Siu Lim Tao

Tan Sau

The First Section Gong Lik continuing from last issue

1. From its resting position, open your

left hand and slowly extend it
forwards. The tip of your middle
finger should stay in line with the
centreline. Fig18.
2. As your elbow clears the side of the
body it too should move towards the
centreline. Your arm should not be
tense, and your energy should be in
the elbow.
3. Stop your hand before the forearm
crosses over the centreline. Keep your
fingers naturally straight, but not
tensed or stretched. Your thumb
should be naturally bent, but not
pressed down. Fig 19-19a.

This movement should be performed very slowly.

Tan means opening. Sau means hand. Together
they mean opening hand. Tan Sau is for
meeting your opponent and is used either inside
or outside position. From this contact with your
opponent, you can decide whether you will attack
or defend. Tan Sau is very difficult to train.
When you meet your opponents hands, if you
use too much energy then it will move your
hand out of your centre. If too weak, you
cannot block your opponent. Therefore, to
develop the proper energy for this part of
training is very important. While doing the
Tan Sau, you should aim to do so very slowly.
The more slowly you do, the more relaxed you
can be. When you are relaxed, you can the feel
the energy of your opponent. When you can
feel their energy, you can then use the right
amount of energy back to stop them.
When you train Tan Sau, your arm should
move forward from your centreline. When it is
extended fully, your elbow should be one to two
fists away from the body. The closer your elbow
is to your centreline, then one fist away is
enough. If you cannot manage this, then your
elbow position should be then closer to two fists
away. Otherwise Tan Sau will be too close to
the body and you will not be able to use it to
defend yourself properly. When we extend Tan
Sau, you should use your skeleton, not the
muscles, to move the arm forward. Your muscles
should be completely relaxed.
Qi Magazine 38

Fig 18

Fig 21

Fig 24

Fig 19

Fig 21a

Fig 24a

Huen Sau
1. Relax your elbow and curl your hand
slightly.

Fig 19a

Fig 22

Fig 25

Fig 20

Fig 23

Fig 26

2. Slowly rotate your wrist inwards in a

clockwise direction as far as it will go.
Fig 20.

Fig 27

Fig 28

Fig 29

Fig 30

Fig 31

3. Allow your arm to float slightly and

extend your fingers outwards and
upwards until your palm is facing
outwards.

Huen means circle and so together means circle

hand. Huen Sau is for using to change from
outside to inside hand, without using energy
or force. However, we only apply Huen Sau
as an attack hand when our opponent has
attacked us and their energy is already
committed. Otherwise, Huen Sau is just used
for changing position in Chi Sau.

Jum Sau

Fig 32

Fig 33

Fig 34

Fig 35

1. As your palm faces outwards, sharply

sink your forearm by chopping down
with your wrist joint.
2. This will bring your palm to face the
side with your fingers pointing up
and your thumb bent. This is a small
movement, so although your wrist
joint will drop, your whole arm
should not move down very much.
Keep your fingers pointing up and
in line with the centreline. Fig 2121a.

Jum means press down. This is pressing down

hand. Jum Sau is for blocking, usually when
the hand is in Fuk Sau, when your opponent
punches and you feel the energy coming towards
you. Then you can use Jum Sau. When you
have completed Jum Sau, then your forearm
should be completely horizontal. You should
not use too much energy so that the arm is
extended lower than this point. If this
happens, your opponent can hit you back. Most
of the time, when we have finished Jum Sau,
we will then immediately punch back with the
Jum Sau arm.
Qi Magazine 40

Fig 36

Fig 37

Wu Sau
1. Draw your palm slowly back towards
your body, maintaining its vertical
position. Let your elbow relax and
point outwards as you bring your
palm back.
2. You should stop when your palm is
about 8-10 inches (20-25cms) from
your middle chest. Fig 22.

Perform this movement very slowly. Wu means

protecting and so this is protecting hand.

Fig 38

Fig 39

During fighting, your protection of your

centreline is very important. So when somebody
attacks your centreline, you can change the Wu
Sau to be Tan Sau or a punch, but when we
do this, your other hand should come back to
Wu Sau to cover your centreline. Therefore,
when we only have one hand in contact during
fighting, Wu Sau should always be there to
protect our centreline. Many people will find

themselves being attacked because their Wu Sau

has dropped from the centre. This can also
happen when the Wu Sau is held too close to
the body and lose the space for responding. So
during one hand contact with an opponent,
you should always protect your centreline with
Wu Sau. Only when you come to very high
level can you sometimes drop the Wu Sau hand.

