chum Kiu into your Chi Sao when Chi Sao sparring then do not challenge someone that can, as they will smash your stance in this exercise making you move around like a rag doll. This is embarrassing.
Once good at Chi Sao some light combat should take place. Notice I said light combat and not Sparring that is because when practicing fighting techniques you must fight, not spar, or else you will get bashed in full combat. Every punch and kick must have meaning or you are wasting your time.
IF YOU STOP SHORT IN TRAINING YOU WILL ALSO STOP SHORT ON THE STREET!
Remember to ask yourself if you are using correct Wing Chun when training so that you quickly correct faults before they become habit forming. If you have to get your Instructor to stick a sign on the wall that reads: AM I USING WING CHUN?
5. GOOD HABITS/BAD HABITS
Good habits are formed when constantly correcting oneself during training. Bad habits are formed when not doing so. Once you have perfected a position keep practicing it until it becomes natural and you will not have to worry about it anymore because it will happen all the time.
The Most common bad habits are:
Being focused off-centreline
Elbows out in Fook Sao etc.
Leaning your weight forward
bending out of a pole like shape
moving back unnecessarily (when other persons stance is not better than yours)
using strength when you find a drill to hard (keep practicing, even if you feel hopeless doing it correctly it is better than using strength and becoming stiff)
Looking down when kicking - at your feet and your opponents feet (you will get smashed in the face if you continue this habit)
6. ENGINEERING IN WING CHUN
There is much thinking in the design Wing Chun which makes me believe that this style was not designed by a single person called Ng Mui. It sounds like fairy tales have been mixed in with the Wing Chun Family Tree as such a sophisticated piece of engineering could not have been designed by some dumb ass nun after running from her burning temple. This style was more likely created by many minds and much trial and error. And still today if anyone could find a better way of doing Wing Chun, we would change it to make it better. Thus the Wing Chun symbol the Plum Flower, which symbolises an ever growing style.
What is interesting about Wing Chun engineering is the Structures which are used in mathematics like Circles and Triangles. Your arms when going from minimum position to maximum position are followed in turn by the elbows along the same path as the hand, which forms an arc like part of a circle. Chi Sao is like a circle where as your arms are in a triangle. These two shapes are the strongest structures known to man kind.
The Triangle can take pressure in each apex where as the circle can take pressure shimmering down its curves. which is why the Wing Chun guard is like a triangle, and the Wing Chun Stance has the arse tucked in so as the back has a slight curve to make it easy to sink force downwards to your feet. Have a think about it.
I HOPE YOU FOUND THESE POINTS USEFUL, IF NOT YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY FAR AHEAD OF ME :-)
Robbie Battam
of the Fung Ping Bor Wing Chun System