During the pandemic, in-person teaching with Grandmaster Tse has been put on hold and instead seminars and classes have been taught online. Despite early doubts about the viability of teaching online it has now become a staple of the Centre and manages to connect people across countries and time zones on a weekly basis in a capacity unseen before. In a short time we have covered many interesting skills like 24 Chī Geuk Techniques, Chèuhng Kìuh Faat Ging, Tsum Kìuh and more.
This being said, there are certain skills which cannot develop properly online – Chī Sáu is one of these. Without a partner to train with we will be missing important feedback on the efficacy of our techniques and be unable to train our sensitivity to another person’s energy. Furthermore, to develop good Chī Sáu GM Tse says we must touch as many hands as possible. Thus a Chī Sáu Day with many Wing Chun practitioners gathering and practising together is the perfect environment to deepen our skill and challenge ourselves. When practicing with other people there is instant feedback on whether you are on the right track or not – success and failure is your guide.
The Chī Sáu Day started with a lecture in which GM Tse emphasised the importance of following and using the opponent’s energy. The rest of the seminar was a good mixture of Chī Sáu’ing with different people and GM Tse helping students with queries about how to handle difficult situations. We would train the new techniques for a while and then it was back to free Chī Sáu. There were exclamations of joy whenever someone managed to use one of the new techniques effectively.
There were many familiar faces from past Chī Sáu days but also many new faces, as students have joined during the pandemic. If new to the centre, then meeting so many people might seem a bit intimidating. However, there are few better ice breakers than Chī Sáu, especially in the friendly way emphasised by the Centre, and in no time the room was filled with a comfortable and playful atmosphere.
Of the techniques shown by GM Tse many were good examples of how to follow the opponent’s energy. For example, when both hands are pulled down with double Jaht Sáu – do not resist but follow the energy by stepping closer to the opponent, then immediately change to double Tāan Sáu to take their centre and disturb their balance, finishing with Sēung Jihk Jéung (double vertical palm strike) to their chest.
Another technique was how to deal with an opponent doing Gāau Chāa Sáu (crossing your hands). Again, the opponent’s energy was paramount – as whether they were pushing or pulling would result in a different counter technique. On a push, you could step back and change both hands to Tāan Sáu while still having them crossed. On a pull, you could step forwards and change to double Wàang Laan Sáu to collapse their arms and push their centre.
There were many techniques to take home that day but more important than the individual techniques were the principles of using less force and following the opponent’s energy – principles which are at the heart of Wing Chun.
The Centre is like a big family and values the social aspect as well as the martial skill and so, after the seminar, many of the group went to the Imperial China Restaurant in Teddington for a much-needed meal, a chance to catch up with old friends and to get to know new acquaintances better.
Hopefully, we will have many more in-person seminars in the future – especially for developing skills which are based on sensitivity and partner exercises like Chī Sáu. Thank you to GM Tse for sharing his skill and for bringing back the long-missed Chī Sáu Day.
by Paul Hogg
Student Comments
Sifu, thank you for Chī Sau day. So exciting! Worth waiting for! Even now, I still feel I learn so much from these sessions. Great to be back together like family. Peter W.
Chi sau day: It has been too long! There were a lot of hands I never touched before and I remember how important it is to be surprised by someone new — too easy to get used to the same hands all the time. Thanks Sigong for getting everyone warmed up again after COVID and it will be great to touch hands again with people soon! Lee B.
Finally! It was great to ChiSau with so many people again, learn and improve our skill. Thank you Sifu and everyone else for organising this great event and sharing your knowledge. Saulius
So much fun doing chi sau again! Great to see everybody! 🙂 Nina
At long last the day arrived!
And what a day! Great to see so many people and touch so many hands. I feel warm and happy and a little bit sore – as it should be.
I hope this seminar is the beginning of many more physical seminars where we can meet up in person and develop our sensitivity with fellow students.
Thank you for this enjoyable seminar Sigong.
Paul Hogg
Wonderful to see and Chi Sau with so many people again. A super experience. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Kevin Chong
A lot of fun to chi sau with so many people and especially seniors. I have missed the Chi Sau days in the past 2 years and am very glad we have the opportunity to meet again and practice together. Thank you Sifu, Simo and seniors for organising!
-Radu
It was wonderful to see everyone again in person today at the Wing Chun Chi Sau Day. Touching hands with so many different people is a rare treat and I had not realised just how much I had missed it! Looking forward to Chi sau with people much more in the future. Thank you, Sigong. Best, Tom Hogg.
