Yun Hoi Wing Chun Gwoon

Yuen Kay San was THE top Wing Chun Sifu!
For all those who have been misled by marketing and been disrespectful to Sijo Yuen Kay San and Sifu Sum Num.
Yip Man's son, Yip Chun, and movie producer, Si Kwok Lam, apologized to Yuen Kay San's grandson for disrespect:
And the Yuen and Yiu families voicing their displeasure about the movie (with actual interviews):
Profound respect from Si Kwok Lam, director of the movie “Ip Man” and Yip Chun, Yip Man’s son, is offered over insulting Yuen Kay San and lying about Yip Man being senior in Wing Chun to Yuen Kay San. Yuen Kay San was the top Wing Chun sifu alive throughout his lifetime. When he passed away this mantle fell on his sole disciple, Sifu Sum Num.
It’s unfortunate that this apology couldn't happen before Sum Num, who had been grossly misrepresented in Leung Ting’s Book “Roots and Branches of Wing Chun” similarly, passed away. If a reader reverses the names “Yip Man” and “Yuen Kay San” in Leung Ting’s stories they will be much closer to the truth!
Movie producer Si Kwok Lam and Yip Chun, who co-produced the movie "Ip Man", which glorified Yip Man with an incredibly fictitious heroic life, apologized six times and "served tea" to Yuen Kay San's grandson, Yuen Jo Tong, (left in the Youtube picture, wearing glasses) for misrepresenting, and being disrespectful to, the legendary death duel champion during the 1920-1950s, Yuen Kay San. During a news conference in China, Si Kwok Lam and Yip Chun admitted in front of witnesses and acknowledged documents that showed that Yuen Kay San, not Yip Man, had represented the Wing Chun family and answered all the public death duel challenges in Futsan in those years, and admitted that he is senior to Yip Man in the Wing Chun family tree.
Mr. Si Kwok Lam (a student of Yip Chun and the movie producer of the Ip Man 3 movie) apologized and served tea to Yuen Jo Tong for misrepresenting his grandfather, Yuen Kay San’s reputation and status in Wing Chun history. (In the movie, Yuen Kay San was portrayed as Yip Man’s younger gung fu brother, not as skillfull as Yip Man)[9]. As is well known to any Wing Chun practitioner on the Mainland, this is ludicrous and laughable!
Yiu Wing Ken (Yiu Choi’s grandson) explains that, in the old days in Futsan, Yuen Kay San, his grandfather Yiu Choi, and Yip Man were called the "Three Heroes of Wing Chun" and were often mentioned together. Yuen Kay San student, Leung Jan Sing, also provided an ancestral document indicating that Yuen Kay San studied with Fung Siu Ching, who learnt Wimng Chun on the Red Boats, while Yip Man and others studied under Yuen Kay San himself. This record was actually made public in the 1970's but had not been publicly disseminated in the West. Yip Man was not Yuen’s official student, having only learnt a little from him. Yuen Kay San taught Yip Man all the chi sau Yip knew - but this was not all that Yuen Kay San knew. In the order of seniority on the family tree, Yuen Kay San ranked at the first level, that is, he was unarguably the top Wing Chun man during his lifetime, with Yip Man being listed the last. It would be normal, therefore, as he did, for Yip Man to ask Yuen Kay San for instruction.
