There are 3 empty hand forms in Wing Chun.
Siu Lim Tau (Little idea) (小念頭) – The main focus of this form is to give students some “little idea” about Wing Chun. It includes practicing the correct arms and body positions (which is part of the important Tao/Way of Wing Chun), and it introduces our students a Chinese concept of training the body (練功) (strengthening of wrists and forearm, etc – training the”Kung” in Kung Fu). The majority of moves in Siu Lim Tau are positions rather than techniques. Chum Kiu (Bridge Seeking) (尋橋) – Chum Kiu represents a more advance stage where you seek your own way. The second empty hand form focuses on the execution of the actual techniques. It also focuses on body balance and transferring centre of gravity. Biu Jee (Darting/Shooting fingers) (標指) – Biu Jee came from the darting/shooting finger of Buddha (Wing Chun was related to Buddhism due to its roots from Shaolin temple). When Buddha told his students to look at where he was pointing at, he told his disciples not to look and concentrate on his finger, but instead, they should have looked and focused on the moon where his finger was pointing, or they will miss all the heavenly glory of the moon. This signifies the level beyond. Biu Jee is a set of techniques for situation where practitioners cannot maintain correct positions/shape. It is therefore a set of techniques for “failure” situation. Arrow punches (箭搥) – Arrow punches are the characteristics of Jiu Wan (招允) lineage. There are 8 sets of arrow punches. It trains our practitioners’ footwork, movements, coordination and balance. San Sao (individual techniques) (散手) – These individual techniques are the actual techniques that we use in combat. Chi Sao (Sticking Hands) (黐手) – This is the main focus of Wing Chun training (empty hand forms are not the main focus in Wing Chun training). Apart from the fact this is a useful training tool, Chi Sao is also an important teaching tool. Chi Sao has the following functions:
Wooden Dummy (Wooden Man) (木人樁) – The wooden dummy or the wooden man is a training device in Wing Chun. Its function is to correct/fine tune our practitioners’ posture, techniques and hand positions. |