About this Book

I have been doing Wing Chun for over 40 years and now teach my own style called Chi
Sau Tao Kung Fu. My style contains the 1-inch punch and lots of additions to the original
Wing Chun. I have develop my own style after many years and found it hard to teach
people without first teaching them the Wing Chun. If I didn’t teach Wing Chun first they
could not follow were I was coming from with my more advanced moves they needed to
take the journey I had taken.

I was surprised that even now there isn’t a book available that shows all the Wing Chun
system, most of the books out there show only the first form and there is no book that
shows all the forms. I thought it was time to change that and produce a book that shows
the 3 forms and the dummy form. This is what I have set out to do I believe most of the
forms applications are obvious so have left explanations to the minimum. I see this book
mainly as a reference book for anyone learning the system.

It would be hard if not impossible to learn the Wing Chun from a book and a good
teacher is essential to knowing the true Wing Chun. This book may help people to learn
the system until they can find someone to teach them. There are today a lot of good Wing
Chun people out there and it shouldn’t be to hard to find a good teacher in this day and
age.

I always remember finding one of my teachers in a strange way. I was visiting a Chinese
chips shop as I did every week when a group of Karate student came in and started giving
the owner a lot of abuse. He said nothing and carried on serving but still they carried on, I
tried to calm them down but they didn’t want to know. Eventually they went to far as all
bullies do and grabbed the mans daughter saying how good they were at Karate. One
second later the leader who had grabbed the girl was out cold the owner was across the
room in seconds trapped the mans hand and punched him out. His only comment was
Japanese chop chop men no good; the others quickly came to their senses and left very
quickly. The point is you never know were you can find a good teacher.

Variations

What the prospective Wing Chun student will find confusing is the variations within the
style. In researching this book I looked at what was available and found that other books
written by well-respected masters were showing differences within the style. Some are
minor but others are quite major. The major differences you can see are in fact minor the
essence of the art is still there and the moves are basically the same but the order and in
some cases positions are different. It reminded me of the old saying from the British army
when they were in trouble they sent a message send reinforcements we are going to
advance, The message that got through was send three and for pence we are going to a
dance it’s the old Chinese whispers.

Firstly there are two ways of doing the forms, the formal way, which is what you would
do at a display and the way you would do it in class. The first way is used to show the
whole system to people were as in class the opening moves may not be needed.

The second variations comes from individual teachers they may well see the student lacks
some skill and introduce a sequence to correct this, this is very noticeable in the second
form were some have lots of kicks in the form and others only a few. The teacher had
noticed students having difficulty with kicks and balance and added the extra kicks to
compensate. The student may not know this and so now teaches the extra kick as part of
the form and swears that’s the way it should be done.

The third variation is personnel preference of individual teachers these are often minor
like doing a knife hand instead of a palm block. This was in fact the most common
variation type I found and they have no ill effect on the style.

Wing Chun is a fairly new style and is still in a position to grow adding to the system is
acceptable if it follows the principles of the system. If we stop this then the system will
die, as the universal law is that everything in the world is subject to change and this is
inevitable. What I have tried to do is to highlight were there are variations and put in the
major ones so you can see the whole picture, you can then judge for your selves what is
right and what is wrong. What is worrying is some masters show variations that are
clearly wrong technically and these degrade the whole system and if they continue then
they could spoil the content of the style?

I would urge these people to start their own style and claim it as there own and not bring
down Wing Chun. This is what I have done I teach the basic Wing Chun and then
students move on to my style so there is no confusion in there minds. Many people have
done this notable Bruce Lee with Jeet Kune Do and his student James Demile with his
Wing Chun Do. The problem is if you improve the original system then when can it be
part of the system there is no one really to oversee the integration of new ideas into the
system you cant claim it to be Wing Chun as it isn’t, I don’t see any way around that
other than to call it your own style. With all Kung Fu Styles there needs to be change as
new scientific knowledge is coming along all the time and this can have a big effect on
what is good in any art. Most of the arts were designed many years ago when life styles
were very different and the training they did 100 years ago would not be possible today.