Yip Chun also misrepresented the facts of Leung Jan’s biography and reports on his life from several independent sources in claiming to have known Leung Bik whom he portrayed in the movie. He did not know Leung Bik. No Leung Bik ever taught Yip Man. Yip Man was taught by Ng Chung So. Leung Bik was a romantic fiction derived to promote Hong Kong Wing Chun in the early days. Yip obtained superior skills to his class-mates in Futsan by learning from Yuen Kay San. In fact, Yip’s father at one stage, asked his friend,Yuen Kay San’s father to teach Yip Man some Wing Chun. Yip Man had been disrespectful to Yuen Kay San several times, so he was reluctant - but agreed to his father’s request begrudgingly. Below is the original Chinese quoted from the original article in the Dayoo Newspaper of Guangzhou:
还原历史： “咏春三雄”齐名 姚永强介绍，当年在佛山，他的爷爷姚才与叶问、阮奇山并称“咏春三雄”，三人齐名，武功不相上下。阮奇山 的徒孙梁湛声还提供了祖传的记录，记录上写明， 阮奇山师从冯少青，而叶问与其他多个咏春武者一同在阮奇山的门下。“这本记录是上世纪70年代 留下的， 这也不能说叶问是他的徒弟，但论资历，阮奇山排第 一，叶问最后，叶问向他请教很正常。
^ "冼国林向阮祖棠斟茶道 (Si Kwok Lam serves tea to Yuen Jo Tong)". Yang Sing National Newspaper (China). 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
^ "还原历史： (Restore History)". Dayoo Newspaper (Guangzhou, China). 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-18.

Looking for someone. Are any of my American friends able to help? Message me if you think you might be able to locate info on social media. I can give only a few details - but they may be enough

Student: Sifu, what did you have to give up to gain your skill?
Sifu: The life others lived.

We often hear martial artists talk about Buddhist notions, Japanese samurai ideas or quotes from Sun Tzu. I am often bemused that the ideas have been misunderstood or misinterpreted. One such term is "mu shi" - "empty mind". As those who know me well are aware, I've spent my life studying not only martial arts but also my religion - Buddhism. Whilst I'm a Tibetan Buddhist I have also spent decades studying Zen/Ch'an Buddhism. Thus, I think my understanding of Buddhist ideas is reasonable. Having sat at the feet of gurus, lamas, roshis and monks (including HH Kundun) and discussed with them I believe I have a fair idea of what the Buddhist concepts entail. Usually they are not congruent with the "pop" interpretation(s). One such concept is "empty mind". There is a saying: "one mind opens two doors". As not only a Buddhist but also as a psychologist I can say this means we have both an analytical mind and a mind that can be described as "self as context". Thus, the "two doors" are the two functions of the mind: the mind that thinks about ideas, often locking onto them in what is actually a dream-like state that takes at least part of our awareness into the time beyond now - the past ("phew, that was a fast kick, lucky I dodged it!" or future ("I think he'll punch now, with a straight right!" - and endangers us with momentary distraction; and, the mind that is like the chessboard on which the pieces move. The mind that is like the chessboard is there but not actively participating. It observes calmly, without judgment, without movement. It is not effected by the moves but provides the background on which they occur. This is "no mind" - it is awareness without attachment, without distraction, without analysis.
How do we acquire this mind? We ought develop it during forms and technique practice once we have passed through the period where we have to observe, question, self criticise, analyse. Once we know the correct structures, the correct angle, the correct power paths and means of emitting power we can then calm and still the mind. Only a few practitioners have the ability to completely still the mind for any lengthy period. However, fortunately in Wing Chun we only need to still the mind for seconds in a real fight. Once the mind is stilled and we aren't distracted by fear then we have "immovable mind" - another Buddhist concept applied to combat.

Leung Jan teaches juening
Several years ago I recall an internet debate about turning (juening). There was discussion as to which is the correct way to juen – on the balls of the feet or the heels? The debate went around in circles, died down, died out, re-surfaced every now and then and carried on. - unresolved The difficulty in resolving it was due to closed-minded ways of approaching Wing Chun. It seems that a system based on logic and scientific principles would demand the two opposing views be reality tested. Get up and try both methods? Well, … no. The chat group warriors would have none of that! Instead of getting up and actually trying the two methods to see which generated the most speed and power, resulted in the safest removal of the body from the line of attack, maintained the optimal balance, and gave the longest reach, for those mind-locked in their opinion and opposed to scientifically testing it, it became a matter of “my teacher taught me to turn on the heels so it must be right”. Having learnt both methods I thought I was in a position to comment in an informed fashion. Well ….no. Personal attack ensued. Entrenched bias held sway with many in the discussion. I was reminded of the story of a young novice monk who, interrupting a debate between senior monks arguing as to how many teeth an ass has, was severely beaten for suggesting they go actually count them! He spoilt a good argument!
