It's harder than you think to find liked minded people in life. I'm fortunate enough to have quite a few mad dogs as my brothers in arms. I'm a stronger believer that as a teacher you must be always questioning what you are teaching. I encourage my students to open-minded and test what I teach them.
One such person is my student and friend Sai Jun Mak who has totally committed his mind to his training and teaching of the Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun System. Sai has produced an excellent standard of students since he has been teaching the system. He has embraced the Principles of the art into his everyday life. I could not be more proud!
Then what better way than for this young Lion share his insights into Chi Sao training with the Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun System!
Chi Sau or 'sticking hands' is a training tool that is unique to Wing Chun, it is a partner exercise that typically commences by the practitioners contacting each other with the wrists/forearms (bridges), they then proceed to roll the arms through the three fundamental defensive hand positions - Bong Sau, Tan Sau and Fook Sau (i.e. Luk Sau). Very briefly and generally, the purpose of this exercise is to defend oneself from attack whilst simultaneously feeling for error in the opponent's defence in order to strike them or set up an attack. Most Wing Chun practitioners will agree that through Chi Sau we can develop the correct use of sensitivity, timing and space, but what about the development and application of our structural power? This is a vital skill that enables us to control and strike effectively - how can this also be trained and tested in an exercise such as Chi Sau and in a way that will help us to develop real-time combat skills? I say 'real-time' combat skills because in the clash of conflict one should be able to stand their ground when the pressure is 'full-on' and use their techniques in the right moment and with correctly applied power. Chi Sau training should help the practitioner to develop their Wing Chun skills to a level where they can function instinctively and appropriately to changes in pressure and to a variety of attacks. What I hope to present here is not an instructional detailed break down of the actual techniques or methods used in Chi Sau, but rather an overview of the way in which we regard and train our Chi Sau in terms of the Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun we practise - the purpose, its aims and objectives etc.
In Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun the most important aspect of our training methods is the application of our Body Structure; this is the method that gives us increased sensitivity, an enhanced sense of spatial awareness, greater power, control of ourselves, control over our opponent, and therefore, control of the situation. One of the great things about Chi Sau is that it is (or it should be) unpredictable; therefore, the better one can control their own body under such random pressure, the better they can learn to potentially defend themselves. Our Body Structure methods allow us to very effectively root our body weight, equalise pressure and issue power or up-root the opponent, which in turn enables us to become more pro-active in a pressure situation, therefore, at an advanced level we can dictate the opponent's position and pace.
When we strike and/or control our opponent during Chi Sau we are able to feel whether we are connecting our power lines correctly i.e. we can detect whether the technique is employing our body mechanics in the right way (e.g. using appropriate power, timing and structural alignment). When the whole body is working properly, any techniques employed during Chi Sau will have real-time power and control; this means we can train in a manner that will allow us to experience and benefit from a more realistic level of energy. To some, this may sound inappropriate, my teacher, Sifu Alan Orr, would say that this is the way Chi Sau should be trained in order to really learn, develop and test our skills and methods. Due to the intensity of our training, some practitioners that have experienced our Chi Sau first hand have found our practice rather aggressive since they are unused to the pressure; however, if we do not pressure test our Wing Chun in this way when we Chi Sau or spar, then how do we know if our strikes would have the power to be effective against an opponent in the chaos of a violent situation? There's a big difference between hitting someone with a swift hand or arm strike and really hitting them with your body power and maximum force whilst controlling them.
So, how is it possible to train these things safely but in a robust manner whilst still testing our power and skills in an exercise such as Chi Sau? In order for us to train safely we will palm strike or punch the partner's body fairly hard (but still with control), this might hurt a bit but there is no risk of serious damage and this is also good for conditioning (iron shirt training) and for de-sensitising ourselves to the clash of conflict, more importantly it tells us if our strikes have the correct linkage of power whilst maintaining control of our own centre (power issuing/rooting). When we strike the head we do not hit the head hard, but in order to test the power in our strikes we may slightly press our striking tools and structure into the target, that way both participants are aware of whether the strike has real potential power. So, it is possible for us to train safely whilst using our body structure power, even when striking at delicate areas like the throat. All you need is the correct understanding of the body in order to have control of the body.
