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.
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
Sifu was away today, so one of the seniors took the class. We did a lot of chi sau and as he was walking around he must have noticed something that many of us were doing - i.e. giving up (or not giving regard to) the centre line.
Another Way Of Looking At The Centre Line
He stopped us and asked us to gather round while he tried to give an analogy to give us another way of looking at the centre line. He asked us to imagine that we were given a bomb, held it in one of our hands, and that we were going to blow somebody up with it. It's only an analogy, we are not an extremist group. What would we do with 'the bomb'. Would we put it down qhile we searched for the person we wanted to blow up? No - it might not be there when we return. Somebody else might then be using it. You would want to keep it with you, controlling it at all times. Until the moment you need to use it.
You can see where this is going. The centre line is the bomb. You need to have it at all times. Obviously, we wouldn't actually treating the centre lin like a bomb, it was just another useful way of looking at the importance of the centre line.
We then resumed our chi sau but with more focus on the bomb/centre line. With something additional to think about of course everything went to pieces for a while. But... it felt like we were going in the right direction. We all know about the centre line, but it helps to be reminded every now and then.
Sneaky Chum Kiu Addition
Although sifu wasn't around, at the end of the class I got one of the seniors to show me the next bit of Chum Kiu. You have to take your chances when you can. I seemed to have got the first bit down ok (disregarding the finer points) so I thought nothing wrong in adding just a smidgeon to my incomplete form. The additional bit was just the first bar arm, kick and 3 consecutive bong saus so it shouldn't be a problem for my memory to stitch that on the end.
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.
