Siu Lim Tao Tan Sau
The First Section – Gong Lik continuing from last issue
1. From its resting position, open your left hand and slowly extend it forwards. The tip of your middle finger should stay in line with the centreline. Fig18. 2. As your elbow clears the side of the body it too should move towards the centreline. Your arm should not be tense, and your energy should be in the elbow. 3. Stop your hand before the forearm crosses over the centreline. Keep your fingers naturally straight, but not tensed or stretched. Your thumb should be naturally bent, but not pressed down. Fig 19-19a.
This movement should be performed very slowly. Tan means opening. Sau means hand. Together they mean opening hand. Tan Sau is for meeting your opponent and is used either inside or outside position. From this contact with your opponent, you can decide whether you will attack or defend. Tan Sau is very difficult to train. When you meet your opponent’s hands, if you use too much energy then it will move your hand out of your centre. If too weak, you cannot block your opponent. Therefore, to develop the proper energy for this part of training is very important. While doing the Tan Sau, you should aim to do so very slowly. The more slowly you do, the more relaxed you can be. When you are relaxed, you can the feel the energy of your opponent. When you can feel their energy, you can then use the right amount of energy back to stop them. When you train Tan Sau, your arm should move forward from your centreline. When it is extended fully, your elbow should be one to two fists away from the body. The closer your elbow is to your centreline, then one fist away is enough. If you cannot manage this, then your elbow position should be then closer to two fists away. Otherwise Tan Sau will be too close to the body and you will not be able to use it to defend yourself properly. When we extend Tan Sau, you should use your skeleton, not the muscles, to move the arm forward. Your muscles should be completely relaxed. Qi Magazine 38
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Huen Sau 1. Relax your elbow and curl your hand slightly.
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2. Slowly rotate your wrist inwards in a clockwise direction as far as it will go. Fig 20.
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3. Allow your arm to float slightly and extend your fingers outwards and upwards until your palm is facing outwards.
Huen means circle and so together means circle hand. Huen Sau is for using to change from outside to inside hand, without using energy or force. However, we only apply Huen Sau as an attack hand when our opponent has attacked us and their energy is already committed. Otherwise, Huen Sau is just used for changing position in Chi Sau.
Jum Sau
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1. As your palm faces outwards, sharply sink your forearm by chopping down with your wrist joint. 2. This will bring your palm to face the side with your fingers pointing up and your thumb bent. This is a small movement, so although your wrist joint will drop, your whole arm should not move down very much. Keep your fingers pointing up and in line with the centreline. Fig 2121a.
Jum means press down. This is pressing down hand. Jum Sau is for blocking, usually when the hand is in Fuk Sau, when your opponent punches and you feel the energy coming towards you. Then you can use Jum Sau. When you have completed Jum Sau, then your forearm should be completely horizontal. You should not use too much energy so that the arm is extended lower than this point. If this happens, your opponent can hit you back. Most of the time, when we have finished Jum Sau, we will then immediately punch back with the Jum Sau arm. Qi Magazine 40
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Wu Sau 1. Draw your palm slowly back towards your body, maintaining its vertical position. Let your elbow relax and point outwards as you bring your palm back. 2. You should stop when your palm is about 8-10 inches (20-25cms) from your middle chest. Fig 22.
Perform this movement very slowly. Wu means protecting and so this is protecting hand.
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Fig 39
During fighting, your protection of your centreline is very important. So when somebody attacks your centreline, you can change the Wu Sau to be Tan Sau or a punch, but when we do this, your other hand should come back to Wu Sau to cover your centreline. Therefore, when we only have one hand in contact during fighting, Wu Sau should always be there to protect our centreline. Many people will find
themselves being attacked because their Wu Sau has dropped from the centre. This can also happen when the Wu Sau is held too close to the body and lose the space for responding. So during one hand contact with an opponent, you should always protect your centreline with Wu Sau. Only when you come to very high level can you sometimes drop the Wu Sau hand.
Fuk Sau 1. Relax your wrist and let your Wu Sau drop into the Fuk Sau position by letting your palm fall down naturally. 2. Turn your palm so that your fingers and thumb are horizontal to the ground and make a very loose claw shape. The elbow will drop down naturally. Energy should be in your elbow, not your wrist Fig 23. 3. Slowly extend your arm forward. Your elbow should move in towards the centreline (without going past it) as your arm goes forward. Your shoulders should not move or hunch forward. Do not force the elbow towards the centreline, or you will become tense. Fig 24-24a.