Chi Sau is a great way to apply in training one of the unique principles of Wing Chun - to attack and defend simultaneously. One example of how this principle is commonly trained would be in a technique such as 'tan da' (tan sau/punch) i.e. the opponent throws a punch and it is received with tan sau and immediately followed up with a straight punch - this may well be a valid technique for use in combat and can be drilled as such; however, to train this technique statically over and over would be to simply train at a beginner's level, the purpose of which is to familiarise a novice with the basic hand positions. Any such drills practised in Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun are performed with the use of our body structure methods, to feel and control etc; this way of training allows the techniques to become much more 'alive' and more geared towards actual application under pressure, therefore, the techniques are trained at a higher and more realistic level. To take this principle of simultaneous attack and defence to the highest level requires that we would simply strike the opponent at will, whilst nullifying the opponent's attack or potential attack and minimising their opportunity to counter attack; this would be done without actually using any 'defensive' hand motions as such (e.g. tan sau, pak sau, lop sau), i.e. this being the most efficient solution. Our Body Structure methods enable us to defend and attack very economically in this way and this is applied within our Chi Sau training.
The best way to achieve this is to disrupt the opponent's structure; this places the opponent in a position from which they are unable to attack or defend against our own attack. By disrupting the opponent's structure and centre of gravity we remove their power base, which means that they are unable to project any real-time power into their techniques. Without affecting the opponent's structure it is likely that both parties end up just trading shots without either combatant really gaining control over the other - a much more risky situation in terms of self defence. In Chu Sau Lei Wing Chun our goal is to control and strike the opponent with real-time power, this is deemed to be the safest and most efficient way to defend ourselves, and is a skill that is developed through our Chi Sau practise. Another way to look at this is in terms of 'trapping', which is a widely used term in Wing Chun and can be understood on different levels. The method that we use to destroy the opponent's structure whilst attacking and pressuring them is a high level method of trapping, in that they become disorientated and are therefore mentally or emotionally trapped, as well as physically trapped.
If during Chi Sau practise we should find ourselves on the receiving end of such pressure (i.e. on the defence), our goal would be to maintain control of our structure and power base whilst gaining (or regaining) control of the other person and therefore the situation. If we can keep our structure we are always in a much better position from which to defend and then counter attack. By having this goal and applying the correct principles it is possible to really learn and explore the art through Chi Sau; this is preferable to just trying to 'cheap shot' the other person, as not much is learnt by doing this. The application of this method translates very well when it comes to physical confrontation in that an aggressor (especially if they are on the receiving end of being hit hard) may close the range very quickly in order to clinch up and wrestle. For a stand-up fighter this poses a real problem if they are unable to control their structure and space, as they are unlikely to be able to strike effectively from this position, also the possibility of being taken to the floor is greatly increased.
It is widely believed that Wing Chun is a specialised close range combat system, and this should include the ability to operate effectively within a clinch position and defend against take-downs; however, without the skill necessary to control one's own structure, body weight and applied power, it is not possible to dominate within that very tight range (especially if the opponent is strong). To get the most out of Chi Sau it is important to train and move through the different combative ranges (long, medium, close and clinch). The practitioner is then able to experience and experiment with distancing and different strategies of attack, which also further develops awareness for the use of defensive methods and counter techniques. Training is more beneficial this way as the art then becomes much more alive and functional.
It is hoped this article will have given the reader an insight into the way in which we train our Chi Sau and the skills that we aim to develop for the application of our Wing Chun in the Chu Sau Lei system. There is a definite progression within this system in that what we learn in our forms is applied to our basic drills and then to our Chi Sau training. Chi Sau can be regarded as a laboratory session in that techniques should be tested, modified and then improved. What we learn from Chi Sau can then be applied to our sparring practise and ultimately our real fighting skills or even developed for competition such as in MMA (mixed martial arts) contests, should the practitioner decide to further test their skills and conditioning in this way. There are many layers to our Wing Chun and it is the fundamental skills that are the most important - everything we train is related and is tied by the concept of our use of Body Structure methods and mental methods. Once the basic skills are learnt and can be applied, the subtleties of the art then start to become apparent and can be explored, providing a wealth of further learning that can deepen our understanding of the art and of ourselves. Training sessions should never be 'mindless' but should always have a goal, for example, to identify areas that need improving and then to engage in 'mindful' practise that will develop the skills required to achieve what we intend.