I am shore the arguments will rage for a long time and never be resolved I don’t want to
start the argument here I only want to present my way which I have done for over 40
years I know my way has direct lineage to Yip Man and I know other master who studied
with Yip Man teach the same as I do.
Wing Chun History

Wing Chun is the name of a system of martial arts developed in southern China
approximately 300 years ago. Its founder was, the Buddhist nun Ng Mui, she was a
master of Shaolin Kung Fu and used this knowledge to invent a way to take advantage of
the weaknesses inherent in the other Shaolin systems. This new system was taught to
only a few, very dedicated students. Later, the style became known as Wing Chun, after
Ng Mui's first student, a woman named Yim Wing Chun.

During the reign of Emperor K'anghsi of the Ching Dynasty (1662-1722) the Temple
was burnt down Ng Mui took refuge in the White Crane Temple on Mt. Tai Leung. It
was there she met Yim Yee and his daughter Wing Chun. Wing Chun's beauty attracted
the attention of a local bully. He tried to force Wing Chun to marry him, and his
continuous threats became a source of worry to her and her father. Ng Mui learned of this
and took pity on Wing Chun. She agreed to teach Wing Chun fighting techniques so she
could protect herself. Wing Chun followed Ng Mui into the mountains, and began to
learn Kung Fu. She trained night and day, until she mastered the techniques. Then she
challenged the bully to a fight and beat him. After her marriage Wing Chun taught Kung
Fu to her husband Leung Bok Chau.

The modern grandmaster Yip Man he went to Hong Kong to pursue academic studies at
the St. Stephen's College at Stanley in Hong Kong. On one occasion he was introduced to
Mister Lueng Bik, the first son of Grandmaster Leung Jan - the instructor of Grandmaster
Chan Wah Shun. He was delighted with Yip Man's skill and his effort in learning, so he
tried his best to teach him all he knew.

In 1949, Yip Man, who was considered to be the grandmaster of modern Wing Chun,
brought the style out of China into Hong Kong and eventually to the rest of the world.
His most famous student was of coarse Bruce Lee who became the messiah of Wing
Chun and made it a household name though he eventually created his own style Jeet
Kune Do.

The New Wing Chun

This is not part of the original Wing Chun but is part of my own art Chi Sau Tao. This
new approach takes nothing away from the original Wing Chun but does enhance it
greatly. Lets start by learning how to improve our memory by 300%. What has this got to
do with martial arts I here you ask? This is one of the basic things of life and all we do is
controlled by this memory trick, bear with me and you will see it can change your life in
minutes.

It is often forgotten that monks who spent all day meditating and needed a form of
exercise devised Kung Fu originally. The Kung Fu was only a small part of what they did
the greater part being mental. Naturally watching someone meditate means nothing but
the physical side is fascinating so that became the thing that everyone sees. Often people
would learn by spying on training sessions to learn the art and here again they would
have no way of getting the mental side of the art by watching. I will ask you to take this
little test read this list through then close the book and write down the list from memory;
read the list only once and then check your score.

Car paper bottle bed fish chair window phone cigarette nail typewriter shoe microphone
pen television plate doughnut car coffee pot brick

Well how did you do? If you got more than 5 that's good, if you got more than 10 its
exhalent. Right let me show you how to do it.

First take the car and see a PICTURE of a car in your mind we then link this to the
second object by making a picture which will be as funny as we can out of proportion or
moving. SEE a picture of a newspaper going down the road with 4 wheels try to see
motion as this funny car made of a newspaper goes past you. Now we link the paper to
bottle you could see a sequence were you pour out milk from a bottle but out comes a
paper or see yourself reading a paper made up of 2 bottles.
Bottle to fish picture a pond and in it are lots of bottles swimming around with fins, fish
to chair see a giant fish sitting on a chair. To link chair to window see yourself throwing a
chair through the window you can actually do the movements this makes an even better
link. Window to phone see a big phone in place of a window, phone to cigarette pick up
the phone and 1,000 of burning cigarettes come out and burn you.

