Legends of Kung-Fu #14 Push Hands - Wing Chun's Lost Skill Wing Chun kung-fu is a system well-known for its formidable striking techniques, giving rise to such pugilistic notables as Bruce Lee and Wong Shun-Leung. Yet many wing chun enthusiasts misunderstand the attacks of the system to be based on hand & foot strikes alone, especially the lien wan kuen, or chained straight punch combination. According to Wong's former chief assistant, Gary Lam, these people are propagating an incomplete version of the art. Lam, based in Monterey Park, California, says that the lien wan kuen are merely the most basic exercises for wing chun fighters. "Most people only see wing chun as a striking system, so when they practice their gwoh sau (the crossing hand combat sticky hand drills), they just look for the strikes and maybe try to trap a little bit to set those strikes up," explains Lam. "This is the mark of a mediocre player. A skilled wing chun fighter understands how to use more skills than just crossing. He understands the importance of closing and pushing. This is the true application of our saying loi lau hoi soong, lut sau jik choong: pull in what advances towards you, push away what tries to retreat from you. Not just beat the hell out of each other like a couple of flailing idiots." Pushing is one of the five wing chun skills that is also known as the gei wei sau, or "chance hand", so known because it allows the intelligent wing chun player to use pushing and pulling to create better openings, or better "chances", for finishing techniques. Lam breaks the pushing hand science down to four parts: 1. Close the gap with the coordinated use of striking power in both hands, 2. Break the opponent's balance and posture, 3. Take the opponent's position, and 4. Use a small amount of force applied to your opponent's points of balance to guide his body wherever you please. There are two basic movements that directly exhibit the pushing aspect of wing chun: the tui sau (basic pushing hand) and the po pai sau (double palm strike with fingers pointed away from each other). As taught by Lam, the po pai sau has perhaps some of the richest application in fighting combinations. "In the gwoh sau training, we can use eight combinations with the po pai sau," explains Lam. They are: 1. huen sau (circling hand) into po pai sau, 2. boang sau (wing-arm block, off both the "right" and "wrong" sides) into po pai sau, 3. pak sau (slapping block) into po pai sau, 4. gaang sau (sweeping block) into po pai sau, 5. kwun sau (rolling block) into po pai sau, 6. juin sau (changing block) into po pai sau, 7. biu sau (finger thrust) into po pai sau, and 8. seung ha po pai sau (simultaneous palm strikes to the upper body or lower body). "And when hei gung (internal energy training) is added to the po pai sau, the power you are able to put out with that push is unbelievable," adds Lam. Lam finishes by explaining the applicability of pushing in real-life combat, "People really underrate pushing. If I hit you and drop you on the spot, sure that hurts. But what if I faat ging (push you with internal power), causing damage to your internal organs, and send you reeling back through my window on top of that? Wouldn't that hurt you more? When you push, you are fighting with more intelligence. You give yourself the chance to use the environment as a weapon against your opponent. You can push them or slam their vulnerable points into a table, a step, a wall, a TV, or a car door. Then at that point, you are not just limited to striking anymore, and your game becomes more complete. When you can employ the use of wing chun push hands, you've found the lost skill." ________________________________________________ About the subject: You can find more information on Gary Lam
at his website: www.garylamwingchun.com. |