During the last week, I’ve been Tsum Kiu mad. But I’ve changed my training tactics in a subtle way. Ordinarily, I would do the whole form in its entirety maybe 10 times in a practice session. This is not a bad way to go. Practising more is the road to perfection, after all.

Over the last week or so I’ve been really isolating small sections of the form and I’ve been focusing on those. For example, after the opening sequence of Tsum Kiu, we do 4 jun mas (turning).  Instead of doing 4, I’ve been doing 10 to really polish the technique. There are several places in the form where you can just keep repeating the movement more times than usual, and the places I’ve been focusing on are (in order performed in the form):

• 4 jun mas become 10
• 3 palm strikes become 11 (you need to keep the number odd to use the correct hand on the subsequent waahng laahn sau
• 3 turning bong saus become 10
• 4 stepping bong saus become 10 – or however many you can fit in the space you have. You don’t need much space for the turning bong saus because you don’t travel, but you are restricted by how far you can move in a straight line on the stepping bong saus.
• 4 dai bongs become 10 – or, as with the stepping bong saus, however many space restrictions allow.

I find that isolating and repeating movements in this way really helps to, firstly, scrutinise what it is you are actually doing and, secondly, to tweak it. Close scrutiny makes for better fault finding. If I’ve discovered that my turning bong sau needs changing, simply performing it 3 times as per the form is not enough to embed the “new way” into my muscle memory. I use the term”muscle memory” simply because it’s an idea that most people are aware of, but there is more to it than that.

If I need to, I’ll repeat the bong sau 20 times or more. Sometimes it takes that many repetitions to get it right and then get used to the feeling of getting it right. If I limit myself to only doing 3 turning bong saus per form, then I have to wait the entire length of Tsum Kiu before I get to practise the bong sau again.

Also, doing many repetitions gives you a chance to identify faults you’d perhaps not noticed before. Last week I couldn’t make my mind up whether my upper arm was high enough in the bong sau. It went like this:

• bong sau 1 – look at that bong sau, it’s the mother of all bong saus. I feel invincible. I’ll just send a photo of my bong sau to all potential enemies. Maybe bong sau t-shirts to advertise my deathly skill…
• bong sau 2 – yep, not bad that bong sau.
• bong sau 3 – my upper arm is trailing down a little though, it looks a bit low. Hmmm.
• bong sau 4 – actually, I’m not happy with that at all.
• bong sau 5 – I’ll raise my upper arm a bit and see how that looks. It looks better, but it feels weird because I’m not used to it being that high.
• bong sau 6 – same bong sau as last one. I’m not sure…
• bong sau 7 – I think it looks better. Maybe I’d got lazy and just hadn’t noticed how low my bong sau had become.
• bong sau 8 – it’s starting to feel more “natural”. i.e. the more times I do it now, the more comfortable I’ll feel with it.
• bong sau 9 – yes, now I’m sure this is the True Bong Sau.
• bong sau 10 – this is definitely better than my previous bong sau, which, it turns out, was a mere imitation of the mother of all bong saus that I’ve now developed.

It’s good to have a little variety in your Wing Chun practice, but this exercise has more value than merely adding variety. Already, the close scrutiny encouraged by performing numerous repetitions has helped me to identify crapness and correct it. And not only correct it in the current iteration; the large number of repetitions allows me to get more familiar with doing the technique properly, so I’m more likely to preform it like that as a reflex action.

This idea of “isolate and focus” can be transferred to other areas of practice too. You can break down Siu Lim Tau into smaller sections and repeat those till you do them in your sleep. It’s the same with the dummy, too.

I did a surprising amount of training today, considering I hadn’t planned to do any at all. I found myself with a whole day to myself, with nothing much to do, so while my partner sat outside in the sun reading her book, I thought I would do a little Tsum Kiu. The patio we were on is a strip of paving stones that is just wide enough for Tsum Kiu – in fact it could have been designed for just this form.

I must have looked a sight because I had to borrow one of her straw hats with a ribbon on it to keep the sun off my head. But when you’re focused, you don’t care what you look like. I did feel pretty focused and my techniques felt crisp and accurate. My trainers had just the right kind of grip on the stone floor – i.e. not much grip at all. This was ideal for the jun ma (turning) in Tsum Kiu. It made it a pleasure. In contrast, the floor in the gym I go to is usually highly polished and a certain pair of trainers I wear just sticks like glue to the surface, making it nigh on impossible to turn. There is no point whatsoever trying to do Tsum Kiu on that surface with those trainers.

Not here in the garden though. I managed to knock out maybe half an hour of high quality (for me) Tsum Kiu.