Cigarette to nail picture yourself trying to hang a picture by knocking in a cigarette

instead of a nail, nail to typewriter try typing on a typewriter were all the keys are nails
feel the pain next shoes see yourself walking on typewriters instead of shoes. Next we
have microphone here you can see someone singing into shoes instead of a microphone
picture there faces as the smell the shoes while they try to sing.

Microphone to pen try writing with a massive microphone, pen to TV turn on your TV
and see people made of pens or 100's of pens flying out of the TV. This should give you
enough to finish the last few on your own just remember to make FUNNY link use big
objects or 1,000's of objects, if you can get a mini movie for a link and add physical
actions these will be the best like the chair window link.

To recall the list see the picture of the first object and the link should spring into your
mind so see the picture of the car and away you go. You should find that your score has
gone 200%. Some points to note are if you get stuck at some point relax and think of
something else for a minute the chances are you made a week link by seeing the words
instead of a picture.

Learn from you mistakes we are all slightly different and you will soon find what type of
link works for you remember you have increased your memory power in minutes by
200%. It is nothing short of a miracle but give it time put some effort in to get more out
of it.

The more you use the system the easier it becomes soon you will take only milliseconds
to do the links, don't be afraid of filling you head there is plenty of room inside it simple
expands as required. The other point is that you have this list now in short term memory
after a few hours you may well forget it to make it permanent simple go over the same
links again and it will then move into long term memory.

In martial arts its common for styles to use kata or forms what are these but this same
form of memory training did the ancient Chinese know this same trick?
How do you remember numbers I here you ask? We use the same method in order that
we can do that we assign each number a word that we can picture,
1 is assigned the letters T or D as they both have one down stroke
2 is the letter N as this has 2 down strokes
3 you guess M as it has 3 down strokes
4 is the letter R this being the last letter of four
5 is L as in roman numerals L =50
6. is j ch sh sounds J is like a 6 if you write it the wrong way around
7. is K as it can look a bit lie a 7 if written wrong
8. is F or V f in real writing is similar to and 8
9. P or B move a 9 round it can become p or b
0 is Z or S sound from zero.
Well that was easy so if we want to remember a number now we can create a word for
each number so if we want to remember 22 13 25 33 we would link a NuN with a ToMb
then NaiL and MuMmy
Any word you can make from the letters will do practice turning number into words and
vice versa. Here is some to try aim rifles would be 3 (m) 4(r) 8(f) 5(l) 0(s).
Some of you may have noticed that when we learnt the list sequentially if we forgot one
item we were stuck and couldn't get the rest, with practice this doesn't happen it was
simply that you made a bad link. But combining the 2 systems we can improve on that.
By making the link to numbers if we forget one we can still get the rest and we can
remember them in and out of order simple link the first one to a picture that represents
one and so on.
Car link to Tie
paper link to Noah (see an old man with a beard)
bottle link to Mar (see your mother)
bed link to Rye (see a bottle of rye whisky)
fish link to Law (see a policeman)
chair link to SHoe
window link to Cow
phone link to ivy
cigarette link to Bee
nail link to toes
Keep the same picture for each number and you need to think of some pegs up to 100 it
shouldn't be hard.

KI

Ki or Chi is one of the basic things of life. The world consist of the Tao from which all
things come, you can call it God, Buddha or any other name that you like but for me I
will call it Tao. The Tao produces Ki or the life force we as humans breath in this Ki and
then direct it out from our bodies.

It is easiest to think of it as water if we take a cup and fill it full of water and leave it
there what will happen? It will stagnate, as it is not being refreshed with Ki. What if we
have half a glass of water and then fill it with some new water? We end up with some
water that is not new now all the water is poor. Strange that as in western ways everyone
says take a deep breath and relax which simple means we end up with lungs full of poor
air. What they should say is breath out all you can this empties the cup and forces in fresh
clean air.

