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1. Don't Overuse the Elbow
With practice, the second and third set elbow movements become easy ways
to launch an attack against a weak opponent. They can be used to directly
strike the opponent or to trap the opponent's arms. These techniques
become so natural that they become overused. There is a disadvantage to
using the elbow too much. It invites or allows the opponent to get too
close to apply a neck pulling hand. It also allows the opponent to get to
your side.
2. Off Balance when Hitting
In some instances the opponent can lay a trap by grabbing one of your arms
and waiting for you to punch with the other. When you punch he applies an
inside Fook sau and immediately chops your neck. It is difficult to defend
against the chop. There are several solutions to this situation. One is to
use the second set slanting punch. This does not leave your center exposed
and allows you to chop the opponent with the same hand. A n other solution
is to never punch without applying (Garb Lik) or the combined strength of
two hands. You use one hand to punch and the other to off balance the
opponent. Other solutions also exist.
3. Keep the Elbow in the Center
In most Wing Chun techniques, the elbow is kept fixed in the center of the
four quadrants of the body. If a straight line attack comes to the center
of your body, the time to intercept the attack or to recover from a
mistake is mini
opponent's elbow is not in the center, it is very easy to attack when in
close contact. The first set and the sticking hands training all emphasize
putting the elbow in the center. Many people are not at first flexible
enough to touch the elbows together. Various flexibility exercises exist
which help. If you cannot put the elbow in the center, you can compensate
with quicker movements or body shifting. The Bong sau is an exception to
the elbow in the center concept; however, the Bong sau is always
immediately changed to an elbow centered technique.
4. Chi not at the Wrist
In the sticking hands training, sink the stance, keep the head up and keep
the elbows low. Let gravity do some of the work. There is a saying, "The
Chi should not be at the end of the wrist." What this means is that the
force concentration or stress should be at the elbow. If your force
concentration is at the wrist, then changes, attacks and the detection of
attacks will all be too sluggish. There is also a saying, "Let your Chi
flow." If you stand with your hip out, your Chi (stress or energy
concentration) is concentrated in the curve of your lower back. Lower back
pain results, which in turn produces a stiffening of the upper arms. If
you have problems in handling force or in changing quickly, look for
faults in where your force is concentrated.
5. Resist then Let Go
A tactic in Wing Chun is to mirror the opponent's force, then suddenly
allow
as he intended. For example, you have a left high Bong sau and a right low
Fook sau. The opponent has a right high Fook sau and a left level Tan sau.
If the opponent's high Fook sau presses down with a lot of force, you
resist up and then suddenly let the opponent have his way by letting your
left hand drop into a Gum sau (pressing hand) while punching with your
right hand at the same time. The saying that matches this action is, "Let
the opponent go where he wants to go." This principle is used quite often
in many other circumstances as well. For example, when the opponent
presses your stick with his stick in the high position, you press back,
then suddenly release the force and hit low. If the opponent pushes you,
push back and then shift and pull the opponent off balance. All of these
actions are of a very instantaneous nature.
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