Fuk Sau
1. Relax your wrist and let your Wu Sau
drop into the Fuk Sau position by
letting your palm fall down naturally.
2. Turn your palm so that your fingers
and thumb are horizontal to the
ground and make a very loose claw
shape. The elbow will drop down
naturally. Energy should be in your
elbow, not your wrist Fig 23.
3. Slowly extend your arm forward. Your
elbow should move in towards the
centreline (without going past it) as
your arm goes forward. Your
shoulders should not move or hunch
forward. Do not force the elbow
towards the centreline, or you will
become tense. Fig 24-24a.

This movement should also be performed slowly.

Fuk Sau means resting hand. It is used to
make contact with your opponent so you can
judge their energy and know their intent
through their energy. It is more passive so you
wait until your opponent attacks until you
defend. So Fuk Sau usually connects with Jum
Sau, Jut Sau and Huen Sau together.

Huen Sau/Jum Sau/Wu Sau

1. When the Fuk Sau reaches its fullest
extent, relax the elbow and wrist, and
perform Huen Sau, Jum Sau and Wu
Sau again. Repeat the entire
sequence Fuk Sau, Huen Sau, Jum
Sau and Wu Sau twice more. Your
hand should finish in front of your
chest in the Wu Sau position (see
opposite). Fig 25-26.

Paak Sau
1. From Wu Sau, relax your wrist and
then push your palm quickly out to
the right, as if warding off a punch.
Your hand should not go past your
shoulder, and you should only use
energy at the point at which you
would make contact with an
opponents energy. Fig 27.

Fig 40

Fig 44

Fig 41

Fig 45

Paak Sau means slapping hand. It is used for

both defending and attacking. It must be
performed quickly, however. Once you slap your
opponents hand, your hand goes back to your
centre straight away. If your opponent attacks,
you can slap the hand, moving their energy off
course, then you can attack. Another situation
is if your opponent will not move their hand,
then you can slap their arm to create an opening
for attack. However, it is important not to
slap too far past the centreline, otherwise you
will leave your own centreline open for attack.

Jik Jeung
1. Relax your arm and bring your palm
back to the centreline. Now, change
the direction of your palm so that it is
facing outwards. Then push it
forwards from the centreline. Again,
energy is only used at the end of the
movement. Fig 28.

Jik means straight and Jeung means palm.

Together they mean straight palm. This is the
same as punching attitude but using the palm

Fig 42

Fig 46

instead. When you

use it properly, it
is even more
powerful than a
punch. Jik Jeung
can be used with
Paak
Sau
together. W hen
you hit, you attack
either on the face or
the centre of your
opponents chest.
Usually
the
opponent will
bounce back or fall over.

Fig 43

Fig 47

Fig 48

Huen Sau/ Withdraw

the Fist
1. Gather your fingers and circle your
wrist as in previous movement, Huen
Sau/Withdraw the fist. Fig 29-32.

Now repeat all the movements from Tan Sau

onwards using the right hand. Fig 32-48.
to be continued...
Qi Magazine 41

Siu Lim Tao

T

The Second Section

he second part of Siu Lim Tao is Fa

Ging training. Fa means release,
Ging means power . It means
release power. This part is training how
to use proper energy when you are using
power and so is much faster than the first
part of training Siu Lim Tao.
The very famous Long Distance Fa
Ging (most people call it one inch punch
because of Bruce Lee demonstrations),
is an example of how to use power while
applying the principles of Wing Chun
Kuen. This is that you do not use the
energy until you really want it. So when
we study Wing Chun Kuen, we should
not use too much energy and never use
strength against strength. Therefore, on
all the attacks we must relax until the time
we are sure we want to commit to an
attack and then it is only used at the point
of contact, not before. In the entire
second part of this training, we must relax
until the last moment and only then
release the power. Many of the
movements in this section are trained
double handed. However, we can
actually use one hand and it is in fact
more common than using the technique
with two hands.

