Forms

Searching for the Bridge Form

Part1: Turning practice and some trapping and jamming ideas.

Get into the stance

1. Cross the hands down, cross them up, separate the hands and bring them back. (4 movements)
2. Left punch, circling hand (Huen sau), bring the hand back. Right punch, circling hand, bring the hand back (6 movements)
3. Bring both arms out parallel to the ground, elbows about a fist distance from the body (connecting arms) then stretch or poke the arms out (just practice sending your force out). In application can be a palm strike, an intercepting hand, an eye poke etc. (2 movements)
4. Turn left (left arm on top) with a double bar hand (arm). This movement is called Lan sau. The elbow is above the wrist of the other arm. Turn right and then turn left again. (3 movements). This can be used in offense to attack with the elbow or in defense when someone is pushing on your elbow. This part is to practice turning. The toe of the lead foot is turned inwards.
5. You are now facing to the left. Poke both hands forward.  (1 movement)
6. The left hand forms the Palm up hand position (Tan sau) and the right hand slaps near the elbow or does a jerking hand movements (Jut sau) towards the elbow. Then turn the right arm into a palm up hand position and the left hand slaps near the elbow. Then the left hand turns into a palm up hand and the right hand slaps near the elbow. The jerking hand (Jut sau) or slapping hand (Pak sau) traps or ties up the opponent’s hand or arm. So this section has the idea of trapping the guy. (3 movements). In Cantonese the action in this section is called Jip sau or receiving hand but means to trap.
7. Now do three consecutive palm hits starting with the right hand. When you trap the opponent’s arm and he pulls away, just do a palm hit. The saying is if there is loss of contact then strike straight forward. (3 movements)
8. Now the right hand is extended. Turn 180 degrees towards the right with a right parallel to the ground Bar hand (Lan sau).  The bar hand is used to jamb a force or to act as a way to make some room between you and the opponent (like in a front bear hug case). Or it can he used to counter headlocks or can be used in a ground fight.
9. Now turn 180 degrees to the left with a right Wing hand (Bong sau) plus a left Guarding hand (Wu sau – hand of protection). Then turn 180 degrees to the right with a right Bar arm (Lan sau) and the left arm is back into a high fist position at your side. Then do two more turns (Wing hand to Bar hand combination).
10. You are now facing to the right. Do a left punch while pulling the right hand towards your side. This is a grab and punch movement combined.
11. Then chop to the left while turning your stance into the normal front facing position. The right fist is at the side.
12. The left horizontal chopping hand comes back to the front to form the bridge hand or Fook sau position. Think of bringing the elbow towards the center and keeping the whole forearm supple and relaxed.
13. Then pull the left hand back to the side while simultaneously bringing out the right hand into a kind of poking hand action.
14. Do a circling hand movement with the right hand to bring the arm back into resting position.

Repeat the above on the right side. This ends part one of three parts contained in the Chum Kiu form. Each part is performed on the left and on the right.

Part2: Stepping practice and kicking practice

1. Turn left while forming a bar hand with the left fist closed. Creates some room to maneuver between you and the opponent. Do a straight low front thrust kick. This is a kick to the joint, a way to intercept a leg or to kick the guy if he attempts a spinning kick  A kick or a big step are considered in the same light. They are both a way to bridge the distance between you and the opponent.
2. Step down and form the right Wing hand and left guarding hand position.
3. Then bring the Wing hand down into a resting position on top of the right palm up hand. Both hands have the palms facing up and both arms are parallel to the ground. Then take a small step forward with the left foot while the arms form the left Wing hand and right guarding hand position. The heel of the rear foot does not lift up when you step. This is to keep 100% of the weigh on the rear foot. It trains the rear foot muscles around the knee area. The step is used when being pulled or to advance into the opponent. We always distance ourselves from the opponent so just a single step is required to get in.  Do this action two more times. So we are stepping to the left three times. In practice just do lots of stepping practice using a variety of hand positions.
4. Now do a right uppercut punch. The left hand simultaneously returns to the side.
5. Turn right to face the front again using a right Controlling hand (Bridge hand or Fook sau). Imagine someone has pressed your uppercut arm near the elbow to jamb it so you turn to counter this. Then send a left poking hand forward (it’s sort of a replacement hand or a hand to just connect to the opponent’s arm or can be used as a strike). Circle the hand and bring the arm back.  So in this section you turned left with a bar hand, kicked and then stepped three times forward, uppercut punch and face the front again.

 Repeat part two on the right side.

Part 3: More stepping practice.

1. Turn, kick.
2. Step forward with the double low Wing hand position.
3. Then the double low Wing hands turn into double palm up hands.
4. Step forward with the double low Wing hand position.
5. Form he double low palm up hand position.
6. Step forward with the double low Wing hand position.
7. Bring the right foot beside the left foot (step forward with the rear foot) and at the same time the double low Wing hands have circled around the outside to form a double jerking hand action (to sink the opponent’s arms down).
8. Do a double palm strike to the opponent’s chest. Your feet are still parallel and you are faced to the left. The knees are slightly bent to take the recoil shock into your knee area.
9. Now stretch the right foot back on the toe, step down and pivot 180 degrees to face the left.
10. Kick. Now repeat from step 2 to step 8 but on the right side (going towards the right).
11. Now you are facing right and have done a double palm to the opponent’s chest.
12. Turn and do a left crescent kick (intercept a guy’s leg) towards the front.
13. Step down to the left but then turn the body so that it faces towards the rigt and do a left pressing down hand (Gum sau) e.g. to a guy’s low fist or to his attempted knee strike. Then turn and press with the right hand.
14. Turn and press with the left hand, then turn to face the front and do a right straight arm lifting kind of punch which is used to intercept the opponent’s arm coming in. Turn and press with the right hand and then turn to face the front with a right intercepting punch.
15. Do three chain punches left, right, left and circle the last hand and then bring it back to the side.

That’s the end of 108 movements of the second form or Chum Kiu form. The first form teaches static stability. The second form teaches the coordination of the hands and the feet and to move with the same stability as the first form (Little Idea Form – Siu Lim Tao in Cantonese).  With the first and second form you should be very stable and rooted whether stationary or in movement. With the first form you can handle all close range attacks. With the second you can bridge the gap or form the connection between you and the opponent using kicking or stepping. You also learn turning to neutralize force and turning to add to the power of your strikes. The body keeps a vertical position for both forms. The central axis doesn’t bend.  Think of the first and second form as just building up the proper body mechanics so that you can move with power and stability. It’s the same as building a car that is stable and also can maneuver very well with stability (doesn’t flip over). What the moves are used for depends. The same as the car, it might be used for leisure, for police chases, for taxi etc. There is no particular application for the movements, just building proper mechanics so you can move quickly with stability and power and to neutralize the opponent’s power by jamming or turning.