They’ve done it — finally — after all these years and all the fears:

Unbelievable !!!

There is no Wing Chun without chi sao. Simultaneous attack and defense is not Wing Chun. Trapping is not sensitivity. Sticky hands, sticking hands and stick hands are all translated as chi sao but if you analyze the 3 terms, you get 3 different definitions. Sticky and sticking denote qualities of hand sensitivity while stick hands is a more generic term for what you are doing. Sticky denotes an attachment and detachment physically and metaphorically, Sticking implies a permanence-even into a bad position for you. All of hand training up to this point is trying to get you to learn where the hands are in relation to the front of the body and the centerlines. Are your hands too high, too low, too left or right, too heavy or light in relation to your opponent’s hand, your opponent and your mutual centerline’s?

Everything, all the training is a form chi sao. From no contact to contact; from lost position to recapturing contact and the center. Chi sao training with a partner attempts to train the practitioner to “listen” to what the opponent is saying in their hands and answer with the appropriate response. The response is or can be multi level-CAPTURE THE CENTER, DEFEND THE CENTER and/or ATTACK THE CENTER.

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Sweating, breathless, pain in the shoulders and legs, bruises on the chest, arms and legs, general confusion, not understanding the language if your instructor doesn’t speak English, trying to go through an interpreter, attending seminars and meeting other Wing Chun people, eventually comparing yourself to them, talking about them later, buying the magazines and videos, wishing you had more time to train , wishing you would get better faster, feeling in our hearts that “close enough is good enough” so we can learn the next thing. -Sound familiar?

Did you ever realize that we come to Wing Chun with “A Little Idea”. Even if it’s the wrong one, we start to train it and hopefully get corrected along the way. The little idea is to train our mentality and patience, our courage and perseverance in the face of difficulty (and our own personal spastic-ness). Have you ever played Siu Lim Tao for an hour? This not only trains your neurology, strength in your ma (stance), elbow, wrist and shoulder position, chi gung directing skill, BUT ALSO your patience! The journey has begun ! Do you constantly check your wrist and elbow position, is it in the center? Do your hand’s hit the center repeatedly when you roll? The beginner worries about the next new thing, the sifu worries about the details. Are you using your sifu as your role model? Can you make your positions better then your sifu’s. (Hey, it’s a goal !) Can you explain the qualities of tan, bong and fook forwards, backwards and sideways. Have you developed the right quality of ging (educated explode energy) in your hands for that level of training? Can you punch equally hard with both hands? Have you developed a stickiness and forward energy in your hands for that level of training? The destination at Sil Lim Tao level is in finding the details, as well as learning and integrating physical and mental skills. At this point you have come to a crossroad. Chi Sao. This is where you get to test a lot of the things you have been training in a laboratory that will let you know immediately if your training has been correct and or fruitful. This is also where you will find out a lot about yourself. Do you get angered easily, can you take getting hit? Can you stay “centered” in the eye of a physical hurricane? If you make a wrong turn here, or have the wrong directions, you may not find your way back or stay lost forever!

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Many different people in the system will tell you there is no point hitting; to point hitting along the conception vessel; to hitting A specific point on the body. According to Yip Chun, there is no point hitting; Yip Ching doesn’t like to comment on it; William Cheung says there is?!?!? They are all correct. There is no place in the Wing Chun forms that says “this move is for hitting this point in this angle and direction.” Yet, the forms do teach angle and direction, as well as concepts and theory. When you include the oriental medicine/chi/ herbal principles into Wing Chun, there can not be an absence of point hitting within the system. The tilt up at the end of a punch is specific for digging into a point. (CV17 to be specific. )

The problem for many is that they don’t know which points to hit, when to hit or the angle to hit. Nor can they do it when fighting someone who is fighting back. This one point has been a cornerstone to many Wing Chun people against point hitting advocates. If you are going to use point hitting, the only way you can truly do it is by controlling your opponent and knowing when to hit him safely. And you can only do that with chi sao skills. Also, nobody said you have to hit the opponent on the first attack on a point. Remember, so much of our martial history is based on an oral history, passed down from teacher to student over years, and their theory to some extent is based on legend, theory and observation. As a Wing Chun player, we know that there are better spots to hit than others, so wouldn’t it just make sense that there are the better of the best spots to hit?

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Do you live your art? Do you follow the principles of the system you practice or teach to students in real life. Or, do you just teach them some movements to attempt to do in battle. If our beloved mistress called Wing Chun tells us to “Thrust forward when the way is clear” do we follow the instructions into daily living-do we take advantage of all the openings that life has presented to us. How you take advantage of them will be based on the type of person you are and your moral fiber . If we look at this in the context of chi sao, when an “opponent gives us an opening”, every Wing Chun player should take the hole, but how hard will you hit them?, Will you tell them before you hit them that they’re open? After you hit them?, Give them a warning? Or just blast them?

What does this have to do with strategy? Everything. Problem is too few of us apply the system’s strategy in training, as well as real life. In order to have a “WING CHUN ” strategy-ask yourself how good your Wing Chun is? What are you good at in the system? That’s how you develop your primary strategy. Your ability to create and think on your feet, to develop a strategy on how to win in combat, cannot be complex-according to Wing Chun philosophy . You’re to busy not getting hit and hitting back. A Wing Chun theory says to attack the centerline. Strategy asks us, Which one?-If you can’t have a choice, then what is the best and safest way to attack what you are given? And not get a beating in the process. A Wing Chun theory says that one hand should trap two. Wing Chun strategy asks-How can I make the opponent give me both of their hands? A Wing Chun theory says that Bong Sao is never used without Wu Sao. Strategy asks us where is the best place for the Wu Sao to go-forward, sideways backwards, near the elbow, near the wrist?

