Teesside Wing Chun Gung fu Association Home Study Guide Siu Lim Tau (Little idea) Home Study Guide Page 1 of 11
This guide is intended to be used along with the following media; you will need to purchase these products to study the course. You can buy this from amazom.com or lulu.com or ebay. The purpose of this guide is to help you add structure to your training, as you will not always have your instructor to hand and I cannot be with you in person this instructional guide is intended to replace me right there in your own home. Tip: don t try to learn too much all in one session, I suggest picking 2 techniques and practising those per session this building your abilities in small chunks. Page 2 of 11
The Siu Lim Tao form Study the Siu Lim Tao form in the book for the names of each move, then practicing the form, pay special attention to the wrist and elbow positions that you read in the book. It is recommend that you first practice up to the completion on pak sau and forward strike (ching cheung) on both the left and right sides until you feel comfortable performing it, this is the first third of the form, always seek advice when studying the form, make a video of your performance and email to me for review. Do this a minimum of 10 times per training session for a period of no less than 3 months. I suggest you have a minimum of two 1 hour sessions per week during which time this should be performed on both occasions. For example pick a Tuesday and a Thursday and at 7pm begin your training, this helps you get into a regular routine After three months start to practice the second third, this section ends with double biu sau, again. Do this a minimum of 10 times per training session for a period on no less than 3 months. Always get input from me everything you learn in the beginning is very important and must be done correctly before you continue. Make a video of your performance and email to me for review. After 6 months include the last third and practice the whole form, you should practice the complete from at least once a day, more times will not hurt, during a practice session you should do the whole form three times in a row. Make a video of your performance and email to me for review, now three times in a row is a general number of times to perform the full form you can do more if you so wish, it is also important to note that if you make a mistake during the form, then you should start the form again until you can finish the form with no mistakes. The final stage for completing the Siu Lim Tau is to demonstrate the complete form on one leg. Time should be taken to practice leg strength and balance. This is important because when you kick in Wing Chun (learned in Chum Kiu) the supporting leg has to support your own weight and the returning force from the kick which can be great. Page 3 of 11
Techniques you should train All of the following techniques can be found in your training media so please refer to that for your training, if you are unsure you can contact me with your questions. Open and Close the stance (hoi ma) The first thing you need to focus on is opening the stance, you can find the reference in the book, study how its done and then practice over and over. Do this 10 times per session Punching Wing Chun comes from southern china and is primarily a fist fighting style because its primary weapon is the punch you will often hear the phrase Wing Chun Kuen, in Cantonese kuen means fist. There is various ways to practice your punching, first of all refer to the book to learn how to punch correctly. Once you know how to punch then practice you punching this way. While stood in gee kim yeung ma (the training stance) with your guard up one hand in front of the other. Punch forward with the rear hand once the front hand should now be at the back position pause then punch forward with the hand that is closest to the body. Do this 10 times, so you will have punched 5 times per side Now repeat this exercise but, on this occasion, punch with the rear hand then immediately follow and punch with the hand you just made the rear hand pause then repeat it. Do this 10 times you will have punched 10 times per side. This time do 3 punches pause then repeat, again do this 10 times totalling 15 punches per side.. Repeat this up to 6 punches, these are called punch sets. Page 4 of 11
Turning (cheun ma) From the basic stance (gee kim yeung ma) transfer 100% of your weight to one leg, keeping your other foot flat on the floor twist your foot so that is points outward from the body, the foot should travel 90 degree then stop, on completion the foot of the weight bearing leg and the foot you just moved should be in 45 degrees pointing in the same direction, the act of moving to this position is called cheun ma. Pause for a moment and then bring the foot back to the position it originally started, still keeping the foot flat on the floor, on completion of the transition you should now be back in gee kim yeung ma. Now transfer a 100% weight on to the other foot, the foot you just moved, and enact the same thing you did with the other foot, pause for moment and return, practice for a minimum of 20 repetitions. Turning with punch Now using the turning you have been practicing above start including the Wing Chun punch, when you have completed the turn, note which leg has a 100% of the weight on it and punch through the centreline on that side pause do the turn and then repeat it on the other side. (The punch should land at the same time as the turn completes. The aim is to