Next I thought I’d tackle the Xing Shou form I’m learning in Chun Yuen. The patio isn’t nearly large enough for this form but the garden is. The only trouble is that the grassy surface is on a slope. And has dog turds here, there and everywhere. And the surface is uneven and irregular. I thought the best bet was to find a place to start that was furthest away from any dog turds and face uphill.

It was harder than I thought because not only was the grass sloping, but it was uneven too. It made balancing on one leg particularly tricky. Before I stretched out a leg to get into a low stance I’d have to check first to make sure there were no surprises I would step on. In the 30 minutes I was practising Xing Shou, I managed to avoid the turds most of the time. I only stepped on one once and my leg shot off in the direction I was stepping in as my trainer skidded on the slippery stuff. Nice.

I’m looking forward to more Sundays like this. I think I should be able to build up to a couple of hours easily. I could do what I did today – Tsum Kiu, Xing Shou – but also add in some leg training and finish off with a long Siu Lim Tau. I like to put Siu Lim Tau at the end of any training session, because the stance is static for so long that I prefer my muscles to be very warm and loose when I do it.

Sifu is really hammering Chum Kiu at the moment. I knew that we were going to be tested on our knowledge at the instructor’s course, but with all this focus on Chum Kiu it seems that this form will feature prominently. This doesn’t bother me because I’ve been practising it like mad.

Today’s Chum Kiu Corrections

Today, sifu noticed the following faults in my form:

• right at the beginning, after the first punch, I’m still getting the wrist rotation wrong. It needs to be done slowly and deliberately so that you can feel the joint strain. One of the benefits of taking the time to do this right is that it strengthens the wrist. Once all fingers are gathered in, snap the fist up.
• the double jam sau at the beginning needs to be slower and more measured. The transition from that to wan lan sau still needs to be snappy, but the jam saus themselves need to be slowed down.
• In turning into the wan lan sau, there are different sections to the movement.  The body turns with the feet when they turn to 45 degrees. The feet stay where they are but the body continues a further 45 degrees (so now you are facing a full 90 degrees from the front). During these two sections, the body sinks into the stance. I need to sink more into my stance.
• Each of the 3 jik jeungs: I’m looping them under the next too flamboyantly. The movement should be minimalistic, like when chain punching. The fist of the last punch comes under the next punch going out, but the ‘looping under’ should not be exaggerated. It’s the same movement with the jik jeungs.
• Bong sau to wan lan sau: when pulling the wu sau back quickly to chamber the fist, my chambered fist needs to be higher up the body. At the moment it’s hanging down too low.
• Interestingly, the part where you rest your fist on one wan lan sau before punching: when you rest the fist, you are not yet facing 90 degrees from the front as above. Instead, it’s onlt 45 degrees. This means that you can rotate the remaining 45 degrees, adding more power to your punch.

I like all these corrections because they keep me focused and motivated. They give me something very specific to work on in my practice sessions. Sifu said I should work on it every day, so now I don’t need to have the mental argument in my head about what to practise in my solitary sessions.

Last night we split into two groups; the more senior one practising chum kiu and the junior one practising siu lim tau. We absolutely hammered chum kiu. Sifu pointed out loads of things I was doing wrong and also gave very useful applications of some of the moves in the form. I’ll detail those later.

This morning I spent a whole hour in the gym practising the corrections to my rendition of chum kiu. My routine was as follows:

• Do chum kiu a couple of times all the way through, paying attention to the corrections sifu pointed out.
• Review the first correction to the form on my list and do chum kiu up to that point. Then spend 10 minutes practising over and over just the faulty move.
• Move on to the next correction: review it and then perform chum kiu from the start to the faulty move. Then practise just the correction to the faulty move over and over for 10 minutes.
• Repeat this cycle until all faulty moves had been practised.
• Do chum kiu maybe 4 more times in its entirety, paying particular attention to the previously faulty moves.

I found doing it this very beneficial. I was able to both isolate and rectify techniques I was performing incorrectly by focusing so intently on them, but I was  also able to feel the corrected technique in the context of the whole form.