Following is a tale told in Ku Lo about this very issue - both of turning and of scientifically resolving the question – from Leung Jan’s day. Note how Leung Jan has his student actually try and experience both methods! He didn’t just say “Wong Wah Bo taught me this – so it must be right!”
When Leung Jan retired from his apothecary’s shop, Hang Chai Tong, having no sons to inherit the shop, he returned to Ku Lo village where he was born. Wong Wah Sam was the first person Leung Jan taught in Ku Lo. He taught him a distilled version of Wing Chun. Leung Jan was over 70 when he retired and he reasoned that the lengthier training he’d undertaken with Wong Wah Bo and Leung Yee Tai wouldn’t be feasible in his remaining life-span. Hence, he developed the Twelve Point Ku Lo Pin Sun Wing Chun to teach in a short time span. This genuine, unaltered version of Ku Lo Pin Sun Wing Chun, exactly as taught by Leung Jan, himself, is that still scrupulously preserved to this day by some of the Fung Family in Ku Lo village.
Leung Jan was teaching Wong Sam one night. He was teaching him how to turn his horse and why the turn is performed as modern day Ku Lo Pin Sun (and Yuen Kay San) practitioners still do it to this day. Leung Jan first instructed Wong to shift on the heels and asked him to hit a fan that he was holding. Because he was shifting on his heels Wong Sam only changed the direction of his facing and had absolutely no further reach, hence, he was unable to reach the fan. Leung Jan then instructed Wong Sam to shift on the balls of the feet and Wong Sam easily hit the fan with several inches further reach. Leung Jan then explained that shifting on your heels causes you to lose a significant amount of distance in your striking range. “One inch longer, one inch stronger” is an old gung fu saying that applies in this situation. Leung Jan then also explained the other benefits of correct turning. So, juening on the balls of the feet was what Leung Jan employed and to this day is still preserved – done the way it was by Leung Jan - by the descendants of his Ku Lo village pupils. Yuen Kay San Wing Chun, deriving from a lineage not including Leung Jan, employs the exact same method in an unbroken line from the original Red Boat era ancestors.

The Eight Fears
Yun Hoi
In Tibetan Buddhism there are eight fear that practitioners are warned to be guard against. These are akin to the Western notion of the "seven deadly sins". The eight fears are: pride; ignorance; anger; envy; wrong views; avarice; attachment; and doubt. Each of these ought to be feared as they produce suffering both for those who emanate them and those who are their targets. As in daily life, so in martial arts we ought to quite consciously avoid the eight fears so as to become both better people and better martial arts practitioners.
Pride in one’s achievements is legitimate if one remembers how one acquired them and if one doesn’t brag or make others feel bad as a result of one’s abilities. In any genuine martial art it will never have been without the guidance of a sifu and one’s classmates. The Easterners say that one ought to remember the source of the water one drinks. This means one ought to revere one’s ancestors for passing down the art and not claim a fictitious or some patently false "secret teaching" or lineage.
False humility needs to be avoided as much as negative pride. False humility is exemplified by someone proclaiming they aren’t as good as they actually are in order to have others think they are "humble" or to disagree and elevate their status. A practitioner can be sincerely humble but honest about their attainments at the same time.
The fear of pride is clearly exemplified in the arrogance of some martial arts practitioners who assume a status of "master" or "grandmaster" or afford their sifu such status when in reality they are undeserving of it. One need not look far in the martial arts world to find some poor soul deluding themself and fooling some of the martial arts and general public with their fanciful claims and techniques. Some speak or write eloquently and are obviously verbally fluent to varying degrees but this doesn’t alter the fact they are being devoured by the demon of pride.