From this you can see it is important to direct the Ki out of our bodies so we can refresh
the supply. For this Ki to flow there must be some things that happen first we must be
relaxed, and secondly we must direct it out with the mind. Normally this happens
subconsciously but like a lot of things we loose the art as we leave childhood. It is now
scientific fact that there is some sort of electrical force radiating from our bodies, sharks
can actually see this and that is what attracts them.
As a baby Ki is very evident if a baby grabs your finger there is no tension in the grip yet
it is impossible for you to get away from it. How can this be? The baby doesn't have the
muscles to grip like that and there is no tension in the baby. It's Ki at its most basic level
if only we could be a child again. Many achieve this state by getting drunk this produces
a similar state the mind and body are relaxed and the mind is free from all the distractions
we normally suffer from.

Could it be that drunks and drug addicts all are seeking the ultimate truth? I think that is
probably true in the same way religious people and martial artist try to find there way
back to the Tao others seek there own truth.

We direct Ki by the mind if we think Ki is flowing then it is. If we get ill or worried we
tend to pull in on the flow and no longer direct the flow outwards with force, if it stops all
together then we die. Ki is the life force that forms the basis of acupuncture this is now
slowly being recognized in the west. The Ki can be used to heal as well as kill, if the Ki is
extended it can be forced into someone else who is ill and cant take in Ki by them self
thus they are ill. In martial arts Ki is a powerful force, which can produce power that
exceeds normal forces. One way to spot a "Master" of the martial arts is to see if he is
relaxed if he is tense and trying to produce great physical power then he probably isn't
much of a master.
I have seen video's of Wing Chun masters using the wooden dummy one hits it with lots
of force and you can see it shake the other gentle taps it as though he is polishing it. One
has learnt the truth the other still has an ego that he is fueling.

The New KI

Well its not new but over the years as I taught people all of the above I saw confusion in
there minds and also disbelieve so I sought a way to explain Ki in modern terms and in a
way a beginner could use it in minutes instead of years. Let me make it clear that I am a
believer of Ki and it is essential to my art but my new ideas may well help you to see the
light much quicker.

The key to this rapid learning is the memory trick we learnt at the start, this increases
your memory by 200-300% but more importantly it is the effect it has on the mind that is
important. It is so simple yet so powerful normally it would take a long time to perfect
creating a link powerful enough to get the Ki flowing but with our little trick it now takes
seconds. The all-important rule is that the Ki flows and is directed by the mind if you
mind direct Ki then it flows you simply create a link like we did before and then it flows.

Lets start by examining some facts what happens if you push a car forward assuming the
break is off and its not going up hill? Well unless its very big car or you are very weak
the car moves forward in the direction you push it. If someone now sits in the car starts
the engine and puts in reverse and you still push you will be pushed back as the two
forces are meeting head on and the greater force wins.

Now try pushing the car from the side so you try to push it across the road sideways.
What will happen now is all your effort will not do you much good, as the car will be to
heavy and have too much grip. Unless you are very big and it's a very small car in which
case you may push it over on its side.

Now do the same thing but this time with someone in the car driving it forward slowly
what will happen? Well it is now a bit different the force of the car is going forward and
you push at right angles so you are not opposing the cars force. What happens is your
force is joined with the cars force and you end up going the way of the car now the two
forces are one. Take a moment to think on that it is significant and you properly not
thought of it in that way ever before.

If you take the classical Aikido unbend able arm and apply the same technique it works
great simply put you put your arm out by your side at right angles about shoulder height
relaxed and not fully extended spread you fingers and push out with your arm and
fingers.
Push as though you are pressing on a wall so you can't actually make any movement, as
the wall is solid. Then get someone to try and bend your arm as you keep pressing on the
invisible wall. They will find it impossible to do so as long as you keep pushing out. Note
you don't push with your body that must remain upright and the arm must push as though
there is a wall there don't try to push through the wall or you will come off balance there
should be no tension in your body.

