Grandmaster Tse’s Wing Chun Note 482

The sixth star in the Sahp Sīng Bouh 十星步 – Ten Star Footwork is Teui Máh 退馬 – Backward Step. Teui 退 means step backwards, and Máh 馬 means step/stance. In certain situation, we need to be able to step backwards and we cannot always step forwards. We have a saying in Chinese 以退為進 This literally means, step backwards as step forward, however its true meaning is, each step back is plan to step forwards. Throughout Chinese history many battles have been won by an army pretending to loose and retreat and to suddenly strike back and trap their enemy. This is one of the best strategies. There is a common Chinese spear technique called, Wùih Máh Chēung (Huí Mǎ Qiāng) 回馬槍, which means to ride a horse and shoot back with the spear. This means that when the enemy is chasing us as we pretend to escape we suddenly shoot back to strike them when they are not expecting it. If we strike when the opponent is not expecting it, then we can always defeat them. Although in this spear technique we shoot back, but we do not do this in Wing Chun but we must be able to step back. When I was studying with my Sīfú師父, Grandmaster Ip Chun葉準, in the 1980’s, some masters would say, “Wing Chun never steps back.” I asked my Sīfú about this and he said, “When fighting, we should be able to step back when necessary.”