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The accepting of a “special student/disciple” in traditional kung fu was a very big deal. You not only represented the sifu but also the particular style. Thus, there was a great deal of responsibility placed on the individual. If you lost a fight, got yourself in an embarrassing situation, associated with the wrong people, dishonored the system or your sifu’s wishes, you dishonored the sifu, the style, your kung fu family and yourself. You were the walking Image of the sifu, the style, and the school We call It “guilty by association” here in the West. As you can see, a lot was riding on this and was not taken lightly. You were the son(daughter) of the sifu and the system.

If you were accepted as a disciple, you were basically closer then the sifu’s son/daughter and family member in many respects. There would be no holding back of Information, special attention was given, the sifu would take great pains to see that you got the Information, then see If you understood it and could put it to use. Any of the styles so called “secrets”-herbal medicine, dim mak, forms, hit points or kung fu techniques were revealed. The sifu was always available to the disciple, and the disciple would In essence be able to call upon the sifu at anytime with a question or problem, not always necessarily about training Kung Fu. You would accompany the sifu on all kung fu related matters, or go in the sifu’s place, if the sifu was unable to attend. There was never a question of whether you had to or wanted to go-sifu said go, you go! Today’s excuses of work5 sickness, family and other obligations-although very real- didn’t even become subject for discussion. It also meant that the sifu was stricter with you in your training, you worked harder then your brothers and sisters, were responsible for all the younger brother and sisters training, opening and closing the school, as well handling all school matters on your own or at the request of the sifu, including the cleaning, repair and promotion of the school. At all public functions, the disciples were responsible for the needs of the sifu4ood, refreshments, money handling, etc. Remember-it was a privilege to be a disciple-one not given out easily. This private club was very hard to get Into, and all to easy to be kicked out of, If you messed up. You were always on probation. But, what you were getting out of it more then made up for it. Essentially, the sifu was molding your martial and moral character, as well as your technique-al skill. Knowledge was handed out to only the special few, and since it was not a tangible item-whomever got it was either very worthy, worked hard for it and/or was very lucky.

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Yat Chi Chung Choi. Sun punch. Jik Chung. Straight blast. Roll punch. Machine gun punch. Ji Ng Choi. Arrow punch. Standing fist. Chain punch. Jin choi. And a bunch of others.

All the above describe one of Wing Chun Kuen’s “signature” or trademark techniques. And one that most of us rely on to get us out of trouble.

Let’s start with the basic qualities of the punch in no particular order…

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FOR HISTORICAL/EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. NEITHER THE AUTHOR NOR THE PUBLISHER MAKE ANY CLAIMS AS TO THE USEFULNESS OR LEGALITY OF ANY RECIPES. PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND YOUR TCM DOCTOR BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT TO MAKE OR USE ANY JOW RECIPE!

The biggest problem most Westerners have with Oriental martial arts is a lack of being able to read, write or understand the language. It can be very frustrating trying to make sense out of a flowery concept like “Beauty plays the flute.” And then, trying to apply that to fighting is harder still because it is open to so much interpretation. With that in mind, how do you decipher Oriental medicine? “Can’t read the writing, don’t know what the heck is in those jars, and they don’t look like anything that can be good for me - sea horses, deer antler, seal penis and something that looks like wood!” Then, is it (the problem) caused by dampness or wind, excess yin or deficient yang? HEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEEE SIFUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, at that point I too went running to sifu for help and guidance. At the end of the last article I mentioned an American Jow. Why? For many reasons. Purists will argue it’s not the same - maybe so, or maybe not. Do the purists make their own rice wine before they add the herbs? Do you know what a pain it is to try and make rice wine? Where can you get the herbs, and how do you really know if they’re fresh (the most common question I got asked). Most people don’t live near a Chinatown and have to do mail-order, and that can be expensive. Look, we’re doing a Chinese martial art (most of us) and we should have some knowledge of it. However, the concept is more important, “Why are you making what you’re making?” Because of necessity. Like the barefoot doctors did hundreds of years ago. FOLKS - THIS IS THE 90′S. A Ferrari is a heck of a lot better than that Model T of Granddad’s if you’re not talking about nostalgia and history. As a martial artist it becomes important to know how to make a jow recipe from the land, not the herb store. Here are two stories to help me explain myself.

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FOR HISTORICAL/EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. NEITHER THE AUTHOR NOR THE PUBLISHER MAKE ANY CLAIMS AS TO THE USEFULNESS OR LEGALITY OF ANY RECIPES. PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND YOUR TCM DOCTOR BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT TO MAKE OR USE ANY JOW RECIPE!

For as unique a martial art as Wing Chun, it’s still a Kung Fu system like the rest.That means herbal medicine, point hitting and chi kung are included in its curriculum and system structure. However, depending on which Wing Chun Sifu you speak to (including your own), these subjects will bring about wonderful coffee-table philosophical discussions.

The purpose of this small article is to give the Wing Chun practitioner the ability to learn how to make an herbal preparation and learn something about Chinese medicine and Wing Chun. Oh, and by the way, I’m going to try and do it for you as quickly and cheaply as possible AND without pushing anyone’s button’s on the above subjects.

Dit Da Jow (Cantonese) or Tieh Ta Chiao (Mandarin) means “Hit and Fall Wine” (or liniment). Jow, as it is commonly referred to, can be broken down into two types: Han Dit Da Jow (cold hit medicine) and Rei Dit Da Jow (hot hit medicine).

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