AWCA Notebook

At our recent North Carolina seminar, I was relating how Wing Chun teaches the curriculum in  a specific order because the forms are progressive. To that, one of the participants asked a great question: “What is the order of things taught in Wing Chun?”

And that got me thinking that there are still quite a few out there that do not really know the “why’s” behind why we train like we do.

So in a nutshell, here is Wing Chun’s curriculum and the “why’s” behind why it is trained like it is. Although I have previously described some of this, it is always good to reiterate it to those new to the art (as well as to those who simply have never been told).

Everything begins with Siu-Nim-Tau (visit AWCAOnline’s Siu-Nim-Tau section). Meaning “Little-Idea” form, this stage begins with teaching us the mechanics of the art. For example, creating the stance used, learning arm placement, and how to breathe. It is here that we learn the basics of all-things Wing Chun and how those basics will be expanded on in the coming lessons.

However, it is also here that a lot of people do not pay the appropriate amount of attention to. For example, someone new to Wing Chun will see the wooden dummy and think, “If the dummy is the most advanced empty-hand area of the art, and since I can buy a dummy and some books/videos, then I will bypass all the middle ground and go right to that!”

What they do not realize is that the wooden dummy is the culmination of what came before it. You need thorough comprehension and mastery of everything in its proper order in order for the next stage to be useful. Otherwise you have nothing but a mish-mash of actions that mean nothing.

In fact, without approaching it in that light, Wing Chun’s actions can actually set you up for defeat vs. making you a competent fighter. It is akin to running before you know how to walk.

After the Siu-Nim-Tau comes the Chum-Kiu (visit AWCAOnline’s Chum-Kiu section). Meaning “Arm-Seeking” form, this form takes us from a point of basic offense and defense to one of tactically seeking out the opponent, thereby taking the fight “to” him vs. waiting for him to come to us.

If you know you are going to have to fight, then there is no sense in waiting. The longer you wait, the more dangerous it becomes. So if you know you are on, then go.

Chum-Kiu teaches us how to drive straight into an opponent, seeking out the weakest parts of their defense to attack through. It is also here where we learn body torguing, the use of elbows and kicks, and also trapping and pinning.

During the Chum-Kiu, we engage in a side curriculum called Chi-sau (visit AWCAOnline’s Chi-sau section). Meaning “Sticking-hands”, a Wing Chun practitioner learns to contact an opponent’s arms. Once that contact is made, he/she learns how to use that force to dictate their own responses.

In real fights, you rarely have time to actually react like you think you will, much less the time to think about “what” to do before you do it. Chi-sau takes the guess work out of the equation by teaching us to respond solely to what we feel, thereby removing the need to think about anything.

The next stage of training is called Biu-Tze (visit AWCAOnline’s Biu-Tze section). Meaning “Thrusting-Fingers” form, this stage is geared exclusively for the scenario that your life is in peril and you need to literally fight to keep your life. Due to its nature, it is reserved exclusively for those that have already demonstrated an extremely strong and positive moral character.

The final empty-hand stage is called Muk-Yan-Chong (visit AWCAOnline’s Muk-Yan-Chong section). This is the wooden dummy, and while it “does” include many actions from all previous forms, you will also find a host of new concepts and actions to take your skills further than you might have thought possible.

The entire concept of the wooden dummy is to unite the upper and lower bodies for forming a more complete union. Along the way we learn to work new concepts, develop short-range “bursting” power, and other elements essential to Wing Chun, but the overall concept is to make your body a complete unit vs. just a collection of parts.

The weapons are in a class by themselves so we will not go into that here. Suffice it to say that a practitioner will spend years and years on just the empty-hand system without really needing to learn the weapons, although the weapons “do” contribute to more advanced empty-hand concepts.

But in a nutshell, that is Wing Chun. It is a progressive method that continuously builds on what came before it, and the start or “foundation” if you will is the Siu-Nim-Tau. Without a solid, competent Siu-Nim-Tau skill set, everything following it will be mediocre at best.

So my advice? Spend time at the Siu-Nim-Tau and learn what it means. Become a proficient, true master of what the Siu-Nim-Tau teaches and you will not be disappointed.

One of the more interesting facets of Wing Chun is the progressive nature in which it is trained. Some schools will teach a complete form and then the drills/applications, while others will teach a few movements to competence before moving on.

Regardless of “how” a form is learned, one thing that should always be adhered to is the “order” of the forms.

Because of the Internet, access to the entire Wing Chun system is now available in one medium or another. This is a good thing but it also poses a problem for those without the patience to learn it correctly.