This movement should also be performed slowly. Fuk Sau means resting hand. It is used to make contact with your opponent so you can judge their energy and know their intent through their energy. It is more passive so you wait until your opponent attacks until you defend. So Fuk Sau usually connects with Jum Sau, Jut Sau and Huen Sau together.
Huen Sau/Jum Sau/Wu Sau 1. When the Fuk Sau reaches its fullest extent, relax the elbow and wrist, and perform Huen Sau, Jum Sau and Wu Sau again. Repeat the entire sequence – Fuk Sau, Huen Sau, Jum Sau and Wu Sau twice more. Your hand should finish in front of your chest in the Wu Sau position (see opposite). Fig 25-26.
Paak Sau 1. From Wu Sau, relax your wrist and then push your palm quickly out to the right, as if warding off a punch. Your hand should not go past your shoulder, and you should only use energy at the point at which you would make contact with an opponent’s energy. Fig 27.
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Paak Sau means slapping hand. It is used for both defending and attacking. It must be performed quickly, however. Once you slap your opponent’s hand, your hand goes back to your centre straight away. If your opponent attacks, you can slap the hand, moving their energy off course, then you can attack. Another situation is if your opponent will not move their hand, then you can slap their arm to create an opening for attack. However, it is important not to slap too far past the centreline, otherwise you will leave your own centreline open for attack.
Jik Jeung 1. Relax your arm and bring your palm back to the centreline. Now, change the direction of your palm so that it is facing outwards. Then push it forwards from the centreline. Again, energy is only used at the end of the movement. Fig 28.
Jik means straight and Jeung means palm. Together they mean straight palm. This is the same as punching attitude but using the palm
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Fig 46
instead. When you use it properly, it is even more powerful than a punch. Jik Jeung can be used with Paak Sau together. W hen you hit, you attack either on the face or the centre of your opponent’s chest. Usually the opponent will bounce back or fall over.
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Huen Sau/ Withdraw the Fist 1. Gather your fingers and circle your wrist as in previous movement, Huen Sau/Withdraw the fist. Fig 29-32.
Now repeat all the movements from Tan Sau onwards using the right hand. Fig 32-48. to be continued... Qi Magazine 41
Siu Lim Tao T
The Second Section
he second part of Siu Lim Tao is Fa Ging training. Fa means “release”, Ging means “power ”. It means release power. This part is training how to use proper energy when you are using power and so is much faster than the first part of training Siu Lim Tao. The very famous Long Distance Fa Ging (most people call it one inch punch because of Bruce Lee demonstrations), is an example of how to use power while applying the principles of Wing Chun Kuen. This is that you do not use the energy until you really want it. So when we study Wing Chun Kuen, we should not use too much energy and never use strength against strength. Therefore, on all the attacks we must relax until the time we are sure we want to commit to an attack and then it is only used at the point of contact, not before. In the entire second part of this training, we must relax until the last moment and only then release the power. Many of the movements in this section are trained double handed. However, we can actually use one hand and it is in fact more common than using the technique with two hands.
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Yan Jeung 1. Open the palm of your left hand, rotate it to face the floor, and then push downward using the energy only at the last moment. (Fig.49) 2. Keep the left arm in the same position, repeat the previous movement with your right hand.(Fig.50) 3. Relax both hands and bring them up to the lower back. Now push both hands downward with the same energy as before.(Fig.51) 4. Bring both hands up to both sides of your waist, push them out in front of your body at your stomach level.(Fig.52)
Yan means “Stamp”, Jeung means “Palm”. Yan Jeung means “stamping palm” and to attack with the palm. However, in this situation, the strike with the palm is in a lower direction. The application on the lower Yan
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Jeung is that when someone grasps your hand, you strike down to get rid of the grasping. Remember to only use the energy at last moment. Do not try to use the energy beforehand. Usually, in most situations when we use the lower Yan Jeung, we need to do it with footwork together. If your opponent is stronger than you, you need to use stepping in order to change the grasping energy. This will
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also help make your opponent confused. However, there can always be someone who is very strong and in this case, then you would have to use another method instead of Yan Jeung. In Wing Chun there is always a solution for all kind of situations, but there is not one absolutely killing technique.(See Wing Chun Kung Fu Traditional Chinese Kung Fu for Self Defence and Health pages106 & 107) Qi Magazine 39
