Certain people are beating me up when I chi sau with them! So obviously I need to improve. The question is, “how?”. Well, I could just take the non-specific approach and trust that my consistent – and generic - training will help me improve so much that I ‘lose’ less. And this will probably work.
But let’s take the scientific approach! For example, one guy is really quick. He’s so quick that I just don’t have enough time to react to his attacks. Let’s break it down. What are the components of my reaction to his attack? I need to do these two things:
- sense the attack
- process the stimulus
- respond to the attack
I said “two things”, didn’t I? You could argue that 1 and 2 are so similar that they are actually the same thing. You could even lump them both into the sensitivity category. So obviously I need to improve my sensitivity. I need to be able to sense more quickly that an attack is taking place and how it’s taking place.
Improving Sensitivity
Your sensitivity will improve as a matter of course if you keep practising chi sau properly. But surely there must be a way to fast track this enhancement of sensitivity? Well, there is. Often, when chi sauing, I will adopt the role of responder and let my partner do all the attacking. If you do this, you don’t need to worry about executing your own attacks well, because all you’re doing is defending. This means that all you have to do is block and move your feet. Yes, I’m oversimplifying when I say that, but the point is that it’s easier to focus on feeling if you only have to defend, as opposed to defending and attacking simultaneously. With this extra focus on the contact between you and your partner, you can really heighten your sense of awarenesss.
Additionally, you can focus on yielding. If your mission is to offer no resistance and avoid meeting force with force, you have to listen very carefully to your partner’s hands. There are no two ways about it. If you don’t sense what your partner is doing, sooner or later you will end up ‘fighting’ their energy with yours and meeting force with force. Bad.
The above two exercises are very good for improving sensitivity. Of course, being relaxed all the time makes it easier for your hands to sense what your opponent’s hands are doing, so being relaxed is an integral part of those exercises.
Responding More Quickly
This is the easy one in that you can speed up your responses simply by drilling them over and over again. Pick an attack and response combination and repeat it over and over again. Pick another combination and drill that to death too. Mix them up and randomise. Drill, drill, drill!
You can also practise set responses on your own too, speeding up the transition between the different hands. For example, I like to do a kwan sau with the left hand in a tan sau and the right hand in a low bong sau. I then reverse the kwan sau as quick as I can so the right hand is now in a tan sau. I then keep repeating that transition – left, right, left, right – as quick as I can. If you practise this yourself, you will find not only that your kwan sau becomes lightning fast, but it becomes an instinctive response too.
May 1st, 2009 at 11:00 am
Hi,
I pressume from you essay here that you are relatively new to our system? As such I wanted to give you my opinion. So you kno where I’m coming from -I’ve been studying the system now for over 7 years (2nd TG.
I don’t agree that there is a fast-track to sensitivity development and I think looking for one will only hinder any progress you make. I do agree with you and you are correct when you say that “consistent and generic training” will help you – in my experience and opinion this is the only way to develop softness and with it sensitivity.
There are three ways to look at progression in Chi Sau:
1. Structure
Proper structure is essential (but you don’t need me to tell you that) but the initial stages of chi sau will be taken up with just that – proper structure without nessecarily being soft or sensitive right away.
2. Softness
This can only be applied after proper structure is developed and drilled – it’s actually one of teh most difficult aspects of chi-sau balancing softness with proper structure and thsi is oen of teh key elements of the drill.
3. Sensitivity
This will only come with the proficient understanding, practise and development of the above two.
Chi Sau isn’t a competition bewteen two people – that for me is teh most important aspect of learning to be sensitive. Chi Sau is a partner drill, a two person exercise (study) one person feeds and learns from the other. You should not be afriad to get hit (which I’m sure your not) and yoru partner (not opponent) shoudl also learn that he is not in a competition – you will both never learn if this attitude towards chi sau is adopted.
Finally, Chi Sau is not ‘the fight’ it only aids us in our response development and tactile awareness it’s only a tool, a two person tool that both people must undertake to learn interdependently. Don’t look for the light at the end of the tunnel, don’t look for fast tracks, live and learn the system as you are in it and trust what you already know and what you are currently learning.
R
May 6th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
With only 7 years experience, you are a mere beginner like me Fighting Ghost
You can’t “fast-track” anything in Wing Chun. You can, however, pinpoint areas of weakness and work hard on them. I like to pick out things in my practise that I’m really bad at and focus on them them until I’m a little (never entirely) happier with them.
You make some good points, especially about chi sau not being a competition. How many people have we practised with, who thought the most important thing was to “make the hit”?
Structure, softness, sensitivity – I feel like chi sauing now!
June 1st, 2009 at 12:23 pm
hey paulus,
I agree with the way you are tackling your weaknesses. I too strongly adhere to self analysis. That said, with regards to your problem there are two ways to handle someone fast: be faster than them or preventing them from making an attack in the first place.
Faster than them: there’s a limit to this. Some people will simply be faster than you. You can still work on it though. One way is to increase your response time and another is simply having fast hands.
Preventing attack in the first place: I’m sure you have heard that an attack can be ones best defense. That is exactly what it is here. By attacking you make the person focus on defending And not attacking.
Personally, I view chi sau as a building block for fighting. I do agressive chi sau (gor sau). However, I don’t have as many years in wc as you and the above poster do so take my advise with a grain of salt.
Good luck. Come back and post on martialtalk.
Cheers!
Dnovice