Ignorance has two meanings in English - it means rudeness and stupidity. I guess we can talk about both but the Tibetan meaning is actually focused on what would be called "stupidity" or "being ill informed" in English. Rudeness is fairly self explanatory. There is no need for it and a martial arts practitioner ought to consciously practice politeness in order to avoid rudeness. There are some times when rudeness is the only response when someone is being rude and needs to feel the sting of their own lash to learn "the hard way" from being on the receiving end. Fortunately these are rare. Ignorance as "stupidity" is often a difficult fear to work with as it seems, as Buddhists would say, a karmic result of prior action, to be a character trait for some unfortunate folk. Ignorance can only be addressed when either those who have been bitten by this demon realise it or someone points it out. Unfortunately, usually the person pointing it out - even if tactfully - is despised as a result and ignorance is further entrenched.
In my experience, ignorance in martial arts is most often exemplified in the "sifu sez" phenomenon. It need not even be one’s own teacher!
This phenomenon manifests as a student being so enamoured of their (or another’s) sifu that they throw away their logical and analytical capacity in favor of believing stories or explanations that, if given a little objective thought, they would find ludicrous if not highly questionable. We should respect our sifus but to idolise or idealise them is ignorance. And, no true sifu would want this sort of "hero worship". Only weak dysfunctional characters need that. A genuine martial arts teacher will teach the student to apply logical analysis to all they learn.
Anger is a fairly self explanatory fear. Someone once queried me as to whether it was a non sequitur to argue that anger was not appropriate in any martial art. My response was that aggression is needed but anger is counterproductive as it leads to incorrect reaction and thinking. Anger always clouds the mind. Extreme anger blinds us.
We ought to think when we have to fight that we are responding to an inappropriate action by a deluded person and that we are reacting to teach a lesson they have not yet been able to learn - i.e. quite simply that it is wrong to attack others except in self defence. We respond to their inappropriate attitude and action with an appropriate mindset - not that same anger but with a calm self assurance and determination that our action will hopefully teach the person that it hurts to be hit and that it is not OK to aggress on another. Because of the low level of an aggressor’s moral evolution we have to descend to their same level as they are incapable of moving to a higher level without pain and or fear inspiring some questioning or even the inappropriateness of their actions having to be pointed out to them. In an ideal world folk would engage in little aggression and courts would be able to successfully teach them that this is inappropriate if they did. Sadly, we are far from such a world. Indeed some parts of our world are more akin to the Hell realms than any decent civil societies.
Envy drives a lot of what is not OK in the martial arts world. Envy is something we all understand. It is being jealous of another for their good fortune, skill, achievement, possessions, fame, friendships etc. It is wishing them ill or putting them down. It may even manifest in physical action with attacks, threats, or face to face verbal humiliation. Or, it might manifest on the cowardly internet where folk can hide in electronic anonymity and thumb their noses at their superiors or colleagues. Envy in martial arts is common because of the obvious ability of others; the popularity of others; the respect given others; the opportunity others have had in learning; the sifus they have had the opportunity to learn with; their ability to be accepted in a certain lineage; their acceptance by others; and/or their fortune.
Envy can often manifest between members of the same gwoon. I’ve seen students envious of those with greater natural talent; those whom they believe may be getting more attention from the sifu; and, those chosen to become disciples or instructors. Maybe they needed more attention.
Maybe they’d earnt it. Maybe they’d earnt the right to be disciples by loyalty and the display of good character. Envy blinds the person whom it bites and they can’t see such explanations.