Chum Kiu Improvements

Going through the moves of chum kiu in sequence, here is a list of corrections and applications of techniques:

• After the double jum sau near the beginning of the form go straight into wan lan sau. Up to now, I’ve been pausing deliberately between these two movements, but the immediacy of the transition mimics the immediacy of going from jum sau to the next technique in a real situation.
• The practical application of the double jum sau is simply the single jum sau, for example to meet a straight punch. You would never do a double jum sau – this is just for practice! When doing the jum sau, it’s the fleshy part of your forearm that meets forearm of the incoming punch, though it acts like a pak sau.
• The double fak sau after the four wan lan sau turns is just for practice. In reality, again you would only do one fak sau.
• Further on, the turn into a single bar arm that is intended to ‘bounce’ the attacker – that needs work. My power is lacking in this area. Sifu advised us to just practise that move in isolation but with the bouncing arm relaxed and away from the body as it’s easier than doing it from a chambered hand.
• The application of this is to bounce someone off who has grabbed your arm.
• When stepping in a straight line, sigong has the front foot parallel to the rear foot (45 degrees) but tai-sigong has his front foot pointing forwards. I don’t think it really matters – just be consistent.
• The double bouncing low bong sau (what a mouthful!). I’m sure there must be a more concise name for this, but I don’t know it. Mine needs to be higher and the hands, wrist and forearm need to be completely straight, whereas at the moment I have the tendency to curl them in.
• The application of this can be found in regular chi sau, I think if someone is pushing into you. Relax and let it go a little, and then bounce them whilst stepping in.
• Changing from that double low bong sau to the double tok sau is just so you can start again – it has no application.
• After the eye strike near the end, the double jut sau can be used to break your attacker’s grip, for example if they’re holding your wrists. The subsequent push is to then disrupt their balance.
• The final turn before the left leg kick – make sure you are balanced before you kick!
• Next, when you turn from pak sau to pak sau, make the turns smooth and don’t bounce.
• The pak saus should feel similar to the yeung jeungs at the start of the second section in siu lim tau.

Wing Chun Footwork

I asked sifu when to use the straight step and when to use the c shaped step. The straight step is used for covering small distances whereas with the c-step you can cover greater distances. Using the c-step, you can also place your feet more appropriately in relation to your attacker’s feet. I know that that’s used in the Wing Chun dummy forms (or at least the one I know).

More practice!

Instructor’s Course

With my recent invitation to the instructor’s course comes the feeling it’s time to get serious. I wasn’t exactly slouching before, but I can do more. After the last class I asked sifu what I should focus on in my training away from class and he simply said “the basics”. This means practising:

• siu lim tau
• chum kiu
• the hands. Ensure that the shape of tan sau, bong sau etc is perfect. Perfect. How many times have I been chi sauing only to discover that my tan sau and bong sau had lost all shape. About 2.5 million. You can’t recognise the shapes sometimes!
• the transition between hands. It sounds simple, but even my changing from tan sau to bong sau needs tightening up. By this I mean keeping the shoulders relaxed and stationary, and also pivoting the movement around the wrist only.
• theory. I must admit to not having done much reading about wing chun. I started reading Shaun Rawcliffe’s book, but it was too dry for me and I couldn’t finish it. I will try again with that book, jut not at the moment. On Friday, spurred on by the imminent instructor’s course, I decided to order a book written by my sigung and Ip Chun no less. I can’t wait to get this book! It was available at each class for about 2 years and then I think it just stopped being produced over here in the UK. However, I found some used books on Amazon, so it’s ordered and I’m waiting.
• go to all 3 classes during the week. Usually I got to one class, on a good week I go to two and very rarely I go to three. Often I don’t go to Saturday’s class because I’m too hungover from Friday’s debauched extravagances so this will have to stop!

I’ve recently started doing chi sau with one of the guys in my class in my lunch hour twice a week. Whilst I don’t think this falls into the “basics” category, there is no way I’m going to give this up! Opportunities to chi sau with someone are very much in short supply. The problem is, because I can’t go to the gym at lunchtime on those days, I’ve started going before work. This, of course, means I can’t do any wing chun practice in the morning. What the hell, I’ll adapt.

Sounds like time for a new training timetable. I think I can cover everything in a 1 week cycle.

Week 1

This really is back to basics. I’ll be focusing on SLT and CK, but the things I’ve sacrificed (like turning, developing power, speedwork) I’m sure will be compensated for by the contents of the classes.

Whoa! Much information has passed from sifu into my tiny brain in today’s class, mostly Chum Kiu related. As I’ve only been doing Chum Kiu for about a month, the learning curve at the moment is pretty steep. As familiarity grows with whatever it is you’re learning, the curve usually gets more shallow but at the moment every time sifu does it, there is something new to grasp. Today was no exception.

Bong Saus At 45 Degrees

With every bong sau you are facing 45 degrees off from the front. While your body is facing 45 degrees, you are actually looking forward though. This is something I intuitively knew, but had to ask today to get clarification. I’m a anally retentive pedant stickler for precision.

