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Siu-Nim-Tau
"Little-Idea" Form

Siu-Nim-Tau

Introduction | Section 1 | Drills and Applications | Concepts and Theories

The first form of the Wing Chun system is called Siu-Nim-Tau (pronounced soo-nim-douw). Meaning "Little-Idea," this form demonstrates basic but efficient concepts that provide a logical method.

Whereas many arts focus on an application, Wing Chun focuses on the concept of that application. A concept can adjust and respond to ever-changing situations, while focusing only on the application itself can see it defeated.

All Wing Chun empty-hand forms are taught in three sections to make for easier learning. For the Siu-Nim-Tau, however, its three sections have a specific purpose and stress a unique function:

Section 1 teaches the correct biomechanics of arm movement, plus strengthening the lower body,
Section 2 teaches how to develop relaxed power, and
Section 3 combines the elements from sections 1 and 2 to teach how to "release" that power.

Some will train the Siu-Nim-Tau as "internal," while others will train it as "external." At the AWCA, we train the entire system from the mindset of fighting (what many will denote as "external"). Elements of internal training will result, such as relaxation and smooth breathing, but we do not focus on the internal aspects as some others do.

Instead, our primary focus lies in the relaxed, physical aspects of response and engagement, learning to overcome an opponent swiftly and efficiently. "Internal" elements result over time, but they're not our primary concern; defeating the opponent as quickly as possible is the primary goal, and utilizing the concepts found in the Siu-Nim-Tau begins that process.

The interesting thing about Wing Chun is that you will find many variations. The families, lineages, and styles have particular ways to train, as well as specific modes of that training in order to cultivate what they feel are the essential elements to their preferred methods. Some are more effective than others, but on the whole, you will usually find more similarities than differences.

Section 1 begins by learning how to lower one's center of gravity from the chest to the waist. Called Hoi-ma, or "Opening the stance," this basic but primary element is one of the reasons we can take an opponent head-on. Should too much force be encountered and we're overpowered by brute strength, the structure itself allows us to "borrow" that force and re-direct or deflect it.

When engaging force with your own force, the stronger of the two opponents has a better chance of success because the odds are more in their favor. Therefore, in order to overcome that, "borrowing" their force allows us to quickly change angles, respond faster, attack the exposed areas, and keeps it efficient without "thinking" about what to do.

Note: The below illustrates section 1 from the front view only, plus very basic descriptions. For learning the complete form (including side-facing views, in-depth descriptions of each key element, and using full and slow-motion video training), see Volume 1: Siu-Nim-Tau of the AWCA eBook Training Series.

Section 1: Siu-Nim-Tau (4.43 MB | 1 min. 34 sec. | WMV format)