Thankyou TaiSigong and TaiSitai for Chi Sau day, the first one in 3 years, absolutely essential and couldn’t be missed. I really enjoyed the day, it was so good to see everyone in person and chi sau again. I also feel like I learned alot thanks to Taisigongs lecture and helpful comments from senior students. Looking forward to more chi sau in future seminars and courses! Thanks, Rod.
Yet another fantastic event! An invaluable experience which highlights why diligence is essential and growth never stops. Plenty of unfamiliar hands, and even the hands I met before, have changed beyond recognition. Eagerly await the next opportunity.
Thank you very much Sigong & Sitai for such special opportunities.
Jordan Barrett
My first chi sau day was incredible, I met some amazing people including my sijo and my kung fu brothers and sisters. I came away with learning a well of knowledge and the overall experience was inspiring.
I will definitely attend further chi sau days in the future.
Thank you to sijo and everyone that made today possible.
Robin Bray
It was so good to get together for Chi Sau day, to meet old and new friends, and to train and eat together just like the old times. Thank you Sifu, it was a great day
Peter A
Thank you Sigong for organising a great chi Sau day. It was fantastic to meet with people we’d not seen for so long and get to touch their hands. It is a reminder of how important this and also how we need to come together as a family to help each other. Hopefully it is the first of many more to come.Thanks
Gareth Price
Thank you Sigong and everyone for such a fantastic Chi Sau day. It’s been really wonderful to see some familiar faces in real life and to meet some new! Finally touching hands again after so long has been a real joy… I’m already looking forward to next year! Sam
Hi Sigong,
Thanks for organising such a great event. Had a great time – learnt a lot – thank you for giving us to opportunity to touch so many different hands: it really highlighted what I need to work on in my Chi Sau! 🙂 Gerrard Aylwood
I have been waiting with great anticipation for the upcoming Chi Sau day, and it did not disappoint one bit. A truly lovely day seeing my Tse Qigong Centre Wing Chun brothers and sisters. It was so good to come together as a group. I came away with a wealth of knowledge and so glad that I attended. Thank you to everyone who gave me constructive feedback, it was much appreciated. Looking forward to the next one. Eric Paule ☯️
Thank you, Sigong and all the organisers, for a fabulous Chi Sau Day. I learned a lot, saw how much more I have to improve, met a lot of great people, had fun and lastly, ate very well. I can’t wait to practice more and am looking forward to next year. Connor Smith
Hi Sigong, I really enjoyed doing Chi Sau with you and the others. A great experience and I’m extra motivated now to keep practicing. There are lots of new techniques for me to take home and digest, as well as the excellent meal we all shared afterwards. Ben Lee
Thank you Sigong, Sitai and Sifu. Chi Sau day was amazing. Was really good seeing everyone and catching up. I learnt a lot from touching all the hands and appreciate everything taught in the Seminar. Looking forward to learning more of this wonderful skill. Trevor Gorton
Hi Sigong and Sifu, thank you for the opportunity to be part of such an amazing day and to chi sau with so many people. It was truly a wonderful and educational experience. I had learnt a lot about my hands from touching hands with many people and how others hands are as well. There’s so much more to improve on and I’m motivated to keep pushing forwards. I’m excited to keep practicing and developing my skill!, and I can’t wait for the next chi sau day! Tech Chow Cheah
Thanks Sigong and everyone who helped make this Chi Sau day happen. It was an amazing experience as always to be able to touch so many hands, especially after such a long time. It really helped to highlight mistakes and learn how to handle less familiar techniques which is invaluable to learning and improving skill. The meal was also fantastic and much needed after so much Chi Sau, already looking forward to the next one! Ash Thorne
Thank you Sigong, Sifu and all who organised and helped.
I was a bit worried about attending the course as I’m relatively new and hadn’t done much Chi Sau but, it was the best thing I could have done. I learnt so much, not only about touching hands, but also footwork in relation to it.
The group were really helpful while still challenging me so I had to learn quickly – that made it more interesting.
Definitely want to go to the next one soon!
Meal was tasty and needed after all the hard work. It was fun mixing with group both during dinner and when doing Chi Sau. Marie Ryder
Thank you Sigong, Sifu and everyone else helping organise Chi Sau day. I have learnt many useful things about Chi Sau that I did not know before. Especially on what to improve on. It was also great to meet everyone! The meal was a great way to finish the day. I am very much looking forward to the next Chi Sau day! Ben Wolkowski
Great Chi Sau day, so good to see everyone and getting back to practicing Chi Sau. Got to meet many old friends and new friends too. Going to dinner afterwards was the icing on the cake! Thank you Sigong and Sitai for organising such a good day. Christine