Stretch Those Tendons

I picked up something that is not peculiar to Chum Kiu, but is related to Siu Lim Tau too. After a punch, when you hoon sau and gather the fingers into a fist, how can someone get something so small so wrong??!! I can, easily. For the last 3 years I’ve been mimicking the action of wrapping my fingers around something (no sniggering ath the back!) and returning my hand to the upright position before snapping my hand into a fist. The way sifu showed me today was to really stretch the fingers whilst your hand is till rotated, gather them into a fist whilst the hand is till rotated and only then rotate the wrist and snap the fist up. The difference this makes is huge as it works the tendons in the hand much more, the purpose of course being to strengthen the fist. Such attention to detail! Another gobsmacking revelation! A few of those, and my hand really felt the work it had done.

This movement is present in both Siu Lim Tau and Chum Kiu. I know that details like this sometimes vary between different Wing Chun schools, especially around this part, so what you are doing may differ from what I am doing.

Shoddy Footwork

As usual my footwork needs a little polish. Specifically, near the start of Chum Kiu > after the first punch > then chop > my feet are all out of alignment so that when I return to the front my right leg is further forward than my left. I know exactly where this is going wrong – it’s the turning to the front to bong sau followed by the turn to the side (is it lan sau?). After 3 repetitions of that my feet have gone AWOL. No revelations here though. It’s just a case of doing it over and over again and checking my foot placement after each turn.

Here’s Yip Man doing Chum Kiu. I imagine he’s doing it right

After around 3 weeks total abstinence from Wing Chun due to a mysterious injury, I’ve started my training again. I usually go to class once a week, twice in a good week, and do 15 minutes training on my own Monday – Friday so a complete stoppage was really hard to take.

This morning I did a quick Siu Lim Tau and Chum Kiu (which I learnt just before I got injured) and it felt good! Thankfully, I could remember Chum Kiu in its entirety, so in that repect I don’t think I’ve lost anything. Obviously, my technique is a bit rusty, and certainly my muscles aren’t as strong as 3 weeks ago, but at least I’m back. All being well, I’m going to try to make all 3 classes this week.

The injury is still there but its symptoms have reduced. There’s some swelling round my left knee (I hate joint injuries) and it hurts when I kneel down but both the swelling and the pain have reduced. I think it might be bursitis. My main concern was the pressure exerted on the knees when doing siu lim tau and also that exerted on them when turning in chum kiu, but my speedy routine this morning didn’t cause any pain. So it’s looking good!

OK, I’m pretty bouyant at the moment. ‘Bouyant’ – what a polite understatement! At my Wing Chun class tonight I think I passed The First Test. Sifu asked me to do siu lim tau while he watched. He then asked me what the first section was for (developing gung lik), what the second section was for (developing fa jing) and what the final section was for (practising application). Though when he first asked me, I didn’t know what the third section was for. Part of the test involves the student being asked what the application of certain techniques is. After being asked how to use a hoon sau  and another technique I don’t know the name of (although I knew both applications), the penny clicked and I realised that the final section of siu lim tau is for ….. practising the application of techniques.

It was weird because it wasn’t formerly announced that this was ‘The Test’, so I’m assuming it was. Sifu showed me and another student chum kiu, which we then practised over and over so I think I did pass the test. Thing is, I’m too scared to ask in case he says no and I have to stop doing chum kiu! What a coward. We did it about 20 times in class and then after driving home I’ve done it another 10 times just to get it to sink in so I don’t forget.

I’m going to do it another 10 times before I go to bed, just to make sure, and then that’s what my morning practise will consist of too. It’s not quite accurate to say I feel like I’ve just started learning, more like I’ve just found the start of the path. But it required work to find the path. Look at me, now I’ve started learning chum kiu I’m talking riddles.

This is going to mean another revision to my training plan! I’m going to have to do chum kiu at least 2 days out of the week, but I also don’t want to have to give up any of the siu lim tau I’m doing. Something has to give. I’m going to have to give up my job!

It’s taken me a 2 years and 9 months to get to this point and to tell the truth, I wouldn’t have minded if it took me much longer before I started the new form. I hate the idea of ascending the heights undersevedly. I know I’ve not ascended heights just yet, but you know what I mean. I want to have really earned what I get. If I’m not ready, I don’t want to ‘move up’. I want to practise more, get better, and move up only when I’m ready.

Gotta go. More chum kiu to do!

It’s not actually the whole of chum kiu we did, just the first half. I’m over the moon regardless. Chuffed to bits. Ecstatic. Made up. Gobsmacked. Reeling. Buzzing, man.