Fig 49

Fig 50

Yan Jeung
1. Open the palm of your left hand,
rotate it to face the floor, and then
push downward using the energy only
at the last moment. (Fig.49)
2. Keep the left arm in the same
position, repeat the previous
movement
with your right
hand.(Fig.50)
3. Relax both hands and bring them up
to the lower back. Now push both
hands downward with the same
energy as before.(Fig.51)
4. Bring both hands up to both sides of
your waist, push them out in front of
your body at your stomach
level.(Fig.52)

Yan means Stamp, Jeung means Palm.

Yan Jeung means stamping palm and to
attack with the palm. However, in this
situation, the strike with the palm is in a lower
direction. The application on the lower Yan

Fig 51

Fig 52

Jeung is that when someone grasps your hand,

you strike down to get rid of the grasping.
Remember to only use the energy at last
moment. Do not try to use the energy
beforehand. Usually, in most situations when
we use the lower Yan Jeung, we need to do it
with footwork together. If your opponent is
stronger than you, you need to use stepping in
order to change the grasping energy. This will

Fig 53

also help make your opponent confused.

However, there can always be someone who is
very strong and in this case, then you would
have to use another method instead of Yan
Jeung. In Wing Chun there is always a solution
for all kind of situations, but there is not one
absolutely killing technique.(See Wing Chun
Kung Fu Traditional Chinese Kung Fu for
Self Defence and Health pages106 & 107)
Qi Magazine 39

Double Jum Sau

1. Let both of your elbows sink down so
that they are on either side of your
centreline. Your palms should be
relaxed and extending slightly
outward
2. Now sharply sink both wrists down
so that your palms are facing each
other. The forearms hardly move
during this movement.(Fig.56)

Fig 54

Fig 55

Wan Lan Sau

Jum means rest your weight on. Jum Sau

means rest your weight on hand technique
and it means to put your pressure to block a
hand technique. Jum Sau is used when your
opponent attacks you and then you block it
from the top. In most cases, Jum Sau is used
while you are contacting with your opponent
while your hands are on outside or on top. Most
of time, you will be in the Fuk Sau position
before using this technique. Remember that
when you are using Jum Sau, that you should
not go lower than horizontal level. Once you

1. Bring your arms directly up to the

middle of the chest, so that your
forearms are at shoulder height with
either left or right arms on the top
(this is not important). Your arms
should be folded over each other but
not touching.(Fig 53)

Wan means horizon, Lan means block.

Wan Lan Sau means horizontal blocking
hand. Wan Lan Sau is not used very often.
Because it is difficult to use, you need to use
strength to press your opponents arm to the
chest, and in most situations, you will need to
grasp their other hand as well, so that they will
not have a place to move. Sometimes you make
your Wan Lan Sau higher or lower or even
turn to the side as well. This all depends on
the height of your opponent. (Wing Chun
Book page 108)

Pek Jeung
1. Extend your arms outward so that
your hands follow a straight line out
from the body. Just before your arms
are fully extended, release the energy
in your wrists as if chopping an
opponents throat. Your body should
remain still, only your arms
move.(Fig.54)

Pek means chop. Pek Jeung means chop

with palm. The application of Pek Jeung is
that when you chop your opponent with the
Qi Magazine 40

Fig 56

palm, it is using the lower edge of the palm.

This is similar to the method of using a Chinese
cleaver. The energy is used in the same way as
in other techniques. Pek Jeung is fast and
unexpected, like holding a Chinese bamboo
stick. When you hold the pressure on one side
of stick, then when it is released, it will spring
out fast and hard. (Wing Chun Book page
109)

Wan Lan Sau

1. Return your arms to the previous
position.(Fig.55)

Fig 57

Fig 58

stop the attack, do not carry on using energy,

otherwise you will be hit back by use of too
much energy. (Wing Chun Book page 110)

Double Tan Sau

1. Turn your hands so that your palms
face upward.(Fig. 57)

We have mentioned Tan Sau in issue 48.

Double Fuk Sau

1. Relax your hands and turn them so
that your palms are facing
downward.(Fig.58)

leaning forward, they will have little defence

when you attack their eyes. However, in
traditional Wing Chun training, the Sifu
usually does not teach the Biu Jee Form until
they trust their students. Bui Jee is also used to
attack the weaker acupuncture points in the
body.

