Archive for the “Wing Chun chi sau” Category

Wing Chun is great for trapping, but I always hear from some that it doesn’t work or they can’t get into trapping range. I think that there is a couple of issues when looking at trapping, mindset, timing, & distance.

Mindset – If you limit yourself into thinking that there is only one way to trap, then you may be missing many opportunities to trap. Or your understanding of it’s use, may also lead to your frustrations. Lets start by defining what a ”trap” is.

What is a trap – Well, a trap as I define it, is anytime I can limit the movement of my opponent (either his arm, leg, body, etc). This is a trap.  When looking at a trap, consider them either in two terms “simple” or “complex” traps. A simple trap is limiting one limb with one limb, a complex trap is when you use one of your limbs to trap (or limit) two or more of his limbs.

How a trap can be used – When using a trap, don’t think of a trap necessarily as a ‘submission’ type technique. Think of a trap as part of a solution to bigger problem. If my objective is to strike someone, but their limbs are in the way, by pinning or limiting the movement of a hand out of the way, I can facility my strike. The other thing to consider is that a trap doesn’t stay permanently. In the ideal world it would, but reality is you may only have a trap for 1 or 2 seconds at a time.

How to get punched in the head while doing a trap – There are a few way to fail at trapping and get yourself punched in the head.  Here are a couple of ways:

1. Forcing the Trap: You are trying to force a trap to happen, and as such you are not listening to what is really going on. This would be the equivilant of having a conversation with someone, but both of you are talk at the same time, and also talking about two totally different subjects.
2. Chasing the Trap: You saw the opportunity but it came a moment to late so you chase after it. This is much like chasing an armbar in BJJ or chasing a weapon disarm in Kali. If you focus on chasing the trap, you will surely miss it, and get a hit at the same time. In Wing Chun there is a saying, “Chase the center not the hand.” In this case, when you chase the trap, you are chasing the hands.
3. Trying to Keep the Trap: This is as bad as chasing the trap. If you managed to trap the hands, you’ve placed a few hits in, but now your opponent has started to find a way out of the trap, and you now start to either Force the Trap or Chase the Trap. In Wing Chun there is another saying, “Accept what comes, Follow what goes, loss of contact strike.” So if you’re trap starts to fall apart, accept it, and continue to flow with what is happening. Just be happy that you were able to get the trap in the first place.
4. Wrong Distance: so you see the possibility of a trap, but you are either too close or too far from your opponent. Trapping occurs at a very specific range. It is located between Boxing and Stand up grappling, somewhere around the clinch but not quite. If you are too far, you’re using the wrong tool at the moment you should be kicking or boxing, if you are too close, you should be looking to clinch or grapple.

When trying to learn trapping, I believe in starting in isolation, so you can see the trap possibilities, but then move to training the trap in chi sau with a partner.

Good luck in your training!

Chi Sau is a major component in the Wing Chun curriculum. Chi Sau can become an obsession to many Wing Chun practitioners. One of the most significant ways to get better of Wing Chun Chi Sau is to put ‘Time in the Pattern’. But the big problem is that if you just ‘spend time in the pattern’, you will be gaining very little in the way of advancement.

If you want to get better at your Chi sau, you need to train intentionally. Sometimes the best thing to do is to find a partner that you can work with, and is willing to help you work on areas of your Chi sau. Some of the things that you can focus on:

1) Lines of Force
2) Footwork
3) Coordination flows
4) Individual techniques
5) Facing
6) Centerline

It’s important to remember that Chi Sau is a total sum of individual parts brought together into one motion.

Hey All,

While teaching, training and continuing to learn, I have found that Chi Sau (Sticky Hands) as from my observation (4) four levels of learning. These four levels that I’m discussing is strictly in the physical sense (kinetic).

Level 1: Hit and Don’t Get Hit

In ‘Hit and Don’t Get Hit’ or Level 1, we first explore Chi Sau. As beginners, the game of chi sau is about hitting your partner and trying not to get hit. But in most times we focus on hitting or making contact with our partner while sacrificing our defenses. This is the first, and easiest level to learn. And in many cases we stay at this level the most.

Level 2: Position

At the ‘Position’ level, we see that not getting hit, is not just about fast hands, but also good positioning. While we may still play at Level 1, we start to explore the power of positioning. We play with footwork, and angling.