Siu-Nim-Tau: Section 1
	Hoi-ma ("Opening the Stance," figures 1a. to 1e.) Stand upright with the arms at the sides and feet together.
-1a-
	Hoi-ma (continued) Withdraw the arms.
-1b-
	Hoi-ma (continued) At the knees, sink the weight straight down.
-1c-
	Hoi-ma (continued) On the heels, pivot your toes outward to 90-degrees.
-1d-
	Hoi-ma (continued) On the toes, pivot the heels outward to 60-degrees. When completed, you are now in the Yee-chi-kim-yeung-ma, or "Character 'Two' Adduction stance."
-1e-
	Gow-cha-Tan-sau ("Crossed Double Palm-Up arm") Bring the arms to the front, wrists on the centerline, left hand on top of the right hand.
-2-
	Gow-cha-Gaun-sau ("Crossed Splitting-Block arm") Drive the arms straight down.
-3-
	Kwun-sau ("Rotating-arms/ Twisting-arms") Pivot the left hand inward and circle the arms upward.
-4-
	Gow-cha-Tan-sau Return to the double crossed Tan-sau position.
-5-
	Hau-jarn ("Withdrawing-elbow") Forcefully drive the elbows straight back.
-6-
	Yat-chi-chung-kuen ("Character 'Sun' Thrusting-punch") Bring the left fist to your centerline.
-7a-
	Yat-chi-chung-kuen (continued) "Explode" the fist forward on a straight line to full arm extension.
-7b-
	Tan-sau With the arm remaining locked out, turn the palm upward.
-8-
	Huen-sau ("Circling-hand") Pull the hand towards you so that the palm is facing your chest.
-9a-
	Huen-sau (continued) Pivot the wrist so that the fingers point inward. During the wrist circling, do not bend the elbow. Always keep it locked out to promote flexibility and prepare for lessons to come.
-9b-
	Huen-sau (continued) Continue the wrist circling until the fingers are pointed directly downwards.
-9c-
	Huen-sau (continued) Quickly snap the fist closed.
-9d-
	Hau-jarn ("Withdrawing-elbow") Drive the elbow backward.
-10-
[Repeat step 7a. through step 10 for the right side]
	Slow Tan-sau Open the left hand with the palm upward and slowly move the hand to the centerline.
-15a-
	Slow Tan-sau (continued) Continue the slow movement until your elbow is approximately one fist-width distance from your body.
-15b-
	Huen-sau With the arm remaining in place, pull the hand upward so that the palm is facing your chest.
-16a-
	Huen-sau (continued) Continue Huen-sau circling. During the circling, keep the wrist on your centerline. Do not let it drop down or raise up, and do not let it move to either side. It remains on the centerline throughout Huen-sau.
-16b-
	Huen-sau (continued) Continue the circling.
-16c-
	Slow Wu-sau ("Guard-arm") At the end of the circling, assume the Wu-sau position with the wrist on your centerline and your elbow slightly outward.
-17a-
	Slow Wu-sau (continued) Slowly withdraw Wu-sau until it's approximately one open-hand from your wrist to chest.
-17b-
	Slow Fook-sau ("Bridge-On arm") Pull the elbow inward and fold the palm in, keeping the wrist on the centerline. This is the first of three Fook-sau's that you will perform.
-18a-
	Slow Fook-sau (continued) Slowly move the arm outward, stopping when the elbow is one fist-width distance from the body.
-18b-
	Huen-sau Circle the hand inward and upward.
-19-
	Slow Wu-sau Repeat the previous slow Wu-sau movement.
-20a-
	Slow Wu-sau (continued)
-20b-
	Slow Fook-sau Repeat the previous slow Fook-sau movement. This is the second of three slow Fook-sau's.
-21a-
	Slow Fook-sau (continued)
-21b-
	Huen-sau Repeat Huen-sau to assume the Wu-sau position.
-22-
	Slow Wu-sau Repeat the slow Wu-sau movement.
-23a-
	Slow Wu-sau (continued)
-23b-
	Slow Fook-sau Repeat the slow Fook-sau movement. This is the third and final Fook-sau in this sequence.
-24a-
	Slow Fook-sau (continued)
-24b-
	Huen-sau The final Huen-sau for this sequence.
-25-
	Slow Wu-sau Repeat the final slow Wu-sau movement.
-26a-
	Slow Wu-sau (continued)
-26b-
	Pak-sau ("Slap-hand") When Wu-sau stops, look to the left and quickly slap the palm to the left. Go only until you reach the same horizontal line as your shoulder vs. going "beyond" the shoulder.
-27-
	Jing-cheung ("Erect-palm") Return the palm to the center and point it forwards.
-28a-
	Jing-cheung (continued) Forcefully strike forward with a frontal palm strike. Additionally, go to full arm extension vs. leaving a bend in the elbow. Be careful, however, not to hyper-extend the arm and cause injury. Gradually build up the speed and power over time so that "in" time, you can lash out with full speed and full power without injuring your elbow.
-28b-
	Tan-sau Keeping the arm at full extension, turn the palm over so that it's facing upwards.
-29-
	Huen-sau Perform the wrist circling.
-30a-
	Huen-sau (continued)
-30b-
	Huen-sau (continued)
-30c-
	Huen-sau (continued) When Huen-sau is completed, snap the fist closed.
-30d-
	Hau-jarn Forcefully drive the elbow backwards.
-31-
[Repeat steps 15a. through 31 for the right side]

When completed, you have finished section 1 of the Siu-Nim-Tau form

The above illustrates the first of three sections that makes up the Siu-Nim-Tau form. In addition to opening the stance in order to lower our center of gravity and learning about adduction, section 1 also begins to strengthen the legs for creating a strong, solid foundation.