Double Lat Sau

1. Keep your arms straight, push the
hands downward with force until you
reach the waist level. (Fig.61)

Fig 59

Fig 60

Fig 61

Jut means Jerk. It means jerking hand.

When your opponents arms are very tense, and
you are contacting them with your Fuk Sau,
then you can use Jut Sau. If used properly,
then your opponent will lose their balance.
However, do not use when their hands are soft,
only when they are using energy (see Wing
Chun Kung Fu - Traditional Chinese Kung
Fu for Self Defence and Health page 111).

Double Biu Jee

Fig 62

We also have mentioned the Fuk Sau in the

previous issue of Qi Magazine. However, this
Fuk Sau position is slightly different from the
one before. The Fuk Sau we learned before is
for the situation when your opponent is slightly
weaker than you and you are able to stop their
energy with your forearms. This one is for when
your opponent is stronger than you. Therefore
you contact them with your palm to feel their
energy instead of trying resist their energy.
When they try to attack you, you can then
respond immeditately(see Wing Chun Kung
Fu - Traditional Chinese Kung Fu for Self
Defence and Health page 111).

Double Jut Sau

1. Jerk your hands backward and slightly
downward, along the line of your
forearms, in a small movement.(Fig.
59)

1. Thrust your hands forward at eye

level, as if you are attacking your
opponents eyes. Push energy to your
finger tips at the last moment.(Fig. 60)

Lat means force goes downward. It means

force down hand. Lat Sau is not used
commonly, because it uses strength. In the
principle of Wing Chun, we use as little energy
as possible. So Lat Sau is for covering a Bui
Jee attack which fails. In case your opponent
blocks your Bui Jee attack with their hands,
then you can push them down again. It is
similar to Jut Sau (Wing Chun Book page
111).

Withdraw the fists

1. Bring up both hands to the shoulder
level with both wrists upward.(Fig 62)
2. This part we have mentioned before
in issues 47 and 48. This time we do
them with both hands together.(Fig.
63 & 64)

Remember that Siu Lim Tao is basic Wing

Chun Kuen skill. If you want to develop good
Wing Chun Kuen, you spend the time on Siu
Lim Tao to make your skill good.

Biu means strike, Jee means fingers. It

means strike with fingers. Biu Jee is a high
level of Wing Chun Kuen skill. In Chinese
martial arts training, we all
know that the fist is very
powerful, but it is not as
powerful as the palm. The palm
is not as powerful as the fingers.
Therfore if we attack with the
fingers, it will do more damage
than by using just a fist. This
is because when we use the fingers
to attack, we attack the weaker
areas of the body, not the hard
part of the body. Because of
this, it is very hard to recover.
In the form, we use Biu Jee to
attack after we have brought our
opponents balance forward
Fig 63
using Jut Sau. When they are

to be continued ...

Fig 64
Qi Magazine 41

Siu Lim Tao The Third Section

Once we have finished the Gong
Lik (internal energy) and Fa Ging
(releasing power) training, we cover basic
skill training in Part III of the Siu Lim Tao.
A main principle of Wing Chun is to be
simple and direct, together with the
principle of attacking the centreline.
Therefore in Wing Chun, there are not
many basic techniques. As my Sifu, Ip
Chun, says, there is only Paak Sau and
Lap Sau.
Paak Sau means slapping hand
and Lap Sau means Grabbing hand. This
is very simple. Hearing this, some people
may say that the skill is very easy to learn.
However, this is wrong. Techniques that
are so simple, have so many ways to
develop. In different situations you apply
different techniques.
Section Three covers these basic
skills:- Tan Sau, Paak Sau, Gaan Sau,
Heun Sau, Chan Sau, Bong Sau and
punching. These techniques can be used
for both training Chi Sau and self
defence. If you can apply these skills
properly, then you will be able to defend
yourself in most situations. Chi Sau
training helps us to better develop these
techniques

Fig 65

Fig 66

Fig 67

Fig 68

Fig 69

Fig 70

Fig 71

Fig 72

Fig 73

Fig 74

Fig 75

Fig 76

Fig 77

Fig 78

Fig 79

Fig 80

Paak Sau
1. Bring up your left hand, relax your
wrist and then push your palm quickly
out to the right, as if warding off a
punch. Bring back the hand to the
centreline as quickly as possible. Only
use energy at the point in which you
would make contact with an
opponents energy. Fig 65 - 67.