Double Jum Sau 1. Let both of your elbows sink down so that they are on either side of your centreline. Your palms should be relaxed and extending slightly outward 2. Now sharply sink both wrists down so that your palms are facing each other. The forearms hardly move during this movement.(Fig.56)
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Wan Lan Sau
Jum means “rest your weight on”. Jum Sau means “rest your weight on hand technique” and it means to put your pressure to block a hand technique. Jum Sau is used when your opponent attacks you and then you block it from the top. In most cases, Jum Sau is used while you are contacting with your opponent while your hands are on outside or on top. Most of time, you will be in the Fuk Sau position before using this technique. Remember that when you are using Jum Sau, that you should not go lower than horizontal level. Once you
1. Bring your arms directly up to the middle of the chest, so that your forearms are at shoulder height with either left or right arms on the top (this is not important). Your arms should be folded over each other but not touching.(Fig 53)
Wan means “horizon”, Lan means “block”. Wan Lan Sau means “horizontal blocking hand”. Wan Lan Sau is not used very often. Because it is difficult to use, you need to use strength to press your opponent’s arm to the chest, and in most situations, you will need to grasp their other hand as well, so that they will not have a place to move. Sometimes you make your Wan Lan Sau higher or lower or even turn to the side as well. This all depends on the height of your opponent. (Wing Chun Book page 108)
Pek Jeung 1. Extend your arms outward so that your hands follow a straight line out from the body. Just before your arms are fully extended, release the energy in your wrists as if chopping an opponent’s throat. Your body should remain still, only your arms move.(Fig.54)
Pek means “chop”. Pek Jeung means “chop with palm”. The application of Pek Jeung is that when you chop your opponent with the Qi Magazine 40
Fig 56
palm, it is using the lower edge of the palm. This is similar to the method of using a Chinese cleaver. The energy is used in the same way as in other techniques. Pek Jeung is fast and unexpected, like holding a Chinese bamboo stick. When you hold the pressure on one side of stick, then when it is released, it will spring out fast and hard. (Wing Chun Book page 109)
Wan Lan Sau 1. Return your arms to the previous position.(Fig.55)
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stop the attack, do not carry on using energy, otherwise you will be hit back by use of too much energy. (Wing Chun Book page 110)
Double Tan Sau 1. Turn your hands so that your palms face upward.(Fig. 57)
We have mentioned Tan Sau in issue 48.
Double Fuk Sau 1. Relax your hands and turn them so that your palms are facing downward.(Fig.58)
leaning forward, they will have little defence when you attack their eyes. However, in traditional Wing Chun training, the Sifu usually does not teach the Biu Jee Form until they trust their students. Bui Jee is also used to attack the weaker acupuncture points in the body.
Double Lat Sau 1. Keep your arms straight, push the hands downward with force until you reach the waist level. (Fig.61)
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Jut means “Jerk”. It means “jerking hand”. When your opponent’s arms are very tense, and you are contacting them with your Fuk Sau, then you can use Jut Sau. If used properly, then your opponent will lose their balance. However, do not use when their hands are soft, only when they are using energy (see Wing Chun Kung Fu - Traditional Chinese Kung Fu for Self Defence and Health page 111).
Double Biu Jee Fig 62
We also have mentioned the Fuk Sau in the previous issue of Qi Magazine. However, this Fuk Sau position is slightly different from the one before. The Fuk Sau we learned before is for the situation when your opponent is slightly weaker than you and you are able to stop their energy with your forearms. This one is for when your opponent is stronger than you. Therefore you contact them with your palm to feel their energy instead of trying resist their energy. When they try to attack you, you can then respond immeditately(see Wing Chun Kung Fu - Traditional Chinese Kung Fu for Self Defence and Health page 111).
Double Jut Sau 1. Jerk your hands backward and slightly downward, along the line of your forearms, in a small movement.(Fig. 59)
1. Thrust your hands forward at eye level, as if you are attacking your opponent’s eyes. Push energy to your finger tips at the last moment.(Fig. 60)
Lat means “force goes downward”. It means “force down hand”. Lat Sau is not used commonly, because it uses strength. In the principle of Wing Chun, we use as little energy as possible. So Lat Sau is for covering a Bui Jee attack which fails. In case your opponent blocks your Bui Jee attack with their hands, then you can push them down again. It is similar to Jut Sau (Wing Chun Book page 111).
Withdraw the fists 1. Bring up both hands to the shoulder level with both wrists upward.(Fig 62) 2. This part we have mentioned before in issues 47 and 48. This time we do them with both hands together.(Fig. 63 & 64)
Remember that Siu Lim Tao is basic Wing Chun Kuen skill. If you want to develop good Wing Chun Kuen, you spend the time on Siu Lim Tao to make your skill good.
