Heavy Chi Sau, Light Chi Sau or Both?

[CEB]

Do you practice Heavy Chi Sau, Light Chi Sau or Both? Thanks.

[PaulH]

My Sihing Greg Leblanc wrote quite an article on this. So I will post the link below for you.

Cheers, =)

www.garylamwingchun.com/articles.html#4.%20Qi%20Sao,%20The%20Soul%20of%20Wing%20Chun- 

[sihing]

CEB said:

Do you practice Heavy Chi Sau, Light Chi Sau or Both? Thanks.

We advocate "Heavy" Chi Sao, if that means with a forward type of intention, like a loaded spring. First of all we consider chi-sao something more than just a contact reflex or just a reflex drill. The rolling part (Pon Sao?) is more important than anything else. If someone has a good structure and tight roll (meaning the circle the wrists make as you roll is tight and not large) and with good forward intention in place then you will find no opening, therefore when you try to create one you will open yourself up in the process. What does this teach us? Well many things, but most importantly it allows your hands to hit all by themselves, and it also engages the opponents hands/arms. With this forward intention it makes the bridge arms almost immovable or very difficult to move, and when that does happen the footwork kicks in to supplement a superior postion with the opponent.

Here's a clip of my self (I'm the taller one with hair on the left) and my Sihing (Sifu Gerald Boyle) performing chi-sao, Double arm, X-arm & parrallel in front stance, at a demo in Chinatown last April, www.wck-media.co.uk/general//WingChun_1.wmv .

James

[CEB]

Thanks for the responses. I have seen folks that advocate working light Chi Sau for its sensitivity training and I have seen people advocate working it heavily for the previously mentioned reasons.

Sifu Augustine Fong advocates that both are important and both should be trained. His reasoning made sense to me but I am just an old Judo player. I was wondering if this was a common held view.

Thanks again.

[sihing]

Yes Augustine Fong is a recognized Master and very skilled from what I have seen of him and read.

If you really want to make Chi-sao a reflex drill then I would practice it soft, with no pressure, then you have to react to everything the opponent gives you, but it will be easier to attack you as there is nothing in the bridge arms to prevent a serious explosive attack from landing. At close distances, it's very hard to be able to react just due to the fact that we are only so fast in reflex action, especially when against a fast & skilled opponent, in close like chi-sao range. When I practice with Juniors I have to adjust the forward pressure according to their level otherwise they wouldn't be able to do anything. I find when I do this I'm move vulnerable to their attacks, this is probably why Yip Man didn't chi-sao much with his students.

James

[chaotic2k]

I feel chi sau should be both hard and soft, it uses both ying and yang. One arm attacks while the other arm monitors. Not forgetting constant forward pressure, aiming at the oppents centre. I have chi sau'd many people and most the time i just used the straight punch due to there lack of fook sau. Your elbows must be connected into your horse (stance) and you mus become 1 unit. Its like the branches of a tree, there felxable but not weak. I have seen alot of chi sau that is very flowery and soft, and it looks nice but true chi sau is a soft power. going back to my original point of ying and yang. Soft but hard "lut sau jit jung" - "thurst forward when the hand is free"......