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| Application of Fok Sao |
| Whenever we talk about Ving Tsun martial arts, we are likely to touch on the classic arm moves of Bong Sao, Tan Sao and Fok Sao. However, although it is not difficult to understand Bong Sao and Tan Sao and their variations by observing the Siu Lim Tao and Chum Kiu forms and exercises of Sticking Arms, sparring and Tok Sao (Note 1), when it comes to Fok Sao it often appears vague and even disappointing. Is it that Fok Sao's use can only be found in the Sticking Arms exercise, where it merely moves up and down while clinging on to the opponent's Bong Sao and Tan Sao? This seems rather uninteresting. It is also heard, from some Ving Tsun practitioners, that "Fok Sao is a vivid example to support Ving Tsun's origination from a legend of a fight between a snake and a crane. A leveled Fok Sao is likened to the beak and the head of a crane. A raised Fok Sao is likened to an erected head of a snake. Hence, when it is considered a crane's beak, one strikes with the closed finger tips, and when it is a crane's head, one strikes with the back of the hand near to the wrist, etc etc." Are these applications of Ving Tsun martial arts' Fok Sao? |
Let me first of all point out clearly where my style, as it has been passed down to me, stands as to the origin of Ving Tsun martial arts. My late teacher had never acceded to the idea that Ving Tsun came from an imitation of animal or animals (Note 2). He considered Ving Tsun martial arts a set of combat essentials which has been the result of refinement through applying, adjusting, selecting and improving by a group of combat technicians in a certain geographical region over a long period of time. On the subject of Fok Sao, my style's understanding of it is succinct: its use is only in practice, not in application. You may wonder why. Let me give a brief explanation. In the Siu Lim Tao form, the entire operation of Fok Sao is repeatedly practiced. When a required level of structure, positioning and fluency is reached, it can then be practiced against an opponent's Tan Sao or Bong Sao so that a sense of defense and attack is developed. The aim is to develop and train the arm for a number of combat abilities during contact:
- Sensitivity to incoming forces, including sensing how strong the force is, its direction and its origin.
- To achieve the alternate state of lax and tense in the muscles, sustain the useable angles of the elbow, and maintain the useable distances between the elbow and the rib cage, under the pressure of incoming forces.
- The habit of keeping the elbow in front, never behind, of the body.
- An awareness of treating the elbow as the arm's midpoint, and the tendency to have the elbow as the driver in an arm move.
- To appreciate the requirement in the ability "deliver forces over a long bridge", and to practice it.
- To be aware of the distribution and the timing of various forces in the elbow, wrist and palm throughout the process of "delivering forces over a long bridge" from before reaching the target, at the moment of contact and after the contact.
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Put in Ving Tsun technical terms, the above six points are about developing and training:
A) the arm's sensitivity (point 1),
B) the "force under the elbow" (points 2, 3 and 4), and
C) the ability to "deliver forces over a long bridge" (points 5 and 6).
Of the many basic combat abilities, these are the three that can be established in the process of
training Fok Sao |
Note 1: Tok Sao (or measuring arms) is a technical term in Ving Tsun, referring to an advanced sparring practice in which the pair has a mutual understanding about the speed, position and strength of their moves so that every move is effective and measured, reaches the target but does not inflict harm.
Note 2: Animal imitation martial arts are martial arts that have moves which are designed to imitate animals in mother nature. The design may try to capture the spirit or characteristics of a given animal hunting for food or fighting for survival. A classic example is Xingyi Quan's Shi'er (Twelve) Xing Quan.
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Author: Cliff Au-Yeung Kim Man
Date: March 12, 2008
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