Biu means “strike”, Jee means “fingers”. It means “strike with fingers”. Biu Jee is a high level of Wing Chun Kuen skill. In Chinese martial arts training, we all know that the fist is very powerful, but it is not as powerful as the palm. The palm is not as powerful as the fingers. Therfore if we attack with the fingers, it will do more damage than by using just a fist. This is because when we use the fingers to attack, we attack the weaker areas of the body, not the hard part of the body. Because of this, it is very hard to recover. In the form, we use Biu Jee to attack after we have brought our opponent’s balance forward Fig 63 using Jut Sau. When they are
to be continued ...
Fig 64 Qi Magazine 41
Siu Lim Tao The Third Section Once we have finished the Gong Lik (internal energy) and Fa Ging (releasing power) training, we cover basic skill training in Part III of the Siu Lim Tao. A main principle of Wing Chun is to be simple and direct, together with the principle of attacking the centreline. Therefore in Wing Chun, there are not many basic techniques. As my Sifu, Ip Chun, says, there is only Paak Sau and Lap Sau. Paak Sau means slapping hand and Lap Sau means Grabbing hand. This is very simple. Hearing this, some people may say that the skill is very easy to learn. However, this is wrong. Techniques that are so simple, have so many ways to develop. In different situations you apply different techniques. Section Three covers these basic skills:- Tan Sau, Paak Sau, Gaan Sau, Heun Sau, Chan Sau, Bong Sau and punching. These techniques can be used for both training Chi Sau and self defence. If you can apply these skills properly, then you will be able to defend yourself in most situations. Chi Sau training helps us to better develop these techniques
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Paak Sau 1. Bring up your left hand, relax your wrist and then push your palm quickly out to the right, as if warding off a punch. Bring back the hand to the centreline as quickly as possible. Only use energy at the point in which you would make contact with an opponent’s energy. Fig 65 - 67.
Wan Jeung 1. Continue with your left hand and perform Wan Jeung. Your fingers should be horizontal with your fingers pointing to the left. Fig 68 - 69. 2 Perform Huen Sau and Withdraw the Fist. Fig 70 - 72.
Wan means horizontal (or side) and Jeung means palm. Wan Jeung means horizontal palm. We have already learned Jik Jeung, straight palm. Wan Jueng is usually used to Qi Magazine 16
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Sau and Tan Sau, used simultaneously. This is not covered in Wing Chun’s first three forms, but only in the Wooden Dummy and Baat Jam Do. However, Kwun Sau is more important than Gaan Sau and you should learn it when you begin to do Chi Sau.
Tan Sau Fig 95
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attack the lower jaw of the opponent. This is different than Jik Jeung which attacks from your centreline to your opponent’s centreline. Usually we turn the body 45% to use Wan Jeung. It is quite rare to use it from the front.
Repeat from Paak Sau to Wan Jeung with the right hand. Fig 73 - 80.
Tan Sau 1. Quickly bring your hand forwards, palm facing up, elbow at the centreline. Fig 81.
Gaan Sau 1. Relax your elbow and drop your hand down in a shallow arc. Fig 82.
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Gaan means separating, so Gaan Sau is separating hand. With Gaan Sau, we use the outside of the forearm to block. When you use it, you usually turn 45% with a forceful energy. There is both an upper and lower Gaan Sau and this one is the lower. Quite often, though, we will use the upper and lower Gaan Sau in tandem, particularly in the Wooden Dummy and Biu Jee forms. Upper Gaan Sau is the equivalent of Tan Sau. Gaan Sau is the outside defending hand and must be used in this way. It cannot be used from inside hand to be outside hand. The energy comes from the legs, not the upper body, and is used at the same time as you do Jeun Ma. There is another technique called Kwun Sau which is used from inside hand to be outside. Basically, this is just a combination of Bong
1 Bring your hand back up into Tan Sau. Fig 83.
In this section we use Tan Sau twice. This is because Gaan Sau has both an upper and lower part. So both Tan Saus should be performed as if it were an outside hand Gaan Sau. This movement is connected to the Wooden Dummy.
Huen Sau 1. From Tan Sau, do a low Huen Sau, using the same circling wrist movement, but when nearing the end, push out and down with the palm, releasing energy at the end. Fig 84 - 86. 2. Go straight back into Tan Sau. Fig 87. 3. Do a high Huen Sau and then Withdraw the Fist to come back to the ready position. Fig 88 - 90.
