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| Q: Why should the Siu Lim Tao Form be practiced slowly? |
| This is a classic question in Ving Tsun Martial Art. It is classic because: 1) Not only would non-Ving Tsun practitioners ask this question, many a Ving Tsun practitioner would also ask themselves the same question. They may discuss it with colleagues, often only to find their answers no longer hold true the next time they re-visit the question. 2) Strictly speaking, the question in itself does not quite accurately describe what in fact takes place, in the sense that it is unknown, as far as I am aware of in modern times, that a slow pace Siu Lim Tao has been developed and widely practiced in the world. |
Be it grammatical omission or a difference in meaning, the question nonetheless is discussed below in the terms of speed. The Siu Lim Tao Form is generally taught separately in three sections, a result out of making learning it more effective. Once the student has mastered the moves, the idea of section becomes less relevant. In my style, however, in order to expedite the learning process, Siu Lim Tao is taught in four sections. The first section includes the first move to the end of the right straight punch. The second section begins with the left Tan Sao and ends with the right straight palm. The other two sections are generally delineated in the same way as in other styles. It is the second section, in other words the One Tan Three Fok, which should be practiced slowly. My understanding and experience are as follows:
- While the moves are being made in a slow pace, they must not be construed as a state of attack or defense. As far as the form and trajectory of Tan Sao and Fok Sao are concerned, it is futile to look in them for any offensive move at all. In my experience over twenty years, I have yet to hear or witness anyone make an offensive move with Tan Sao or Fok Sao. In fact, the point of practicing Tan Sao, Fok Sao, as well as Wu Sao, in a slow pace, is for the student to establish an entirely new set of motion with which he or she is otherwise unaccustomed to in everyday life. They are a set of motions which are suitable for close combat. But in order to acquire them, it is important to master a large number of details such as how to relax the shoulder, drop the elbow, draw in the elbow, correctly position the elbow and maintain correct degrees of tension and release in the muscles. These details are against ordinary habitual ways in using an arm to exert a force, which is why it requires a considerable length of time for the student to accustom to.
- Once the positioning and trajectory of Tan Sao, Fok Sao and Wu Sao have basically been mastered after a certain period of training, the student should then begin to develop an increasing sense of control of the arm's muscular force and its reflexes to external forces. Siu Lim Tao offers a comprehensive set of training of the fundamentals for the arm. More advanced training will seek to optimize the effect of these fundamentals via pair exercises.
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| Through my own experience and teaching over the years, I have observed that the more proficiently a practitioner masters the second section of Siu Lim Tao, the more slowly he or she practices it. It is because the sense of control he or she is able to master becomes increasingly acute, and increasingly specific. The distribution of the arm's muscular forces and their reaction to external forces becomes finer. In other words, the more advanced the practitioner, the deeper his or her achievement in these fundamentals. Therein lies the prerequisite of the fundamentals of "Striking over a long bridge" and "guard the centre, use the centre" (Note 1). |
| The third and fourth sections of Siu Lim Tao are practiced in ordinary speed. They put in use elements such as drawing in the elbow, controlling the arm with the elbow, guarding the center and using the center, which have been learned previously in the second section. I recall notion avowed by my teacher: "The application of Ving Tsun martial arts has never emphasized set moves (Note 2). Therefore, the order of the moves practiced in any of the Forms, has no bearing on actual application of them. Siu Lim Tao can be practiced as individual moves …" This is a remarkable insight that sheds ample light on the interpretation of the Siu Lim Tao Form. As to Siu Lim Tao's other concepts, theories and fundamentals, since they are beyond the subject question, I shall leave their discussions to other occasions. |
Note 1: "Guard the center, use the center" – This refers to a geometry in which when I face the opponent square on, a perpendicular line is drawn from the apex (found by extending the lengths of my inward pointing arms) down to the base (the front of my shoulder) of a triangle when viewed from above. To guard, and to use the center, mean a set of optimal conditions in defense and offense in Ving Tsun martial arts. It is the most basic interpretation of the Center Line Theory in Ving Tsun.
Note 2: "Set moves" – They are moves pre-arranged in a certain combination under a set of defensive and offensive assumptions. A component of the combination is also called "a move".
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Author: Cliff Au-Yeung Kim Man
Last Revised: March 12, 2008
Last Revised: 27/05/2008
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