The best way to learn is to get someone to put there palm out so you can push against it,
push with the fingers only and spread them as wide as you can. It takes only a few
minutes of practice; if you push his hand back you are pushing too much; hardly any
force is needed to do this you need to make a link and see the force flowing. If they take
their hand away and your hand shoots forward or you fall forward you are putting force
behind and this is wrong. You can then get someone to try bending your arm while you
have the hand to focus on. Even two people wont to be able to bend your arm and once
you have got the idea you wont need the persons hand there to help. See the link in your
mind

These 2 pictures image p4 &p5.jpg show this unbend able arm done for real in the first
one you can see the arm is fairly straight it is in fact a palm up block. The unbend able
arm is a test to see if the block is being done correctly in the form you can see there is no
tension on the students face even though she is a lot weaker than myself. If in fact you
feel any strain you are doing it wrong.

The second photo demonstrates a very interesting point, if you bring the arm back to
about 90 degrees and make a fist and try the unbend able arm you will find it cant be
done. But in the photo we can see Karen is doing it. The magic bit is that she is pointing
forward with her hand and she has spread here hands to increase the force of the Ki.
Remember you think of it as water and as with real water the wider the hose pipe the
more water that flows.

This is in fact a strange thing if you try it yourself you will find it to be true why should
pointing the hand forward make any difference? There is no mechanical advantage that I
can find out about that would explain it in mechanical terms. Another interesting thing
which I often show special with women students if I reach forward as though I am going
to touch there breast they loose the unbend able arm.
The only explanation that fits is that Ki is flowing when I pretend to touch them all
though there is no threat it is in there mind a sexual attack and they then pull in there Ki (
it doesn't work the same with men as a rule). It does prove that the mind is playing an
important part in what's going on. My thoughts are that all that is written about Ki is true
and what I have done is to find a mind trick that means you can do it in minutes instead
of months or years. If you consider the memory trick improves your memory
dramatically in seconds then in the same way it has improved the Ki flow 1000% in
seconds also. You can now see why I spend so much time telling you about the memory
trick it is the only way to be sure that you SEE the pictures in the mind in the correct
format. One thing about the mind is that it is like a muscle and once its learnt the secret of
these pictures it uses them even though you may not realize it.

If you take the time to practice the memory training a lot you will find that in a very short
time you make the links without being conscious you are doing it. But wait haven't you
been doing it that way all your life? It didn't work before when you didn't understand
what was going on so why does it work now? I don't have all the answers I only no its
true and it does work. The new Ki is the same once you have done it you find it cuts in
even when you don't think of it because somewhere in your mind the link has been forge
and it cant be undone. I have never yet met anyone who could not use this Ki within
minutes and I have trained thousands of people.

If someone pushes you the same thing applies you can move to the left or right slightly
and the effect will be the same. To start with you will make to much movement but with
a little practice you need only make the smallest movement, which the opponent will not
even notice. You need to practice this in many situations until it becomes second nature it
works in all situations when someone is apply force to some part of you body. Ki is not
only about power but also about using the Ki of others to defeat them selves.

Ki can be good and bad and truly if we attack someone we are breaking the harmony of
nature. In very simple terms in the advanced stages of Chi Sau Tao we are attacked and
we offer no defense but we restore the balance of nature by harmonizing with the attacker
until he uses too much force and defeats himself. The effects can be dramatic and the
attacker feels he has bee defeated soundly but doesn't have aggressive thoughts about it.
If you push me and I push you back harder you feel aggression as there was disharmony
if you push me and there is nothing there you will fall over just the same but suddenly its
different. The difference is I have applied no force against you. You have fell over by
your own actions and you burn your self out. If you get angry with someone and you
shout at him or her and they shout back your anger if fuelled if however they remain
silent you will soon find you can't think of anything else to say.

In Aikido the big test is if you throw someone and they are happy having been thrown
then you did it right.