use the turn to add power to the punch amongst other things) Again do this for at least a minimum of 10 time on each side. Tip: when you here the word dar or da on the end of a technique it refers to both hands being used at the same time (simultaneous attack and defence) Pak sau with simultaneous punch (pak dar) Refer to the book to learn how to enact pak sau, one you understand what pak sau is and how pak sau works from your training stance gee kim yeung ma pak and punch at the same time, in Wing Chun we want everything to be as efficient as possible so attacking and defending at the same time is how we achieve that. Do 10 on the left side and 10 on the right. Tan sau with simultaneous punch (tan dar) Again study the book and training media to learn how to do tan sau and then do 10 on the left side and 10 on the right. Page 5 of 11
Biu sau with simultaneous punch (biu dar) Again refer to the book to learn what biu sau and if unsure about this technique contact Me. Then do 10 on the left side and 10 on the right. When practising with a partner always use caution to eliminate harm to your training partner, special attention should be paid to any technique that is used around the face and throat area. Gaun sau with simultaneous punch (gann dar) Again refer to the book to learn what gaun sau and if unsure about this technique contact Me. Then do 10 on the left side and 10 on the right. Additional punching training In the art of Wing Chun we use a specific kind of punch bag that hangs on the wall and can be purchased online oddly enough they are called wall bags they are available in a one pouch, a two pouch version and a three pouch version, any of these bags will do but bare in mind the more pouches you have to fill the more stuffing you will need, as a beginner you should fill these with rice or sand (no-staining) or dried beans like chick peas and practice your chain punching on the top bag, this is called lin wan kuen. Additional techniques Also study very closely are jum sau, jut sau and Fook sau you will find the application and techniques demonstrated in detail in the book, it is recommended that you spend a lot of time and research these particular techniques and. if you are unsure it is recommended that you seek advice from Me. Page 6 of 11
Bong sau (wing arm) You will find a full explanation of bong sau in the book; this technique should also be studied and understood so pay special attention to the elbow height of the arm and the wrist position. Bong sau with turning (juk sun bong sau) As with other techniques once you have learned how to perform a bong sau correctly start doing bong sau with you turning you should practise this as much as you can because correct performance of this will be required in the chum kiu. Bong / lap drill Also refer to the training media to learn how to practice this drill, note that it is a two man drill, one of you starts in bong sau and the other has a punch resting on the bong, then the person in bong sau using their rear hand uses lap sau to pull down the other persons hand with a view to strike with a punch, forcing the other person to raise the elbow into a bong sau. When you arms start to ache, stop and train the other. Don chi sau (single sticking arm) Don chi sau is taught at Siu Lim Tao level and uses many of the hand techniques found in this form, this practice drill does requires a partner to train it, refer to the book to learn how to train this. You should practice this drill on one arm and stop when your arms starts to ache, then switch arms. If you were training the techniques that start with tan sau then allow you partner to train tan sau and you switch to the fook sau set of techniques and again when you arm is tired switch arms. Once you are comfortable with the movements try to do the drill with your eyes shut. The aim is to feel the punch coming rather than see it. This gives you better sensitivity. Obviously extra care should be taken not to harm your training partner so start slow and build up. Tip: This chi sau training is getting you ready to learn to do sheung chi sau or commonly just called chi sau (double sticking hands) this training will help improve your structure, help you become softer, and teach you the basic responses you will need to feel for when you move to chi sau. You can practice sheung chi sau at this stage, but if it become confusing then switch back to dan chi sau to work out what is going wrong. Page 7 of 11
Huen Ma (circling stance) Huen Ma or 'circling stance' is the stance and footwork that is developed in the 3rd form Biu Gee. Huen Ma is extremely effective when combined with the footwork of Biu Ma. Huen Ma enables the practitioner to shift weight and change position quickly and safely. Starting from the basic position of Biu Ma, the weight from the back leg is shifted forward onto the front leg as the back leg moves towards it. The front leg then becomes the back leg with the weight now sitting on that leg, and what was previously the back leg is thrust forward. To look at it another way the back leg does a half circle to become the new front leg. The Huen Ma is a very flexible movement and can be used and applied in a multitude of different ways. It can be used to aggressively receive attacks or to circle around your opponent to attack them from a different angle. It can also be used to maneuver safely when fighting multiple opponents. History It is said that you should always know the source of the water you drink from, on this occasion this simply means that you