Wan Jeung
1. Continue with your left hand and
perform Wan Jeung. Your fingers
should be horizontal with your fingers
pointing to the left. Fig 68 - 69.
2 Perform Huen Sau and Withdraw the
Fist. Fig 70 - 72.

Wan means horizontal (or side) and Jeung

means palm. Wan Jeung means horizontal
palm. We have already learned Jik Jeung,
straight palm. Wan Jueng is usually used to
Qi Magazine 16

Fig 81

Fig 82

Fig 83

Fig 84

Fig85

Fig 86

Fig 87

Fig 88

Fig 89

Fig 90

Fig 91

Fig 92

Fig 93

Fig 94

Sau and Tan Sau, used simultaneously. This

is not covered in Wing Chuns first three forms,
but only in the Wooden Dummy and Baat
Jam Do. However, Kwun Sau is more
important than Gaan Sau and you should
learn it when you begin to do Chi Sau.

Tan Sau
Fig 95

Fig 96

attack the lower jaw of the opponent. This is

different than Jik Jeung which attacks from
your centreline to your opponents centreline.
Usually we turn the body 45% to use Wan
Jeung. It is quite rare to use it from the front.

Repeat from Paak Sau to Wan Jeung

with the right hand. Fig 73 - 80.

Tan Sau
1. Quickly bring your hand forwards,
palm facing up, elbow at the
centreline. Fig 81.

Gaan Sau
1. Relax your elbow and drop your hand
down in a shallow arc. Fig 82.

Fig 97

Fig 98

Gaan means separating, so Gaan Sau is

separating hand. With Gaan Sau, we use the
outside of the forearm to block. When you use
it, you usually turn 45% with a forceful energy.
There is both an upper and lower Gaan Sau
and this one is the lower. Quite often, though,
we will use the upper and lower Gaan Sau in
tandem, particularly in the Wooden Dummy
and Biu Jee forms. Upper Gaan Sau is the
equivalent of Tan Sau. Gaan Sau is the
outside defending hand and must be used in
this way. It cannot be used from inside hand
to be outside hand. The energy comes from the
legs, not the upper body, and is used at the
same time as you do Jeun Ma.
There is another technique called Kwun Sau
which is used from inside hand to be outside.
Basically, this is just a combination of Bong

1 Bring your hand back up into Tan Sau.

Fig 83.

In this section we use Tan Sau twice. This is

because Gaan Sau has both an upper and
lower part. So both Tan Saus should be
performed as if it were an outside hand Gaan
Sau. This movement is connected to the Wooden
Dummy.

Huen Sau
1. From Tan Sau, do a low Huen Sau,
using the same circling wrist
movement, but when nearing the
end, push out and down with the
palm, releasing energy at the end. Fig
84 - 86.
2. Go straight back into Tan Sau. Fig 87.
3. Do a high Huen Sau and then
Withdraw the Fist to come back to the
ready position. Fig 88 - 90.

Heun Sau means Rotating Hand. The

application is used when your hand is outside
in either Fuk Sau or Tan Sau and your
Qi Magazine 17

opponent is using a lot of energy against you.

You use Heun Sau by rotating the hand
inwards and then using a palm strike
downwards to your opponents body. When you
use Huen Sau, you must only use it when your
opponent uses force, otherwise you can leave
yourself open for attack.

Repeat Tan Sau/Gaan Sau/Tan Sau

Huen Sau for the right hand.
Fig 90 - 99

Bong Sau
1. Bring your left hand out, wrist to the
centreline, elbow higher than your
wrist, upper arm parallel to the
centreline. Make sure your wrist is
loose and your shoulder is neither
raised or tense. Fig 100.

Bong Sau means Wing Hand because it moves

up and down much like a wing. Bong Sau is
used all the time in Wing Chun, however, most
of the people do not use it correctly. Usually,
they use too much energy on the forearm. All
the energy should be on the upper part of the
arm and the forearm and hand should be
completely relaxed. The elbow should be higher
than the wrist most of the time. Bong Sau is
for connecting with your opponents hand when
your opponents hand is on top of your hand.
If only using one hand to contact with your
opponent, then the Bong Sau is done at an
angle of 45 degree from your body. If using
double Chi Sau, then you can face each other.
The application is that when your opponent
attacks and you have already met it with Bong
Sau, then you can then take your opposite hand
and Lap Sau your opponents striking hand.
Then chop with the Bong Sau hand.