For Wing Chun every block should be tested to see that its unbendable even so called
masters often fail these tests there is evidence that this was part of Wing Chun but very
rarely taught. I have heard some masters mention it in passing and seen evidence of it
with others in my art its of prime importance. I would urge everyone to take it to heart, as
the improvement it can make to your Wing Chun is dramatic.

The Centre Line & Gates

The center line is the very basis of Wing Chun the center line is the line down the middle
of the body running from the top of the head down the line of the nose through the chest
center downwards. This is actual a meridian know to acupuncturist all over the world and
contains many vital points which can be used to heal or kill.

In Wing Chun terms its importance is speed of punching and blocking. The Wing Chun
punch uses the center line as the shortest distance between two points is a straight line
and the shorter the line the faster the punch. The shorts point you can get in human terms
is from the center line to the chin of the opponent, Karate appears to punch in a straight
line but in fact Karate punch's outside the center line into the center line. Wing Chun's
punch keeps within the center line at all times so it makes it so much faster.

The significance of the speed is that if you both start punching together the one punching
on the center line will land a punch first assuming both sides being equal, if your not
equal its even more important. Not only does the center line mean speed in punching but
also the blocks have a lot less distance to travel which gives them speed and a better
chance of working. If you asked a computer to come up with a self defense system it
would probably come up with Wing Chun as it's just so scientifically the best.

The Centre line can be seen in the photo gates.jpg you will see there are some gates also
defined these are areas that the arm do not exceed as to do so would be inefficient and
also leave your body open to attack. Normally we try to use the same hand to block as the
gate name i.e. left upper gate is cleared by the left arm. We do however have a fail safe
system in Wing Chun that under normal conditions we have one arm in the lead and one
in reserve the lead hand can block and should it miss then the rear hand can still block.

In photo p1.jpg we can see a palm up block done incorrectly here the arm has gone
outside the gate and left an opening. Photo p2.jpg shows the block done correctly you can
see how much tighter the defense is when done this way, ignore the other arm as this is
just a demonstration and it would not normally be in that position.

Simultaneous Attack & Defense

Wing Chun unlike Karate believes in simultaneous attack and defense were karate block
then punches Wing Chun will block and punch together. The advantage of this should be
obvious were karate has to make to moves to deliver a punch Wing Chun only has to do
one. One the second move Wing Chun has punched twice while karate has only delivered
one punch. There is a less obvious advantage to this in as much as most people find it
hard to switch to defense in the middle of an attack. Photo p3.jpg shows a punch and
block done at the same time this is the hallmark of Wing Chun.

Speed

There is no doubt that Wing Chun is the fastest system in the world this is because the
punch normally only travels six inches and as we have seen all the block travel a similar
distance. All this makes for a very fast system even if you punch slowly there is a very
good chance you will beat everyone as you are going a shorter distance. Speed is a
confusing statement as it often means different type of speed to different people there is
speed of movement, speed of reactions and these can be subdivide even more. In all
things Wing Chun must come out near the top speed wise due to its scientific principles.

Stances

The basic stance of Wing Chun is seen in photo p5a the feet are shoulder width apart and
the weight is evenly balanced the toes can be turned in and the knees bent. There is a
standard way of ensuring that we get into the stance correctly, which we will see, in the
first form. You will note the arms are both on the center line with one high and one lower
they are in effect at the center of the upper defense area. This means the movement
required to block is minimal.
In this stance either hand can be in the lead but if we take a foot forward then the lead
foot and lead hand must be the same. This can be seen in photo p6.jpg, which shows the
front stance here the weight, is mostly on the rear foot leaving the front leg free to kick.
This is a fairly dynamic thing in real terms, as this will often be changing. Please not the
shoulders are square on if they are not this way it would mean we couldn’t use both
hands together. From the basic horse you can turn left or right and you will end up in this
horse stance without difficulty. To start with we only need to know the one stance, as this
is the only one used in Sil Lum Tao the first form.

The Wing Chun Punch

The punch takes a lot of practice to get right but is well worth the effort as you can punch
with great power from 6inch's and from that distance it is very fast as there is no time to
react.

