“Then fly away.”

Sifu Gary Lam

Crane Productions has just posted a nice demo from Sifu Gary Lam on pulling in Wing Chun.  In Sifu Lam’s Five Elements analysis of the system, this is one of the five (crossing hands, closing, footwork, pushing, and pulling).  When you approach mastery, these all flow together seamlessly as the opportunities present themselves (“let your opponent show you how to hit them”).  Pulling is a “second action,” that is to say, we are always trying to hit, but sometimes, we find ourselves in the (rare) position relative to the energy of the opponent when the opportunity to pull makes more sense than to hit.  When everything aligns in this way, then the power is surprising, as your pulling energy coincides with their pushing energy.  You are adding your force (mainly your body weight as you sink, connect to them through the arm, and step back).  And of course, the technique allows us to ideally guide the opponent’s head into a wall or a car or whatever.  Then, we say the hit is on the “other end.”