Tan Sau
1. From Bong Sau, drop your elbow to
the centreline. Fig 101.

Bong Sau and Tan Sau are often connected

together because one is elbow up and the other
is elbow down. The are used in tandem to
change the energy during Chi Sau.

Dai Jeung
1. Push your palm forwards straight out
from the middle chest, striking with
the heel of the palm, again using
energy at the last moment. Your palm
Qi Magazine 18

Fig 99

Fig 103

Fig 100

Fig 104

should be upside down, with the

fingers pointing towards the ground.
Fig 102.
2. Draw back your hand to its resting
position by first gathering a fist. Fig
103 -106.

Dai Jueng means Lower Palm. We use this

palm to attack the lower part of the body.
However, when we attack the lower part of
the body, we can often forget the defence of the
upper part. So the best way is to step to the
side and apply Dai Jueng along with Paak
Sau.
Repeat Bong Sau/Tan Sau/ Dai
Jeung on the right side. Fig 107 - 112.

Fig 101

Fig 105

Fig 102

Fig 106

4. Repeat the movement on the right

and then once more on the left. Finish
with your right hand down and your
left hand up. Fig 116.

Chan Sau means Shovel or Clearing Hand.

When your opponent tries to grab your hand,
then you pull your hand back and use the
opposite hand to chop downwards. However,
you must do this before your opponent fully
grabs hold of your hand.

Chung Kuen

Chaan Sau

1. Punch with your left hand,

simultaneously drawing your right
hand back behind your left hand.
Fig117.
2. Repeat twice more, each time
changing hands. Fig 118 - 119.

1. Bring your left arm down. Fig 113.

2. Place your right hand at the top of
your left forearm. Fig 114.
3. Sharply draw back your left arm and
clear it by sliding the right hand along
it simultaneously. Your hand position
is now reversed. Fig 115.

It is similar to the punching in the beginning,

however, it is done in a continuous manner,
not just a single punch. Generally, we do three
times, but in practice, you can do more than
this. However, you should remember to use
energy only at the last moment.

Fig 107

Fig 108

Fig 109

Fig 110

Fig 111

Fig 112

Fig 113

Fig 114

Fig 115

Fig 116

Fig 117

Fig 118

Fig 119

Fig 120

Finish
1. Withdraw both fists into the resting
position. Fig 120.
2. Bring your feet together, straighten
your legs. Open your palms, push
them down and relax. Fig 121.

Conclusion
We have now completed the
whole Siu Lim Tao. Siu Lim Tao is the

Fig 121

basic form of the Wing Chun system. You

should practise Siu Lim Tao more than any
of the other forms. This will help you to
understand the principles of Wing Chun
more fully. You should try to do it is as slowly
as possible and naturally. Breathe through
the nose. Siu Lim Tao is not just a martial
art skill, it is also internal training. It can
make you healthy as well because every
martial artist should be healthy.

I have been studying Wing Chun

for over 26 years and I still enjoy Siu Lim
Tao training. I find it very useful to
improve my skill. Personally, I believe that
Siu Lim Tao is not the first form created
in the Wing Chun Kuen system. I believe
that it was created after the Tsum Kiu and
Biu Jee forms, even after the Wooden
Dummy. Our Wing Chun ancestors must
have realised the need for internal
training and so created Siu Lim Tao later.
Siu Lim Tao is for balancing the strong
energy and to make us healthier.
Most martial artists only
concentrate on fighting and miss the
internal training. Internal training will
help us to balance our body. It needs
someone with a lot of experience to
realise this. Therefore, Siu Lim Tao is the
most important form in the whole Wing
Chun system
by Michael Tse
Qi Magazine 19