Wrong views is another fairly obvious fear. However, who would admit to holding wrong views? In the martial arts world there is a lot of machismo chest beating and denigration of others. Oddly enough it is often the minnows who berate the sharks! Much of the angst folk experience in martial arts is not because two masters argue but usually because their students do so without the masters necessarily even knowing. Sometimes, however, pseudo masters will argue. True masters wouldn’t bother. Wrong views can manifest in a variety of ways. For example: in supporting a patently flawed lineage and/or immoral sifu; not understanding and applying the principles of one’s art; in adhering to incorrect technical structures; pursuing improper training methods; and, performing techniques incorrectly.
Avarice - I have sadly found a number of martial arts sifus who do manifest this vice all too clearly! Doubtless, however, there are many fine folk who are generous and not avaricious. Avarice, though, is a nasty business. Many a martial arts student has had the unsettling experience of a sifu charging unjustifiably high fees; upping the fees regularly beyond what is reasonable; overcharging; extending the learning period to extract a longer fee paying learning time; inventing multiple levels of grades to ensure a cash flow; and, even inventing or importing material to extend the learning time.
To the great shock of some Western practitioners, this phenomenon has been engaged in by Oriental teachers in some arts in the past, several generations ago. It is not something new! Avarice can manifest in students too. Students can become avaricious in acquiring levels of the art, expecting too much too soon. They can also become avaricious in what I call "collecting" - trying, by various means, piece together the "puzzle" that their teacher has apparently not taught them. Or alternatively they are trying to "second guess" their teacher rather than trust him and wait until he decides they are ready to learn a certain piece of the art.
Attachment is an interesting fear. Attachment to a Buddhist means being attached both to physical objects, to people, to ideas, to habits. All these need to be addressed as they obscure enlightenment.
In martial arts the practitioner can also be led astray by being attached to an art; a lineage; a teacher; to certain notions; to habits; to technique; and to endlessly collecting techniques.
Doubt is a fear that strikes many martial arts practitioners. Some will question their art, their lineage, their teacher, themselves.
Sometimes the doubt is legitimate and serves a good purpose in furthering the student’s martial arts development. At other times it simply impedes it. How do we tell the difference? Therein lies the rub! Sometimes blind faith is the fear and doubt the antidote!
Whether doubt is a good or bad thing very much depends on context and actors. "Pigs are happy in mud" it is said. So perhaps at times we have to try to "step outside" our conditioned beliefs and look through objective eyes at our art. In a Buddhist sense doubt of the truth of the Dharma is a fear. So, perhaps in a martial arts sense, doubt of the art might be the fear.
So there we have it. Eight fears to be avoided!

“Yee Jee Yum Yeung Dit Ming Dao Fot Sai Mo Seung”.
Yun Hoi

This is not much discussed nowadays, but “Yee Jee Yum Yeung Dit Ming Dao Fot Sai Mo Seung” is a knife “kuen kuit” that means that the Wing Chun knives have no equal. This means they can defeat any weapon However, this is only the case if they are used correctly!
Whilst the Hong Kong Wing Chun practitioners call their Wing Chun swords “Bart Chum Dao”, our Yuen Kay San knives were always given a different name. In the Yuen Kay San system the knives have their full original name: “Yee Jee Yum Yeung Dit Ming Dao”. This means “Figure Two Yum Yeung (Complementary Opposites) Life Taking Knives”. The knives are also commonly called, for short: “Seung Dao”, meaning “Twin Knives”. The term “Bart Chum Dao” derived from the Hong Kong style of Yip Man. Our term comes from the original old Wing Chun terminology of the Red Boat era. People in modern China don’t like the feudal term “Life Taking Knives” so it quickly lost popularity. In his earlier days, Sum Nung didn’t want to draw attention to his art for fear the PRC and later, more especially, the Cultural Revolution would intervene. Since then he never wanted to high profile the knives because he thought the art might receive negative attention. Our art wasn’t state sanctioned wushu using tin foil mock weapons for dramatic demonstrations - it was a real gung fu art designed to kill people quickly! Sifu lived under the threat that he’d be sanctioned or jailed at times if the government decided he was a feudalist. Once his students were beating up the police so the art was even banned for a time! He knew he had to be careful.