Heun Sau means Rotating Hand. The application is used when your hand is outside in either Fuk Sau or Tan Sau and your Qi Magazine 17
opponent is using a lot of energy against you. You use Heun Sau by rotating the hand inwards and then using a palm strike downwards to your opponent’s body. When you use Huen Sau, you must only use it when your opponent uses force, otherwise you can leave yourself open for attack.
Repeat Tan Sau/Gaan Sau/Tan Sau Huen Sau for the right hand. Fig 90 - 99
Bong Sau 1. Bring your left hand out, wrist to the centreline, elbow higher than your wrist, upper arm parallel to the centreline. Make sure your wrist is loose and your shoulder is neither raised or tense. Fig 100.
Bong Sau means Wing Hand because it moves up and down much like a wing. Bong Sau is used all the time in Wing Chun, however, most of the people do not use it correctly. Usually, they use too much energy on the forearm. All the energy should be on the upper part of the arm and the forearm and hand should be completely relaxed. The elbow should be higher than the wrist most of the time. Bong Sau is for connecting with your opponent’s hand when your opponent’s hand is on top of your hand. If only using one hand to contact with your opponent, then the Bong Sau is done at an angle of 45 degree from your body. If using double Chi Sau, then you can face each other. The application is that when your opponent attacks and you have already met it with Bong Sau, then you can then take your opposite hand and Lap Sau your opponent’s striking hand. Then chop with the Bong Sau hand.
Tan Sau 1. From Bong Sau, drop your elbow to the centreline. Fig 101.
Bong Sau and Tan Sau are often connected together because one is elbow up and the other is elbow down. The are used in tandem to change the energy during Chi Sau.
Dai Jeung 1. Push your palm forwards straight out from the middle chest, striking with the heel of the palm, again using energy at the last moment. Your palm Qi Magazine 18
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should be upside down, with the fingers pointing towards the ground. Fig 102. 2. Draw back your hand to its resting position by first gathering a fist. Fig 103 -106.
Dai Jueng means Lower Palm. We use this palm to attack the lower part of the body. However, when we attack the lower part of the body, we can often forget the defence of the upper part. So the best way is to step to the side and apply Dai Jueng along with Paak Sau. Repeat Bong Sau/Tan Sau/ Dai Jeung on the right side. Fig 107 - 112.
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4. Repeat the movement on the right and then once more on the left. Finish with your right hand down and your left hand up. Fig 116.
Chan Sau means Shovel or Clearing Hand. When your opponent tries to grab your hand, then you pull your hand back and use the opposite hand to chop downwards. However, you must do this before your opponent fully grabs hold of your hand.
Chung Kuen
Chaan Sau
1. Punch with your left hand, simultaneously drawing your right hand back behind your left hand. Fig117. 2. Repeat twice more, each time changing hands. Fig 118 - 119.
1. Bring your left arm down. Fig 113. 2. Place your right hand at the top of your left forearm. Fig 114. 3. Sharply draw back your left arm and clear it by sliding the right hand along it simultaneously. Your hand position is now reversed. Fig 115.
It is similar to the punching in the beginning, however, it is done in a continuous manner, not just a single punch. Generally, we do three times, but in practice, you can do more than this. However, you should remember to use energy only at the last moment.
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Finish 1. Withdraw both fists into the resting position. Fig 120. 2. Bring your feet together, straighten your legs. Open your palms, push them down and relax. Fig 121.
Conclusion We have now completed the whole Siu Lim Tao. Siu Lim Tao is the
Fig 121
basic form of the Wing Chun system. You should practise Siu Lim Tao more than any of the other forms. This will help you to understand the principles of Wing Chun more fully. You should try to do it is as slowly as possible and naturally. Breathe through the nose. Siu Lim Tao is not just a martial art skill, it is also internal training. It can make you healthy as well because every martial artist should be healthy.