Siu Lim T
- Stillnes
Laozis Dao De Jing mentions how the
world was created and also how things work.
Wing Chun Kuen was created from nothing and
from Wing Chun Kuen many Wing Chun skills
have been created. Then these Wing Chun skills
will go back to nothing. This is how nature works
you were born from nothing, then you do a lot of
things in this world, finally you die and go back
to nothing.
Everything is created from nothing
and also created by something.
Dao De Jing

hen you study Wing Chun Kuen, the first thing you
have to learn is the form Siu Lim Tao. The first
part of the form you have to do very slowly. Many
people wonder why this is. Some will think that Wing Chun
is a martial art, which is supposed to be quick and powerful.
There are other people who will think the opposite, that
this is Qigong training that will help to make you powerful,
particularly your one-inch punch.
Actually you can say that both ways of thinking are
right, but they do not cover the point of the training 100%.
This slow training will bring you quick and powerful
attacks and also develop your Qi, but these are just the
branches and not the trunk of the tree, so they are not the
purpose of the tree.
As the Dao De Jing says Everything comes from
nothing and nothing comes from something. When we
perform Siu Lim Tao, we do not move our feet or legs from
the start, until we finish. We move so slowly, that there is
almost no movement. From Tan Sau to Wu Sau to Fuk Sau,
these are very slow movements, so slow that you cannot
even see them move.
I remember a few years ago at one of the Wing
Chun residential courses, Darryl Moy led the group doing
Siu Lim Tao. He did it very slowly and the total time was
over 2 hours. Most of the people found this very hard to
stand and this was a new experience for them. During the
residential course we usually do one hour and in classes we
do 5 to 15 minutes, because we are limited for time. I think
half an hour to one hour to train Siu Lim Tao is the best
page 40 Qi Magazine May/June 2003

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time because I do not want to practise

only once a day. You should practise
everyday, so the best thing is if you can
do the same length of time every single
day. This will get you the best results.
Also training for too long will make your
leg muscles very stiff and maybe you
will not be able to train the next day.
This is not good. You need to keep training constantly.
But, coming back to the slow movements of Siu
Lim Tao, we should treat this as if we are standing forever,
and that we are not there. Then there will be nothing in
your mind and then you will go back to nature. Nature
is the best teacher and our best friend to help us
understand and solve all our problems.
If we do the form slowly we will build up our
patience. Patience is the key to success. No one will be successful
without patience. It is the same in self-defence, fighting is
fast, but if you cannot be
patient, then you will
make a lot of mistakes.
Patience creates a calm
mind; a calm mind creates
the Qi flow. Qi flow creates
healing and healing
creates health. Health
creates strength and
strength creates powerboth physical and mental.
Today most of the
martial arts we see only
concentrate on teaching
fighting skill and neglect
the spiritual side. In all
traditional martial arts the
first lesson you learn from
the teacher should be
about the morals of
martial arts. Martial arts
are not for fighting they
are for health. Good
health comes first and selfdefence comes second.
Also, self-defence does not

Health creates
strength and strength
creates power both
physical and mental.
mean attacking and bullying people. A good, traditional,
Chinese martial artist is very gentle and has a high sense of

morality. Using force can only control people for a moment.

Using compassion can win peoples hearts forever.
Therefore, even those people studying martial arts in
China do not use them to bully other people. They treat them
as health exercises first. Then when you are healthy, you can
use them for self-defence, to protect yourself, your family and
your country.
Siu Lim Tao is very important for your health. These
slow movements that we do at the beginning tell us that we
are just part of nature and we are not so important. If we can
stand this forever, then nothing is important. That kind of stance
is something, but this something is brought back to nothing.
Since you are nothing it means you are everything and you
will eventually go on forever. Your Qi and your skill will reach
a high level.
When you study Wing Chun Kuen, you should know
this. When you start, you begin from nothing. Then you become
something as you practise. When you totally understand the

Wing Chun skill you can apply the principles and when you
have trained physically, you go back to nothing. You become
a high level martial artist and a good healthy person.
Martial arts without morality are like a person without
feelings, a butterfly that cannot fly and a plant that has no
fruits or flowers. Good morals are the essence of martial arts.
If you know how to treat your martial art in the proper way,
you will know how to care about people and you will not use
your skill to bully other people and show off. So a good martial
artist is healthy and has a high level of skill.
You can see the results people get who study martial
arts and only concentrate on fighting. They end up with many
injuries and a lot of pain in the body and some even die at a
young age. Martial art morality is not given to you from your
Sifu, it comes from nature, to save you.
By Michael Tse

Qi Magazine May/June 2003 page 41