The secret of the punch is the wing or snap just before impact. The essence of the punch
is that it is totally relaxed until the point of impact when for a split second it tenses. There
is no sense in tensing until the point of contact as it will have no effect on your opponent
but will slow you down and make you tired. The photos p7+p8.jpg show the wing in use
in the first photo the hand is totally relaxed this produces the slight bend in the wrist you
can see. Now tense you fist as quick as you can which is what you see in p8 note the
wrist muscles standing out. If you go from relax to tense quickly you should get the snap
into the punch.
The same wing is used in all Wing Chun strike photos p9 + p10.jpg show the same action
with a palm strike it’s the snap is so important to all the strikes.

Photos p11-p16 show how we do the basic Wing Chun punch starting from the on guard
with the left hand in the lead. The rear hand moves forward over the lead hand still in a
relaxed state it moves forward on the center line until it reaches the point of impact when
it tenses for a second. You will see the hand is ready for the snap at the point of impact at
this point the other hand pulls back on the centerline. This is to comply with Newton's
third law of motion (note in the picture I have pulled the hand back early so you can see
the action normally the two thing happen together).
The action continues with the next punch following as the other one did the punches
continue until the opponent is down, the average punch tacks .05 seconds. We actually
tried for this book using a high speed camera to catch the punch at over 10 frames a
second but the camera could not capture the punch which gives an idea of the speed. You
can see the whole action keeps the on guard position so at no time do you open your self
up. It takes time to get the punch right the key is relaxation. As you tense for a split
second and then relax you get a natural snap back when you punch.

There is some argument on the extension of the punch some say you must lock the elbow
and others say this leaves you open to arm breaks, some fight in very close and punch
with a bent arm they would be hitting at the position in Photo p12.

Another variation is to punch with the palm up until the end point and then twist and snap
similar to a Karate punch except it done vertical and with a snap.

Photo p17 shows the point of impact in the Wing Chun punch which is the bottom 2
knuckles this increases the power as the pound per square inch are increased being a
small contact area.

Sil Lum Tao (The Little Idea)

Sil Lum Tao is the first form of Wing Chun this teaches the basics moves of Wing Chun
and we will go through this now. Sometimes this is done as three forms but I prefer to do
it as one complete form this is normal. The reason for breaking it into 3 parts is that the
first part is done very slowly. It is important to do it very slowly and relaxed so we can
form proper links and get the techniques right.

I have seen the first part done very intense and this in my view is incorrect as you will
build muscles in the wrong place and the wrong type. It is important to go through the
form seeing the Ki flowing in each move and indeed each move should stand up to the
unbendable test. Much of the form is concerned with stretching the muscles of the arm
and keeping the center line.
Lets start with the feet together raise the arms by the chest photo s1.jpg. now put the
weight on the heels and turn the toes outwards a comfortable distance photo s2.jpg. With
the weight on the toes turn the heels out so you end up in the position photo s3.jpg. This
is a way of ensuring you get into the correct horse stance with the feet correct distance
apart. Push the arms down along the center line photo s4.jpg and then roll them up in
front of the chest still on the center line photo5.jpg. finally return them to your sides
photo s1.jpg.

These moves are there to get used to the center line but can be interpreted as a lower
block against a kick followed by a double block at chest height.
 We now start with the left hand bring it into the center photo s6.jpg and then punch
totally relaxed visualizing the Ki flowing until the final moment when you do the snap
photo s7.jpg.

Turn the palm up when you have completed the punch into Tan Sau photo s8.jpg with a
side view of this in photo s10.jpg. Now rotate the wrist inward until it is at position
shown in photo s9.jpg and then withdraw the hand back to the start position photo s1.jpg.
The wrist rotation has minor variations in that some at this point extend the fingers and
make a fist and then withdraw the hand this being a grabbing action this is what I
normally do.

The sequence is now repeated on the right side, it is worth remembering that most of the
system follows the same format of doing the moves first on the left then repeating on the
right.