It’s said that the Hong Kong term Bart Chum Dao refers to eight slashes made by the knives. In terms of actual application, it’s not correct, however, that there are only eight slashes as tactics the practitioner can employ with the knives. Back in the 1960’s when I was young and practising Hong Kong Wing Chun, they were simply referred to by Sifu Choi as Wu Dip Dao – Butterfly Knives. The idea of the “lucky eight” number may’ve played a part in choosing that “Bart Chum Dao” name, I think.
The two versions, the Yip Man knives and Yuen Kay San knives are really very different. There are numerous versions of the Yip Man knives. I’ve never seen two Hong Kong Wing Chun practitioners perform the knives the same way, in fact. The type of knives we use are also different. The Yip Man Wing Chun practitioners often use the big Hung Gar type choppers. They’re quite heavy compared to our knives. As you know, ours are longer, thinner and lighter. We also don’t shorten our defending and attacking range in using our knives by flipping the knives to lie along the forearm. We don’t shorten our knives’ reach to that of a bent arm, an upper arm length – as you have to in order to strike with the elbow type of hack. We wouldn’t attempt to either intercept the attacker’s blade and counter strike by allowing them inside the range of our elbow. That’d be considered too dangerous. Another difference is that our Yuen Kay San forms are also trained at combat speed. Once we learn the kinives, they’re practised fast both in the form and in application practice. Speed is essential if you are fighting against a weapon! In the old days if you had to fight with the knives, you simply had to be blur fast – or die! I’ve wondered sometimes, how many modern practitioners would survive back then?

Tea House Chat with Yun Hoi – Siu Lien Tau, a few kuen kuit
Student: Sifu, you’ve commented to us at length and in depth about our Yuen Kay San Yun Hoi Gwoon forms. Can I ask you about an aspect of Siu Lien Tau? We’ve had a lot of kuen kuit transmitted and I know you’ve just about finished your book on kuen kuit. What are some of the more common kuen kuit that refer to Siu Lien Tau?
Sifu: OK. There are a number. Let’s talk, as you suggest, about some of the more common ones. One is “don’t try to force your progress”. It takes time to develop gung fu. Gung fu means skill development over time, as we know. People learn at different rates and people learn different aspects of Wing Chun at different rates. Rushing the stages of learning Wing Chun results in a scrappy result. If a student learns too quickly then goes off and teaches what he learnt and transmits his attitude to rushing through the skin of the art so, too, will his students. None of them get the bones! Over time the line degenerates. At first it takes many hours, many days, many weeks, many months and even many years to step through the door into the zone of mastery of each aspect of the art. From the Song of Wing Chun we hear that the art protects the art. This is one meaning. Impatient learners may think they are learning quickly and that this is a good thing but, in fact, this is an illusion.
Student: You teach us the old saying: “One form, three years”. I guess this refers to taking time to learn properly?
Sifu: Yes, true! The very good practitioners I’ve seen across several arts may not necessarily have known many forms (especially in the old days), but they executed them in such a fashion that a layperson could see the obvious skill, precision and power. I don’t see a lot of this these days. There were many more people at an elite level previously compared to today. There has been a dilution of skill in terms of the number of practitioners you could describe as “awesome”, I believe.
Student: Interesting. What are some other kuen kuit referring to Siu Lien Tau, sifu?
Sifu: How about: “Jarn Dai Lik”. This refers to power coming (in part) from a sunken elbow. Getting the elbow as much behind the punch and into the centreline as possible increases your power. I think this is fairly straight forward but a lot of practitioners don’t do it.
Student: Yes, you consistently tell us that and model it.
