“If the opponent does not move, then I do not move.
At the opponent’s slightest move, I move first.”
– Wu Yu-hsiang, 19th Century Chinese sage
Why We Bong Sau
“Basically what the Bong Sau is, is a way of continuing down the centerline, but not with the end of your arm, but with the middle of your arm, so you can once again get back to using the end of your arm.”
Sifu David Peterson
An excellent, very clear explanation of how and why we use the Bong Sau in Wing Chun. Many thanks to Sifu David Peterson and his student, Sifu Morten Ibsen for posting this primer on the Bong Sau (which as I’ve said, is one of the most misused actions in the Wing Chun repertoire). The distinction about always going forward (never up or to the side) is critical. I hurt my shoulder pretty badly making just this mistake for many years. And once you get the bad habit, even if you become aware of it, its easy to slip when you’re tired or lack focus, and then the damage to your tendons is slow but steady. Beware!
Structure and Relaxation
If instead, we respond to such pressure or force by first relaxing the muscles and making use of correct structure to maintain the position under stress, it is possible to transmit that pressure through the bones and sinews, as opposed to the muscles, and redirect that force into the ground, avoiding the need for muscular strength.
Sifu David Peterson
Sifu David Peterson (well-known first-generation student of Wong Shun Leung) has published another excellent article in Eric Lilleør’s Wing Chun Illustrated. This one is called “Structure and Relaxation: The ‘Dynamic Duo.'”
Read it HERE.