Photos s11-13 show the moves now done on the right first the punch then turn the palm
up for Tan Sau do the wrist role and withdraw back to position in photo s1.jpg.
Push the arm out along the center line into a Tan Sau and at the end rotate the hand
clockwise a full circle Heun Sau as shown in photos s14-s18.jpg the wrist ends up with
the hand vertical bring the hand back to the center with the wrist still vertical photo
s22.jpg.

Let your hand drop naturally into a Fuk Sau photo s19.jpg then extend the arm bringing
the elbow into the center line rotate the hand again and bring it back to the center photos
s21-s22.jpg
 perform a Paak Sau your arm should not go past the shoulder photo s23.jpg pull it back
to the center and then perform Juk Jeung along the center line s24.jpg turn the arm up
into Tan Sau rotate the wrist and withdraw to the side as we did in photos s8-s10.jpg.
All this section is done very slowly and normal repeated 3 times repeat the same
movements with the other hand photo's s25-s30.jpg you end up at photo s10.jpg again
this is in fact the end of the first section called Gong Lik. Some break at this point and do
the next section Fa Ging as another form.
The section starts with Yan Jeung photo s31.jpg with the left hand ensure you relax until
the last moment and then snap the palm down now do the same with the right hand photo
s32.jpg. Now do a double rear palm strike photo s33.jpg this can be seen from the rear in
photo s34.jpg this is followed by a double palm strike to the front photo s35.jpg.

Fold the arm with the left hand on top shown in photo s36.jpg you then strike to both
sides Pek Jueng as in photo s37-s38.jpg I have shown to photos as it is not done as one
fast move but first bring the arms out and then perform the chop from that point so power
comes from the elbow not from a swinging action. Bring the arms back with one on top
of the other photo s39.jpg this time the right is on top.
 Next is Double Jut Sau photo s40.jpg there is slight variations in how this is done I rotate
the arm to do this with the wrist wing at the end; others just let it drop. It depends what
you interoperate this move to be it could be a double knife hand, a way of controlling the
center, or a palm in block at the end of the day it is only a minor variation.

Turn the palms into a double Tan Sau s41.jpg perform a double palm block as seen in
s42.jpg followed by a double Biu gee a double Jut Sau as in photo s43.jpg again do a
double palm block photo s42.jpg then bring the arms up into position shown in photo
s44.jpg and withdraw then to your sides palm up.
 Do a palm block to the side photo s23.jpg followed by a palm strike s24.jpg. This is
sometimes done with the palm sideways in photo s54.jpg instead. Turn the arm into a Tan
Sau circle the wrist and withdraw it to the waist then repeat on the other side s29-s30.jpg.

Do a Tan Sau with the left hand photo s45.jpg and then move it down keeping the elbow
still to a Gaan Sau s46.jpg go back to Tan Sau s45.jpg then circle the wrist s47.jpg and do
a palm strike s48.jpg turn this into Tan Sau then withdraw the arm to the side.

I have seen this taught the other way round by doing the palm strike from Gaan Sau the
coming back to Tan Sau again all the movements are the same just in a slightly different
order.

Repeat on the other side s49-s51.jpg.

 Now we do a Bong Sau with the left hand s52.jpg then drop the elbow into a Tan Sau
s53.jpg do a palm strike I do it side ways as in photo s54.jpg but again some do it with a
palm up strike withdraw the hands to the side and repeat with the other hand s55-s57.jpg.

The final moves now are a Chaan Sau with the left hand s58.jpg then place the left hand
on top of the left photo s59.jpg with the palm up.
Chop down with the right hand as you withdraw the left photo s60.jpg repeat with the
other hand s61-s62.jpg do it once more with the left hand so you have done it twice on
that side finally punch with the left hand then the right s63-s64.jpg. You can repeat the
punches as many times as you like normally 2 or three times. Withdraw the arms to the
side and bring them down by your side s65.jpg as you bring you feet together.

This is the end of the first form.