A "simple" task like opening the stance is not as "basic" as it might first appear. The body must correctly interpret weight distribution, and maintaining this weight distribution is paramount to effective fighting. "Correctly" is used here because the body can also interpret weight distribution incorrectly. To counter this, a Wing Chun student will spend quite a bit of time learning about the foundation and structure of their body, and how a correct or incorrect structure can make or break everything else that follows.

From section 1 alone, you could create a variety of drills that could probably span volumes. To illustrate a bit about what the Siu-Nim-Tau teaches us, let's explore a few drills that begins the foundation of Wing Chun.

Punching
There are three primary punches in Wing Chun, with Yat-chi-cheung-kuen, or the Character "Sun" Thrusting punch (commonly called the Straightline punch), being the most prevalent. If you close your hand to make a vertical fist, and then look at the front of it in a mirror, it resembles the Chinese character for "sun." Hence, the Character "Sun" Thrusting punch.

Wing Chun punching differs from other arts in that instead of striking with a horizontal fist and using the first two knuckles, we use a vertical fist and strike with the bottom three knuckles. If you place your arm to your side, make a fist, then draw the arm up in front of you, you will see that the bottom three knuckles are in alignment with the arm. Upon impact, the entire arm acts as a "shock absorber."

This is why Wing Chun punching can inflict so much damage to the opponent, and it is also why the punch can be so fast: biomechanically, it is the correct way a punch should be enacted.

Straightline Punching (front and side view) (1.34 MB | 33 sec. | WMV format)

Straightline Punching (front view)
	After one fist has punched...
-1-
	... the lead fist drops slightly so that the next punch does not hit it (thereby ensuring that the next punch remains straight).
-2-
	Both hands exchange positions and this continues in an unending cycle. Punching in this unending cycle is called Lin-wan-kuen, or "Chain-punching/ Alternate Thrusting-punches").
-3-

The same punch, now from the side.

Straightline Punching (side view)
	After one fist has punched...
-1-
	... the lead fist drops slightly so that the next punch does not hit it (thereby ensuring that the next punch remains straight).
-2-
	Both hands exchange positions and this continues in an unending cycle. Punching in this unending cycle is called Lin-wan-kuen, or "Chain-punching/ Alternate Thrusting-punches").
-3-

Lead-arm Defense Drill
After learning the first section of Siu-Nim-Tau and exploring the variety of concepts, we can take many of these movements and "blend them together" to create our own drills as necessary. This teaches us not to be stagnant or always training the same drills over and over.

To begin this process, we work what is called the Lead-arm Defense Drill. This drill is just one of many variations that "frees us up" by helping us to move from side-to-side while working the arms. We also learn more control of the lower body and how to pivot ourselves in order to "borrow" the force of the attacker.

Lead-arm Defense Drill (1.06 MB | 24 sec. | WMV format)

Lead-arm Defense Drill
	Juk-sun-Tan-dar ("Palm-Up arm with simultaneous attack") This action combines turning the body to a Sideling-stance (Juk-sun-ma) while executing Tan-sau and a simultaneous punch.
-1-
	Juk-sun-Fook-dar ("Bridge-On arm with simultaneous attack") This action combines turning the body to the other side while executing Fook-sau and a simultaneous punch.
-2-
	Juk-sun-Gaun-dar ("Splitting-Block arm with simultaneous attack") This action combines turning the body to the other side while executing Gaun-sau and a simultaneous punch.
-3-
	Pak-dar ("Slap-hand with simultaneous attack") This action takes us back to Yee-chi-kim-yeung-ma while executing a simultaneous Pak-sau/ punch combination.
-4-
	Kuen-siu-kuen ("Punch-to-punch") Remaining in Yee-chi-kim-yeung-ma, we initiate Kuen-siu-kuen and withdraw the other hand to Wu-sau. The punch hand assumes Man-sau and we repeat the drill, beginning with Juk-sun-Tan-dar on the other side. This is worked repeatedly in order to learn coordination of the arms working simultaneously, and combining this action to pivoting the body for a full body response vs. just one limb defending or attacking.
-5-

