Grandmaster Tse’s Wing Chun Note 489

An Australian student asked me, in Síu Lihm Tào 小念頭 – Reducing Thought  – Wing Chun’s first form, why does the Tāan Sáu 攤手 – Opening Hand come so slowly from the side off the chest to the proper Tāan Sáu position? This is a very good question as we know our hands will never use those positions when we apply Tāan Sáu. When we use Tāan Sáu in Chī Sáu 黐手 – Sticking Hands or fighting, our hands will come out very quickly to the proper position. This is one of the clever things about Wing Chun. Most people will only see punches and kicks and think about using power. What they do not realise is, power only comes from his training. For Wing Chun, this comes from relaxation and the stance. This means we must be relaxed and let the power come from the legs. So doing Tāan Sáu so slowly gives us time to relax and build up the power of our stance and legs. Being relaxed, with strong legs also makes us healthy and more sensitive, as the Qi can flow in the body, clearing any blockages and balancing the body. If we just quickly form a Taan Sau from the chest, we will feel tense on the shoulder, elbow and the chest, miss the relaxation. If we take 10 minutes to go from the chest to the proper Tāan Sáu position, our technique will be very powerful and it will take over an hour to complete Síu Lihm Tào.