I have been studying Wing Chun for over 26 years and I still enjoy Siu Lim Tao training. I find it very useful to improve my skill. Personally, I believe that Siu Lim Tao is not the first form created in the Wing Chun Kuen system. I believe that it was created after the Tsum Kiu and Biu Jee forms, even after the Wooden Dummy. Our Wing Chun ancestors must have realised the need for internal training and so created Siu Lim Tao later. Siu Lim Tao is for balancing the strong energy and to make us healthier. Most martial artists only concentrate on fighting and miss the internal training. Internal training will help us to balance our body. It needs someone with a lot of experience to realise this. Therefore, Siu Lim Tao is the most important form in the whole Wing Chun system by Michael Tse Qi Magazine 19
Siu Lim T - Stillnes Laozi’s Dao De Jing mentions how the world was created and also how things work. Wing Chun Kuen was created from nothing and from Wing Chun Kuen many Wing Chun skills have been created. Then these Wing Chun skills will go back to nothing. This is how nature works you were born from nothing, then you do a lot of things in this world, finally you die and go back to nothing. “Everything is created from nothing and also created by something.” – Dao De Jing
W
hen you study Wing Chun Kuen, the first thing you have to learn is the form “Siu Lim Tao”. The first part of the form you have to do very slowly. Many people wonder why this is. Some will think that Wing Chun is a martial art, which is supposed to be quick and powerful. There are other people who will think the opposite, that this is Qigong training that will help to make you powerful, particularly your one-inch punch. Actually you can say that both ways of thinking are right, but they do not cover the point of the training 100%. This slow training will bring you quick and powerful attacks and also develop your Qi, but these are just the branches and not the trunk of the tree, so they are not the purpose of the tree. As the Dao De Jing says “Everything comes from nothing and nothing comes from something.” When we perform Siu Lim Tao, we do not move our feet or legs from the start, until we finish. We move so slowly, that there is almost no movement. From Tan Sau to Wu Sau to Fuk Sau, these are very slow movements, so slow that you cannot even see them move. I remember a few years ago at one of the Wing Chun residential courses, Darryl Moy led the group doing Siu Lim Tao. He did it very slowly and the total time was over 2 hours. Most of the people found this very hard to stand and this was a new experience for them. During the residential course we usually do one hour and in classes we do 5 to 15 minutes, because we are limited for time. I think half an hour to one hour to train Siu Lim Tao is the best page 40 Qi Magazine May/June 2003
ao s
time because I do not want to practise only once a day. You should practise everyday, so the best thing is if you can do the same length of time every single day. This will get you the best results. Also training for too long will make your leg muscles very stiff and maybe you will not be able to train the next day. This is not good. You need to keep training constantly. But, coming back to the slow movements of Siu Lim Tao, we should treat this as if we are standing forever, and that we are not there. Then there will be nothing in your mind and then you will go back to nature. Nature is the best teacher and our best friend to help us understand and solve all our problems. If we do the form slowly we will build up our patience. Patience is the key to success. No one will be successful without patience. It is the same in self-defence, fighting is fast, but if you cannot be patient, then you will make a lot of mistakes. Patience creates a calm mind; a calm mind creates the Qi flow. Qi flow creates healing and healing creates health. Health creates strength and strength creates powerboth physical and mental. Today most of the martial arts we see only concentrate on teaching fighting skill and neglect the spiritual side. In all traditional martial arts the first lesson you learn from the teacher should be about the morals of martial arts. Martial arts are not for fighting they are for health. Good health comes first and selfdefence comes second. Also, self-defence does not
“Health creates strength and strength creates power both physical and mental.” mean attacking and bullying people. A good, traditional, Chinese martial artist is very gentle and has a high sense of
morality. “Using force can only control people for a moment. Using compassion can win people’s hearts forever.” Therefore, even those people studying martial arts in China do not use them to bully other people. They treat them as health exercises first. Then when you are healthy, you can use them for self-defence, to protect yourself, your family and your country. Siu Lim Tao is very important for your health. These slow movements that we do at the beginning tell us that we are just part of nature and we are not so important. If we can stand this forever, then nothing is important. That kind of stance is something, but this something is brought back to nothing. Since you are nothing it means you are everything and you will eventually go on forever. Your Qi and your skill will reach a high level. When you study Wing Chun Kuen, you should know this. When you start, you begin from nothing. Then you become something as you practise. When you totally understand the
Wing Chun skill you can apply the principles and when you have trained physically, you go back to nothing. You become a high level martial artist and a good healthy person. Martial arts without morality are like a person without feelings, a butterfly that cannot fly and a plant that has no fruits or flowers. Good morals are the essence of martial arts. If you know how to treat your martial art in the proper way, you will know how to care about people and you will not use your skill to bully other people and show off. So a good martial artist is healthy and has a high level of skill. You can see the results people get who study martial arts and only concentrate on fighting. They end up with many injuries and a lot of pain in the body and some even die at a young age. Martial art morality is not given to you from your Sifu, it comes from nature, to save you. By Michael Tse
Qi Magazine May/June 2003 page 41