Level 3: Controlling/Shutting down/Jamming

In Level 3, we start to look at how we can use position, along with good structure to jam, or shutdown our partner’s incoming forces. This level can take years to learn, let alone master. Elements of timing, distancing, sensitivity, balance disruption, and Centerline control are at play. At this level, your partner knows when he’s been shutdown or Jammed.

Level 4: Manipulating

At the ‘Manipulating’ level, the Wing Chun practitioner spends time, not shutting down his opponent with obvious techniques but with subtle manipulation of the incoming forces, and slight changes in positioning and structure. When done properly, the partner can’t clearly understand what happened, other than he ended up in the wrong spot. At this level it appears that Hitting and not getting hit is not objective, but the focused study of incoming force and how to manipulate it.

During a person’s lifetime of learning, one will bounce back and forth from the different levels, particularly if one is focused on learning the lessons at each level. And from what I can tell, it requires good partners that want to learn those same lessons in order to understand. And as the eternal student, I don’t think one can force how fast you can learn each level. It requires that “Eureka I found it!” moment.

Until Next time.
Keep Training, Keep Praying, Keep Learning,
Chuck

http://www.kwwingchun.com/

Hey All,

It’s interesting to see how many of us (men especially) forget that Ving Tsun (according to legend) was founded by a woman, or that masters like Yip Man (Ip Man) or Moy Yat were small framed men. As such we use force to get dominance in training. But if we use as a litmus test, the simple question, ‘How would a 90lb woman address the incoming forces of a 200lb man?’

If you said, ‘Not take the incoming force, and redirect it’ you are right. But why is it that many of us clash force on force? Would it not be better (and more skillful) to use both redirection of force and repositioning?

While learning to use redirection of force and repositioning take longer to master, the long term reward is unmeasurable. How I know what you are saying, ‘Okay, how do I work on it?’

Here’s how:

Using Chi sau as your model for training, you will two distinct training drills:

Step One) Stationary: Placing your back against a pole or one foot away from a wall, have your partner use a series of agreed techniques against you. Using only hand technique redirect your partner’s techniques. Keep repeating them until you feel very comfortable and fluid in your hand motion. Do not move your feet.

Step Two) Movement: Now with your back still against a pole or one foot way from a wall, use the same agreed techniques (as in step one), use foot work to move in a position of ‘zero force’ from the incoming force, but don’t move backward (and you can’t because your back is close to the wall). If you use yourself as the center of a clock and your partner is standing at the 12 o’clock position, work to moving to either the 1 o’clock to 3 o’clock position or 9 0′clock to 11 o’clock position.

Enjoy!

Until Next time.
Keep Training, Keep Praying, Keep Learning,
Chuck

www.kwwingchun.com

Greeting All,

I’ve had a couple of students ask me ‘How do I get better at Chi sau?’ Well, first go back to the 10 points I have on better chi sau, but more importantly remove you’re ego from chi sau.

When you remove your ego from chi sao practice, you allow yourself to be ‘hit’ and instead of wanting to ‘hit’ back, you explore why you were ‘hit’, and learn from it. Also, as a partner, you remove your ego, so that you’re not obsessed with ‘hitting’ but more focused on ‘learning’ and ‘growing’ together. If there is an opportunity, you use it, and then help your partner to know where you found this opportunity.

I find also that if you can find a great partner to work with, you can slow your chi sao lok sao (rolling hands) down, and explore what different energies feel like and how to deal with them. At this point, chi sao comes more cooperative and exploratory and less and less competitive or exploitive.

You know you’ve found a good partner for chi sau when you hear the following:
‘I want to work on my sensitivity’
‘I want to work on my footwork’
‘I want to work on my structure’
‘I want to refine my technique’

This means that you now can an work on a joint objective, and develop drills or tools to work on that objective.

This that would tell you that you don’t have the best partner for chi sao:
‘I want to hit more’
‘I want to get hit less’
‘I want to overpower my partner’
‘I want to hit harder’

I told one student that chi sao is like two people telling the same story from different perspectives. Or two musical instruments playing together. They do not dominate the whole performance, but rather share the performance, sometimes in short solos, but mostly in concert with each other. One giving, the other receiving, and visa versa.

Until Next time.
Keep Training, Keep Praying, Keep Learning,
Chuck

www.kwwingchun.com