“The Bong Sau is the best hand you never want to use.”
Ip Man
Doing Bong Sao too much and in the wrong places will get you hit.
I’ve written before about how I think the Bong Sao is the most misunderstood and poorly used hand in our system (Bong Sau Addiction).
The Wing Chun sayings (songs) support this opinion. “The Bong Sao never stays.”
Why don’t we want to use it? Becuase the Bong Sao by definition is underneath the opponents arm, which violates one of Wing Chun’s prime directives, always keep your hands on top.
But, accidents happen. I sometimes call Bong Sau the “Oh, Shit!” hand.
Your timing is late or the attack is a surprise and you find arm in the bottom position (and you have probably already been hit).
The Bong Sau, like most Wing Chun hands, is a violent recapturing of position, in this case, a transition from the bottom position to the top (and/or the outside).
There are two Bongs (both recorded in Chum Kiu): in contact and out of contact (or thrown).
The thrown, or “out of contact,” Bong Sau is used as a deflection, like a Pak Sau, to smack the incoming striking arm off the line, then it is immediately replaced by an attack. I sometimes think this is one of the purposes of the Lap Sau drill, which is composed of alternating strikes and Bong Saus.
You Bong and Hit, bong and hit. Bongandhit! As close to a single movement as possible.
Your Bong Sau should be invisible to your opponent or to onlookers. They just see a blur and the hit landing.
The in-contact bong is used to change, usually from the inside to the outside. This is usually accomplished by rolling from a tan position to the Bong and into a Fook or Tan position (for striking the head from the outside).
This movement is usually following the opponent’s energy which is allowed to pass over or cross your centerline. Again, its quick, and barely perceptible.
Bong Sau is NEVER performed as the first action (unless its an emergency hand which is used to get the bridge and because of its short distance capacity).
But the key to using this hand successfully is to always remember that your number one goal is to be hitting the opponent in the head; everything else is secondary.
Siteod afternoon my wing chin brothers,
I would like to apologize in advance if perhaps these questions sound stupid or are common sense but I still must ask.I am a novice in the wing chin system I have only been doing siu lim tao for about 6 months. I am beginning to feel the wonders this little idea form brings. For me it has not only been an ijncreease in balance, eye sight, self awareness, body awareness, and so much more. Ijn my everyday life I am more confident in the use of my off hand. I am right handed and siu lim tao has made me wanna be more aware and confident of the fact that my left hand doesn’t have to be a weak hand or an off hand as I strive for balance I am becoming more confident and my left hand is as well. Needless to say I am fascinated with the form. This brings me to my questions. It is my understanding that the siu lim tao form is to be practiced slow I have read that some masters do the form for an hour. This sounds amazing to me but I haven’t grasped if its possible for me yet. I do the first section very slow and calm and controlled but the most the whole form can take me is 10-15 mins. I am curious as to how can I get to a level where the form can be 40 mins if I really feel like I cannot go any slower. Did the grand masters count other exercises from the horse form or do they solely mean the siu lim taotaking an hour?
I am also curious about doing the form barefoot vs with shoes, I have Noticed that when I do the form barefoot it seems harder to sink and root myself than when I have shoes on is this normal?
Final question is about the tan sao in siu lim tao, when we do the punch in the first section of the form I bring the first to the center line and then drive it forward with the elbow, but the first tan sau my shortest path would be to take a straight line to the center line, but I always wondered should many wrist come to the centerline first and then drive forward or should I follow the straight poatyh from my chambered fist with the tan sao……tjankyuou in advance my wing chin brothers any insight will be helpful. I also want to thank you Steve for making such an amaamazing Site the wisdom and insight you write with i very much appreciated. You pay respect to the masters and you do not make it about lineages or whose who, you give objective, insightful points of view. As someone who really respects the art and wants to grow as a man and martial artist this is infallible. I truly appreciate every article you wrote and every gem you have given me. Thankyou my friend
Respectfully,
Antoine
Thanks for your kind words about the site Antoine – I really appreciate it.
I think most of us do SLT many different ways over the life of our training. It is the root of the system in many ways so you will do it A LOT. I’ve done it slow, fast, on one leg, etc.
I think the stories you hear about super-slow SLT are related to people doing isometric-style training and Chi Gung style training (a la Chris Chan). Wing Chun grew in sort of compost of the major ideas of Chinese martial arts and so it had Tai CHi and Chi Gung elements in its development. Also, different practitioners have emphasized different methods of training. Since Wing CHun is really more of a collection of advice on best practices than a martial art, it is a container in which many approaches and ideas can flourish.
I wouldn’t worry about trying to do SLT for an hour. You can stand in the YJKYM stance for an hour profitably. Or do SLT over and over slowly and carefully, putting your mind into your body to feel the movements, feel your body’s center of gravity sink, etc.
SLT is a handbook and a lab and a workout station.
I would do SLY both in shoes and barefoot. Its harder to sink and root because your feet don’t grip floors as well as shoes with rubber soles. Try it out n the grass. You can grip the ground with your toes.
We always move to the center first: with the punch, the tan, the fook. Because every movement would like to be a punch when it grows up. And we punch from the heart (the center) and not the shoulder. This way you have the chance to capture the centerline (and fighting is a battle for the centerline) and your movement is grounded because your elbow is in front of your body – if the elbow is also down, you get ground power. A straight line from your chambered fist to the target would be striking from the shoulder.
Wow thanks for that Steve.