So let’s discuss the “why’s” behind how Wing Chun is learned and the importance of maintaining the correct pattern of training.

The proper order of Wing Chun training is:

• Siu-Nim-Tau
• Chum-Kiu
• Biu-Tze
• Muk-Yan-Chong
• Luk-Dim-Boon-Kwun
• Bart-Cham-Dao

Note: Chi-sau, Lap-sau and Chi-gerk are interspersed at various stages of the above forms, but usually at different areas depending on the school.

Wing Chun’s first three forms can be equated to building a house, so let’s use that as an analogy to help us make sense of “why” things are the way they are.

Siu-Nim-Tau
Siu-Nim-Tau, or “Little-Idea” form, is the first stage of training. It is here that a practitioner learns the beginning mechanics of structure, as well as the fundamental “grounding” concepts of the art as a whole. Without a solid understanding and competence of what the Siu-Nim-Tau relates, all future learning will be of little to no use.

The Siu-Nim-Tau is the “foundation” of your Wing Chun “house”.

Chum-Kiu
The Chum-Kiu, or “Arm-Seeking” form, is the next stage of training. It is here that we learn to “seek out” the opponent in order to take the fight “to” him.

Chum-Kiu teaches many new concepts such as turning, angling, driving force into our defenses, learning elbow strikes, kicks and stepping.

Chum-Kiu creates the “walls” for your Wing Chun “house”.

Biu-Tze
The final empty-hand form is the Biu-Tze, or “Thrusting-Fingers” form. Here we learn extremely close-range attacks and explosive force delivery in order to penetrate and overwhelm the opponent in armed and/or multiple opponent situations.

Biu-Tze creates the “roof” for your Wing Chun “house”.

With a sound, competent house, you are now sheltered from most of what you would encounter in the real world. Naturally, however, there are always methods to improve your skills.

Muk-Yan-Chong
The Muk-Yan-Chong, or “Wooden Dummy,” allows you to train on an inanimate object that never complains, cannot be injured, is never late for class, and, for those that pay attention, can actually correct your angles while building a more powerful foundation.

It is here, however, that many practitioners new to the art make a grave mistake.

Because of the dummy’s popularity, a lot of people will purchase or build one, buy a book or video, and knowing nothing else about Wing Chun, they will embark on the wooden dummy curriculum.

Nothing could be worse for your training!

The dummy is the culmination of trained empty-hand learning, not the starting point. In order to even learn it properly, you need competence in what came “before” it. Otherwise, you develop improper habits and a false sense of security.

I have met more than a few practitioners over the years who learned nothing but the dummy form, and then got thrown around like rag dolls from even my lower-level students who have not even finished their Siu-Nim-Tau training. Why? Because my students understand and have learned how to ground themselves, how to protect themselves, and how to borrow what the opponent does in order to take advantage of it.

A curriculum of a higher level is of no use unless what came before it is trained to competence first.

Luk-Dim-Boon-Kwun
The Luk-Dim-Boon-Kwun, or “Six-and-a-Half Point Long Pole” form, is the first formal weapon learned in Wing Chun. Here we learn about long-range weapons and how to use a weapon as an extension of ourselves.

Bart-Cham-Dao
The final stage of training is the Bart-Cham-Dao, or “Eight-Cutting Broadswords” form. Using two 2-lb. knives, we learn short to medium-range weapons fighting, which – when combined with the previous long-range pole training – rounds out our weapons training and the art as a whole.

Summary
Each stage of Wing Chun training has a specific purpose and builds upon what came before it, which in turn prepares us for the next stage of learning. Remove any of these stages and you nullify the art itself.

It is said that Grandmaster Leung Jan, one of Wing Chun’s most accomplished fighters, spent decades examining and refining the art to a point of efficiency unparalleled by any who preceded or followed him. After decades of honing the art, he proclaimed that it could not be anymore effective than it was.

In my view, I believe he is right.

A great conversation I have been having with a fellow practitioner today has been over the Bart-Cham-Dao and how “flipping” the knives came to be introduced. I would love to hear your take on things, too, and what you have heard about where this came from.

It is not uncommon to see various well-known practitioners “flip” the knives backwards so that the back side of the blade is against the forearm (similar to how a Japanese sai is held). However, I was taught that this should never happen, that posing the weapon in this way makes it purely defensive.

The interesting thing is that while many “do” flip the knives, many others do “not.” Therefore, I would welcome your insight, whether just a story you have heard or an article/ book you have read, that explains why some flip the knives and others do not.