should know where you kung for came from and its history, Wing Chun is said to be 300 years old, below is the history you should study, it can also be found on the website. The History of Wing Chun is outlined below. This account of the origin of Wing Chun Kung Fu was written by the late Grandmaster Ip Man. The founder of the Wing Chun Kung Fu System, Miss Yim Wing Chun was a native of Canton [Kwangtung Province] in China. She was an intelligent and athletic young girl, upstanding and forthright. Her mother died soon after her betrothal to Leung Bok Chau, a salt merchant of Fukien. Her father, Yim Yee, was wrongfully accused of a crime and, rather than risk jail, they slipped away and finally settled down at the foot of Tai Leung Mountain near the border between Yunan and Szechuan provinces. There they earned a living by running a shop that sold bean curd. During the reign of Emperor K'anghsi of the Ching Dynasty (1662-1722) Kung Fu became very strong in the Siu Lam [Shaolin] Monastery of Mt. Sung, in Honan Province. This aroused the fear of the Manchu government [a non- Chinese people from Manchuria in the North, who ruled China at that time], which sent troops to attack the Monastery. Although they were unsuccessful, a man named Chan Man Wai, a recently appointed civil servant seeking favor with the government, suggested a plan. He plotted with Siu Lam monk Ma Ning Yee and others who were persuaded to betray their companions by setting fire to the monastery while soldiers attacked it from the outside. Siu Lam was burned down, and the monks and disciples scattered. Buddhist Abbess Ng Mui, Abbot Chi Shin, Abbot Pak Mei, Page 8 of 11
Master Fung To Tak and Master Miu Hin escaped and went their separate ways. Ng Mui took refuge in the White Crane Temple on Mt. Tai Leung [also known as Mt. Chai Har]. It was there she met Yim Yee and his daughter Wing Chun from whom she often bought bean curd on her way home from the market. At fifteen, with her hair bound up in the custom of those days to show she was of an age to marry, 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. Ng Mui later travelled around the country, but before she left she told Wing Chun to strictly honour the Kung Fu traditions, to develop her Kung Fu after her marriage, and to help the people working to overthrow the Manchu government and restore the Ming Dynasty. After her marriage Wing Chun taught Kung Fu to her husband Leung Bok Chau. He in turn passed these techniques on to Leung Lan Kwai. Leung Lan Kwai then passed them on to Wong Wah Bo. Wong Wah Bo was a member of an opera troupe on board a junk, known to Chinese as the Red Junk. Wong worked on the Red Junk with Leung Yee Tei. It came about that Abbot Chi Shin, who fled from Siu Lam, had disguised himself as a cook and was then working on the Red Junk. Chi Shin taught the Six-and-a-half-point Long Pole techniques to Leung Yee Tei. Wong Wah Bo was close to Leung Yee Tei, and they shared what they knew about Kung Fu. Together they shared and improved their techniques, and thus the Six-and-a-half-point Long Pole was incorporated into Wing Chun Kung Fu. Leung Yee Tei passed his Kung Fu on to Leung Jan, a well known herbal Doctor in Fat Shan. Leung Jan grasped the innermost secrets of Wing Chun, attaining the highest level of proficiency. Many Kung Fu masters came to challenge him, but all were defeated. Leung Jan became very famous. Later he passed his Kung Fu on to Chan Wah Shan, who took me and my elder Kung Fu brothers, such as Ng Siu Lo, Ng Chung So, Chan Yu Min and Lui Yu Jai, as his students many decades ago. It can thus be said that the Wing Chun System was passed on to us in a direct line of succession from its origin. I write this history of the Wing Chun System in respectful memory of my forerunners. I am eternally grateful to them for passing to me the skills I now possess. A man should always think of the source of the water as he drinks it; it is this shared feeling that keeps our Kung Fu brothers together. Is this not the way to promote Kung Fu, and to project the image of our country? - Ip Man Page 9 of 11
Example training program You can choose you own days to train, these are just example of how you can train. First 3 months Tuesday Technique How to train Hoi ma 2 sets or 5 reps Siu Lim Tau Section 1 2 sets of 5 reps Tan sau Biu sau Gann sau Pak sau Dan chi sau (partner drill) Change arms if aching occurs Thursday Technique How to train Hoi ma 2 sets or 5 reps Siu Lim Tau Section 1 2 sets of 5 reps Turning (cheun ma) Bong sau Bong with turning Bong lap drill (partner drill) Change arms if aching occurs After three months Tuesday Technique How to train Hoi ma 2 sets or 5 reps Siu Lim Tau Section 1 and 2 2 sets of 5 reps Tan da Biu da Gann da Pak da chi sau rolling (partner drill) stop if aching occurs Thursday Technique How to train Hoi ma 2 sets or 5 reps Siu Lim Tau Section 1 and 2 2 sets of 5 reps Turning (cheun ma) Bong with turning Bong lap drill (partner drill) Change arms if aching occurs chi sau rolling (partner drill) stop if aching occurs Page 10 of 11
After six months Tuesday Technique How to train Siu Lim Tau 2 sets of 5 reps Tan sau (practice with partner) Biu sau (practice with partner) Gann sau (practice with partner) Pak sau (practice with partner) chi sau (partner drill) stop if aching occurs Thursday Technique How to train Siu Lim Tau 2 sets of 5 reps Turning (cheun ma) Bong with turning Bong lap drill (partner drill) Change arms if aching occurs chi sau (partner drill) stop if aching occurs Page 11 of 11