Pak-sau Drill
An excellent real-world drill that you can work with your training partner right now is called the Pak-sau drill. This drill teaches coordination, learning to make contact, feeling what that pressure is about, and how to better protect your centerline. It also puts into motion the concept of working both hands simultaneously so that you can enact simultaneous attack and defense.

Pak-sau Drill (691 KB | 15 sec. | WMV format)

Pak-sau Timing Drill (1.63 MB | 23 sec. | WMV format)

Pak-sau Drill
	As the opponent punches, the defender enacts Pak-sau ("Slap-hand") for defense while also beginning to punch.
-1-
	As the punch reaches the opponent's arm, the opponent defends with Pak-sau.
-2-
	This simple cycle continues repeatedly. Not only is this an excellent real-world drill, but over time it also creates a "relaxed strength" of the arms and shoulders.
-3-

Wing Chun is "concept-based" vs. "application-based," meaning that the movements themselves can only take you so far. They are excellent movements, for certain; however, they are still only mechanical actions. What really makes Wing Chun so effective is "how" and "why" the movements are applied.

For example, think about how many martial arts are in existence. Now, think about how many ways the human body can move. With the hundreds of systems and styles in the world, a person can still only do so many things.

When someone trains only for applications, then what happens if they meet up with an opponent who is trained in movements that the defender didn't train for? If they follow a set pattern or routine in their daily training, then any deviation from that routine can be cause for defeat.

Wing Chun does not follow this premise; instead, the system applies "concept" - not "movement" - to the equation. Concepts such as learning about the centerline, straightline and vertical midline are essential to what we do. Understanding how the body responds to incoming force allows us to "borrow" that force and use it our advantage.

The Centerline Principle

The Straightline Principle

In combination, the centerline and straightline principles increase your reactions so much that our responses can become extremely fast. It isn't a mystery, though: it is simple, logical body mechanics.

Additionally, the Siu-Nim-Tau is unique to the rest of Wing Chun. Whereas all forms are learned in sections solely for the sake of easier learning, the Siu-Nim-Tau's sections each have a distinct purpose:

Section 1 - Section 1 teaches the correct biomechanics of arm and hand positions, as well as strengthening the lower body. The structure of the stance from the ground to the top of the head is learned, and we take this structure to reinforce our arm mechanics.

Section 2 - Section 2 teaches us how to develop relaxed force. Anyone can release force, but releasing the "proper" force is what this section focuses on. Here we learn about relaxing our actions in order to remove the stiffness and tension that goes with fighting, as well as how to develop a relaxed "whipping" type of force.

Section 3 - Section 3 combines all of the lessons learned in sections 1 and 2, and teaches how to unite these concepts into a workable, efficient "explosion" into our target.

Like all things Wing Chun, though, not everyone trains the sections in that manner. Some apply different associations to it, such as learning double movements, focusing on gaining the inside line, etc.

If you are ready to really get involved with learning what Wing Chun is all about, then there is no better starting point than Volume 1: Siu-Nim-Tau of the AWCA's eBook Training Series.

If you want to learn more about the Siu-Nim-Tau, including the complete form, all of the drills and applications, and the concepts and theories behind the movements, then I recommend "Volume 1: Siu-Nim-Tau" of the AWCA's eBook Training Series.

This video-illustrated in-depth workbook takes you through the complete Siu-Nim-Tau curriculum from start to finish with nothing left out. This one-of-a-kind training platform was built with true distance learning in mind and has already helped thousands of practitioners all over the world actually learn Wing Chun.

Volume 1: Siu-Nim-Tau

Forms and Drills

Updated: 07.25.2008 2:34PM MST