Interviewer: Good afternoon, sifu. Thank you for agreeing to this interview on the major key points when performing yee jee kim yeung ma and siu lien tau.
Sifu: Good afternoon. So you’d like to discuss the main points to observe when performing kim yeung ma and siu lien tau?
Interviewer: Yes. May we begin by asking you to summarise them, sifu?
Sifu: OK, there are chek chun for each structure in siu lien tau, of course, but overall there are these six main points in the basic structure: kim sut; lok ma; chum bok; ting yu; dung tau; and, mai jahng. They principally refer to your yee jee kim yeung ma. This is one of the main attributes we train in our siu lien tau. You’ll recall I often call out these points to you when we’re performing basics.
Interviewer: Yes. Could we proceed through them one by one and expand on them, sifu?
Sifu: Certainly. As you’ll be aware, one of the points I’m always calling out to my students when they are performing a Wing Chun stance, no matter what the stance – except sae ping ma or gung ma, of course - is “kim sut!” This means that the knees must naturally sink forwards and down to a position between the two feet such that there is a fist width between the two knees. The knees are not forced in with any tension, but rather are gently squeezing forwards and downwards. The two feet must face inwards at between thirty and forty-five degrees. The angle depends on your ankle flexibility. What must not be the case is that the feet face forwards. Trying for kim sut then, if you did that, would put undue strain on the knee joints. Also you have to allow your weight to sink down your body. If you point your knees forward here can be no adduction. Pointing the knees forward is not Wing Chun. It is best left for hei gung training!
Interviewer: Sifu, I see some people trying to press their knees in laterally rather than forwards.
Sifu: Yes. This is quite incorrect and will result in damaged knee and ankle joints over time. Silly!
Interviewer: I don’t see many Wing Chun practitioners who are aware of, or utilise, kim sut. Is it a well known requirement?
Sifu: Well, actually I think it used to be more common than it is now in the various branches of the Yip Man Hong Kong versions of Wing Chun. Some of the Hong Kong lads still espouse it. Incredibly, some decry it! But, with Yuen Kay San and Koo lo Pin Sun Wing Chun it has always been a requirement.
Interviewer: You’re always saying: “No horse, no gung fu”, sifu. Is this what you refer to?
Sifu: In part, yes. There are a number of features that we need to ensure are present in our horses. Kim sut is a very important one. It is correct, though, that if your horse is incorrect then all your gung fu will be, too.
Interviewer: OK. What of lok ma then, sifu?
Sifu: Lok ma is vital, too. You can’t achieve kim sut without lok ma.
Lok ma is lowering the stance. By lowering the stance, what we refer to as “root” is developed. We get the feeling that we are rooted into the ground like a tree. We allow the soft tissue of the body to sink onto the aligned skeletal frame. The Achilles tendon bears a lot of the load in this as it holds the legs from collapsing.
Interviewer: Sifu, you see a lot of Wing Chun practitioners who don’t sink so their knees are a fistwidth apart and don’t sink their horse. Is that so?
Sifu: Yes. It is. It is incorrect. How can the bow shoot an arrow if it does not bend?
Interviewer: Ah! I’ll remember that, sifu!
Sifu: Well, it is so! (Laughs)
Interviewer: Do we tense the legs sifu?
Sifu: No. Tension is antithetical to genuine Wing Chun. Relaxation is one of our eight key principles. The only tension is that of the ligaments holding the stance. They’re on stretch like elastic bands but no muscles are tensed.
Interviewer: Beginners often seem to have difficulty remaining in the correct stance.
Sifu: Yes. It’s a new experience for them and requires gradual training. The legs often shake when we begin. But after a time we learn to let the correct alignments and structure do the work for us.
Interviewer: So next we have ting yu.
Sifu: Yes. Ting yu. We have to ensure our spine is vertically aligned without our glutes sticking out. We can’t have a sway back. We have to keep our back straight, pelvis rolled under very slightly and relaxedly so that each vertebrae is stacked one on top of the other like a pile of coins. The spine is completely aligned. The upper body should not be leaning back nor should the head tilted forward.
Interviewer: We sometimes see people leaning back like the Leaning Tower of Pisa/ What’s your impression of this, sifu??
Sifu: Yes, I see that some people do that. It’s incorrect and unnecessary. Also it runs counter to sound bio-mechanics. Sorry to say, but no matter who does it, it’s not optimal structure.
Interviewer: So, we’ve worked up from the stance through the spine. Now for the head, eh?
Sifu: Yes. Keeping the head in the right position and proper execution of
ting yu is a prerequisite for dung tau. Dung tau involves keeping the head up, neck relaxing into the shoulders; shoulders drifting downward by gravity with no tension. This is chum bok, sinking the shoulders. The head should be held as if being pulled upward gently by a string to help draw the spine straight. The chin is a fist width from the supra-sternal notch. This is the pit at the top of the sternum. If you have a taller build then it is a fist plus a bent thumb.
Interviewer: What of mai jahng then, sifu?
Sifu: Mai jahng is a structural point for the arm, pressing the elbows inward and forward. Without using tension, the elbows should be kept a fist's distance from the solar plexus when fighting. The elbows stay within the body line. The energy projects from the elbow forward, through a relaxed forearm, wrist, and hand. The elbow should not be forced into the centreline, but gently guided towards the centre and pressed forward.
Interviewer: Thank you, sifu, for presenting those pointers.
Sifu: My pleasure. Thank you.