Sifu: It is a characteristic of Yuen Kay San Wing Chun. OK, a final kuen kuit for now in this brief chat. Sifu (Sum Nung) stressed that every time you practise Siu Lien Tau that your Wing Chun improves. Of course, as I always hasten to add, Sifu meant practise the form correctly! If you practise error you become better at the error!
Student: I’m looking forward to reading your book on kuen kuit, sifu.
Sifu: Thank you for your interest and patience. I hope you’ll enjoy it.

Tea House Chat with Yun Hoi – Man Sau
Student: Sifu, may I ask you about Man Sau?
Sifu: Sure. What would you like to ask?
Student: Let’s start at a basic level. What is Man Sau?
Sifu: Man Sau refers to a position, a motion and a concept. So, it can be three things depending on the context you use it in. This is the case with a number of Wing Chun factors. They can be on one level a technique and on another, can be an application, on another, a concept. It means the questioning or seeking bridge. This is connecting with the attacker to assess his level of skill, to take control of him.
Student: So, a position, a motion of application, and a concept. May I begin by asking you to comment on these one by one. First, could you please comment on Man Sau as a position?
Sifu: OK. Sure. Man Sau as a position can also be referred to a Jong Sau. This is a position taken up once an actual fight has begun. To take it up prior to the actual initial physical motion of the fight would be to telegraph, to give the attacker the information that you intend to fight and that you know some method by which to defend yourself. It’s best not to do this. Sifu Sum Nung said that he advised not posing any hand formation prior to an initial attack but just standing relaxed. I think it’s best to keep your hands above your elbows to reduce the distance you may need to deflect and strike or simply to pre-emptively strike. This is the key word "jeet", you see?
Student: We want to maintain the element of surprise, yes?
Sifu: Absolutely! We don’t want to trot out our ego – “I do a martial art!” or “Don’t mess with me!” stuff. You know, posing - like the “Karate Kid’! Our ready position, as Sum Nung used to say, is a normal standing position. Relaxed, but alert. Having the hands up but not in any sort of martial art pose is wise in a potential attack scenario – to reduce reaction speed. The palms open and facing the attacker as if you are giving him a calm “stop” sign as you say that you don’t want to fight is recommended.
Student: Yes, you’ve shown me that. What might be the consequences of posing a fighting position?
Sifu: Well, it may be, if the attacker has studied some martial art, that he might recognise your Man Sau as a Wing Chun structure and try to prepare himself for an encounter against Wing Chun. Alternatively, he may simply note that you are not naïve, seem to know something about fighting, and are prepared to fight so, he might become more vigilant – or employ a weapon. We don’t want that. We want him to try to touch the snake unawares! We want the element of surprise. Man Sau can be posed with either open hands or fists. If it is posed with fists they must be empty fists – not tense. The position for a right hand forward Man Sau is to extend your front hand with elbow and wrist both on centreline with the elbow a fist width from the solar plexus and the tips of the fingers directly out in front of between your eyes – centre-lined, you see? A ninety-degree bend in your elbow is the optimal position. The two hands are on the same plane – the centreline.
Student: Not with the elbow extended, arm straight or almost straight, pointing at the attacker?
Sifu: No. That lends itself to an arm grab and maybe elbow bar. I think that’s foolish and pretentious. With a straight, or almost straight arm, your reactivity is lessened considerably. Also, I think it’s a little more intrusive in body language terms. I think it may well be more conducive to an attacker becoming more aggressive. Also, if the attacker mounts a surprise knife slash it’ll be harder to evade!
Student: OK. Please go on, sifu.
Sifu: OK. The hand must be vertical with thumb uppermost and folded against the side of the hand. Fingers must be straight but not tense and together. This protects the fingers more against finger grabs.
Student: If I may interrupt again, not with the palm up in a beggar’s hand or tan position? I’ve seen some folk do that.
