How Much Do You Trust Your Eyes? (Part 1)
Really?
Photo by Franco Antonio Giovanella
‘How much do you trusty your eyes?’ I guess what I’m trying to say is…
“Don’t think… Feel”
Now we’ve all heard this phrase used by the, great, Bruce Lee, but of course this is not an original concept, in fact this phrase, is as close to explaining Wing Chun as you could possibly get.
Along with:
‘Luk Sau, Sic Kuen’
(Lost hand, straight punch)
In fact this is the very essence of Chi Sau, feeling for gaps, openings and opportunities whilst always keeping your own positions tight, but not tense of course, (there, we have a huge difference in this).
This understanding of sensitivity and shape, is married with all our training, and from the earliest stages, such as Dan Chi Sau, Lap Sau exercise and even Pak Sau drills, but unfortunately we get so preoccupied with addressing how these techniques look, that we forget the main element, that of embracing how it feels.
This applies even more so for your Siu Lim Tau.
The best piece of training equipment you will ever buy for Wing Chun, is a good mirror, used daily it will help you check your stance, your positions and your moves, oh and of course your Forms, but when we feel as though we know what we are doing, we need to then take on board the idea of knowing how this feels as well as looks, and therefore stop relying on your eyes.
One exercise I recommend you try is this:
Using a large mirror and taking your time, open your basic stance and place a Tan Sau in front of you, now take a good look at yourself, then close your eyes, and keep them closed.
Now it begins to get interesting.
Try to feel every detail from the ground up.
- Feel how far apart the feet are away from each other,
- How much the toes are turned in and how much grip they have on the floor,
- The bend of the knees and the strain on the calves and shins,
- The rotation of the pelvis and tensioning of the quadriceps,
- Your fist at the side of your body and the opening of the chest & shoulders,
- Chin lifted and head straight,
- Tan Sau in front of you, elbow and thumb tucked, with a twist on the wrist,
- Fingers relaxed & not touching with the pull being felt down the outside of the forearm.
NOW
Still keeping your eyes closed, come OUT of your stance and shake off.
THEN
Starting from the ground up, begin regaining each and every one of those feelings and in the same order:
- Feel how far apart the feet are away from each other,
- How much the toes are turned in and how much grip they have on the floor,
- The bend of the knees and the strain on the calves and shins,
- The rotation of the pelvis and tensioning of the quadriceps,
- Your fist at the side of your body and the opening of the chest & shoulders,
- Chin lifted and head straight,
- Tan Sau in front of you, elbow and thumb tucked, with a twist on the wrist,
- Fingers relaxed & not touching with the pull being felt down the outside of the forearm.
Now open your eyes.
If you felt everything and matched it the same, then the finished position should be identical to how you started.
This is why, when playing the first section of the Siu Lim Tau it is important that you allow your eyelids to relax and lower, but not to fully close.
If your eyes are closed you may be liable to daydream and if they are open you may easily be distracted, therefore, when you have the correct positions, start to lose the mirror.
This idea should also be applied to your Dan Chi Sau as soon as you have understood the concept of not overcommitting with your attack of defence.
Below is a short Youtube clip giving some ideas of how the eyes can cause misdirection over feeling.
In Part 2 of this blog I will explain how ‘Sensitivity‘ applies itself to street fighting and actual self defence.
Look out for Part 2.
Thank you.