First 3 Sets of Siu Nim Tau Form | Wing Chun

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Okay, so now I'm going to discuss and we're going to demonstrate the Siu Nim Tau Form. We're first going to do the first part of the form, which is first three sets of the Siu Nim Tau Form and I'm going to have my assistant here, demonstrate it and I'm going to explain a little bit, how it works.

Again, forms are about fundamentals and forms are about body mechanics. Forms don't teach you anything about timing and power and dealing with an opponent, who's resisting, but they are very, very important for laying the ground work for body mechanics. So, we start the Siu Nim Tau Form off, like every other form, every other basic drill in Wing Chun. We start at the frontal stance. So, you're going to go ahead and set the stance like this. The first set of the form, we're going to do Tan-Sao, alright?

So, your partner is going to cross, the left hand is on top, from there you're going to chop straight down, in a very relaxed manner and then you're going to do the internal rotation, or the Kwan-Sao and you come right back to the position you started.

Okay, the second set of the form, we're going to start with the left punch. So, you bring your fist to the center. Now, you want to keep your elbow low and your shoulder low here, because this is where the power comes from. We say in Wing Chun, fist comes from the heart, the force comes from the elbow. So, when you launch the punch, it's very important that you're not using your shoulder to push but rather, you are launching from the elbow here, in a straight line, landing with the bottom three knuckles.

After that, you're going to open the hand and you're going to do the Huen-Sao. When you do the Huen-Sao, you want to bring this all the way back and all the way down. When you get to the bottom position, you close the fists and you're going to bring it up and in and then you retract in a straight line as if you're doing an elbow strike, behind you. And then, you repeat the process on the right side. Put the fist in the center, launch from the elbow, open the hands, do a full circle, all the way down, trying to keep your elbow in place and circle it in, and then you withdraw in a straight line. And that's the second set of the form.

Now the third set, we start with the Tan-Sao. The third set, we normally do a little bit slower because we're focusing on what we call, elbow force here, alright? But, we're going to speed it up a little bit, for the video today. You're going to bring your Tan So, right to the center here, this is the mid Tan So. After that, you're going to circle into Huen-Sao and Wu-Sao and then the arm is going to retract, from the elbow and the shoulder, as opposed to, from the wrist.

When it gets close enough to the body, you're going to drop the hand and you're going to start the Fuk-Sao. Now, in the form, we do the Fuk-Sao, a total of three times. Then he's going to circle and then back. And this is again, to work on the elbow force, that's very important for our Chi-So practice and our overall body mechanics and structure, in Wing Chun.

The entire time he's going through this process, he's going to keep his head back, posture straight, knees in together. So, it's not solely focusing on the hands, the knee pressure has to be engaged the whole time. Then we go to the side palm, then you go back and then you're going to launch the direct straight palm and then open and circle. And that's one side and then we're going to go ahead and repeat on the right side.

So, we start with the Tan-Sao, drawing out slowly. Normally, you would do it a little bit slower than this, then you're going to circle, Wu-Sao and back. And again, very important while you're practicing this, is to keep the body mechanics in mind, upright structure, head back and shoulders in a stable position, and drop.

And while you practice the Siu Nim Tau Form, you want to keep your breathing nice and even, you don't want to expel your breath, when you're punching or holding your breath at any moment. You actually want to keep your breathing, in a nice even rhythm because when you're fighting explosively, you need to keep your breath in check, you don't want to hold your breath or expel, just when you're punching. And there you go, that's the first three sets or the first part of the Siu Nim Tau Form.

[nextmpact]

This Wing Chun series is one of the best on Youtube and one of the closest to IP Man WIng Chun theory.

Two tips I would like to share.
1) At the beginning of the punch, don't point the face of the fist upward, and the wrist and upper arm have to be relaxed. The side view of the fist at the beginning of the punch, the angle at the wrist between the lower edge of the fist/pinky and the bottom of the forearm should be between 130 and 140 degrees by relaxing the wrist and dropping the fist naturally. In the other words, just drop the face of the fist slightly pointing downward and forward. During the course of the punch keep the elbow pointing downward and the face of the fist facing forward; hold the fist tight at the end of the pouch with the fist line up straight with the forearm and elbow that will produce the power like a whip. Practice the slow movement first and get the rhythm smooth before applying power.
2) How to relax with strength/resistance? That means you hands will not give-in non push-out. The easiest way to check you are relaxing with resistance during the practice of the 1st session of Siu Nim Tau is to squeeze your upper arm and feel it is relaxed while you are doing the Fook and Wu Sau which you are holding firm at the wrist. If you can do both of relaxing the upper arm and holding the wrist firm at the same time you are on the right track. You will develop the elbow force/strength. If you can keep it this way during Chi Sau, you will experience what the meaning of relax (not give-in non push-out). You will do the rest of Wing Chun movements more naturally especially during Chi Sau you will be confident in your moves with more sensitivity and power because all defensive Wing Chun hand movements are driving/guiding by the elbow with relaxed upper arm and also since you relax you can strike with power anytime. Be patient, If you determine to practice Chi Sau with the mindset of elbow force and relaxing upper arm for 1 to 3 months, you will experience a big difference in your Wing Chun endeavor because your hand movements will sync-up with your hip and footwork more efficiently.

[DrarryForever]

I used to do Wing Chun years ago, and now miss it dearly. This is really useful as a reminder course to get me back into my forms! Thank you!

[qbkegmb]

Learned this when I was younger. Love it. Cool👊🏼

[floramatandire]

Lindas técnicas eu gosto muito de suas aulas

[donf]

Great video I just started wing Chun and looking to practice as much as I can at home

[calmwaves]

I'd like to ask about "heels out" at the beginning of the form, do I need to up my heels?

[tonycoward]

GUYS WISH ME LUCK I'M GOING FOR MY 6TH BELT IN WING CHUN

[rhysdavies]

great! thank you, but do you straighten fully the arm in the punch?

[Bigz]

When you circle the hand is it clockwise or counterclockwise

[yeshanaphtali]

Where can I find the wing chun T-shirt in black?

[lucid]

I've seen it spelled two ways, Siu Lim Tao and Siu Nim Tao. What's the difference?

[arifmarzuki]

may i know whats the benefits of doing this form?

[BobBob-egwu]

It is so interesting that people that post wing chun forms are always people that are doing it incorrectly and don't even know what they are missing in their movements. Doesn't bother me just very interesting.

[raulmendozahernandez]

9/8/24 ayúdenme para cobertirme ninja como sintia robocop