Sifu: To be different! With their “tan” hands down around their solar plexus? Effete! (Laughs). If you do that it reduces your ability to cher lik (use rotary power). All you have left is crude jamming. It may be effective if you’re skilled - but not optimal. I see no point in modifying standard Wing Chun techniques to look sloppy, that compromise optimal position and application, just to be different. I think that’s pretentious! “Look I’m relaxed” – no, “look you’re sloppy!”.
Student: Thanks. Please continue.
Sifu: Having described how you line up the front hand, let’s look at the rear hand then. The left rear hand wu sau is placed so the fingers and palm are vertical also on centreline with the pisiform bone of the left hand lightly touching your right arm a little in front of the elbow. The extended finger tips of your left hand are directly out under from the nose and face up. This position serves to optimally protect the gates from an incursion, ideally with the front hand. But, failing that with the left hand as the second line of defence should the attacker’s bridge pass your front hand. The wu sau protects the throat and jaw primarily. The third line of defence, of course, is to juen – to not be there, to move the central axis off the path of the strike. This will be either by juening or by juening and swinging if required. The checking points are obviously reversed if you place your left hand foremost.
Student: That’s quite clear and precise. What if you use closed fists?
Sifu: Ah! In that case you place the back of the rear hand flat on your front elbow. Ready to cher lik.
Student: OK. What of Man Sau as a motion then, sifu?
Sifu: Ah! Man Sau as a motion is typically trained in the Biu Jee form. In the form it is swung up to the side but in use it will usually be swung up to the front. You know that Biu Jee is the rescue form, used if you’ve made a mistake and lost control of the centreline and need to regain it, or if you’ve been injured and can’t use one arm, or if you’re fighting someone who would normally be stronger. Man Sau as a motion allows us to connect with and deflect an attack from underneath into the upper gate if we are surprised with our hands down or if an attack enters quickly without us having time to prepare. I won’t go into the detail of how it is executed as you’ve seen it. It’s a simple motion. That ought to suffice, I think. Most Wing Chun guys will have seen it executed in Biu Jee.
Student: What of the use of the elbow joint, sifu? Is Man Sau swung up as a straight arm or is there elbow flexion?
Sifu: Good question. Man Sau is a long bridge technique. As such it is a long lever motion so there can be considerable load placed on the elbow joint, especially the rotator cuff, if the arm is swung up straightened. I favour an elbow snap - but not to extension - both to protect the shoulder joint from possible strain as well as to add a shock force vector.

Student: Thanks, sifu. What of Man Sau as a concept then?
Sifu: Yes. Man Sau as a concept refers to any means by which we can assess our attacker. It may be from our intuition of his intention. Man Sau of the mind. It may be from our observation of his pre-attack stereotyped fixed action pattern behaviours. Man Sau of the eyes. It may be from his, or our joint, verbal interaction. It may be via us raising our hands to, in essence, ask him what he’ll do. Man Sau of the ears is listening to what he’s saying and his tone. So, essentially the idea behind Man Sau is asking: ‘Will you attack?” And, “If you are going to attack, when and how?” Man Sau of intention. It might even be that we have contacted the attacker and with any part of our body that is in contact, we feel what our attacker is trying to do. Man Sau of feeling - Mo Man Sau - see? So the concept of Man Sau is to assess our potential attacker’s intention and capacity. The overarching aim is to see whether you can detour – leave the scene. If not then you have to see if you can deter or de-escalate or defuse the situation. If you can’t then maybe you can decamp or emotionally deflect the attacker’s anger – leave in some way – running if necessary. Lastly, once you have had to engage, you assess how to defeat him. Most practitioners would benefit by seeing using Man Sau as a way to read the attacker and avoid an attack. It isn’t always possible or easy but it is better than fighting. Only when there is no alternative do we fight. And then we need Man Sau – maybe as a posture – but certainly as a concept. Hopefully we won’t need it as a technique. If we do, it actually means we’ve stuffed up and haven’t been alert enough.
Student: Thanks, sifu, for a very interesting chat.
Sifu: My pleasure!