The Art of Siu Lin Tau
Excerpt from an article by Jim Roselando from Wing Chun Illustrated:
There is one thing that is common across all lineages of Wing Chun Kuen. The universal foundation set of our art, the Siu Lin Tau. This mother set is preserved in its original platform within the Cho family and also a Siu Lin Tau
Kuen Kuit "boxing poetry" which is designed to holistically strengthen
and unite the whole body with our Gongfu. This one long mother set
would later be broken or split into three smaller sets during the Red
Junk period.
Most
Wing Chun lineages state that our art originated from a fusion of Snake
and Crane technology. Research provided by the Cho family and their
decedents supports this theory. Miao Shun's fusion of Ng Mui's White
Crane boxing with his own knowledge of Emei internal art (Snake Qigong)
resulted in a "Snake" Body with "Crane" Boxing art. Snake & Crane!
This new hybrid was rooted in two giants of Chinese martial and
internal technology, which thus became a new advanced soft style of
boxing.
Across the spectrum of Wing Chun lineages, almost
everyone agrees that Wing Chun is a soft style of boxing. Well, the
term soft has specific criteria within internal arts. This means the
body, breath & mind must be cultivated with softness with your
Gongfu. The
set directly develops ones physical body by loosening each joint from
the tip of the fingers to the foot. So not only does a practitioner use
the Siu Liu Tau
technology to develop their combat skills, and concepts, but also to
achieve a deeper state of cultivation. Physically the muscles, tendons,
joints all are to be targeted and trained. This will not only loosen
the body but also gradually realign the skeletal structure. The
benefits for real life situations are many. A loose body will have the
qualities of heavy and light, enabling it to react and respond
dynamically. A loose body has a greater range of elasticity allowing
for maximum open, close, rise & sink which are essential for issuing
and receiving force.
When one begins to study breathing in their Siu Lin Tau practice they must only bring a light awareness to breathing from bellow the belly button. Our
ancestors placed a special importance to this practice. Commonly known
as Som Bai Fut (three prayers to Buddha), this section is known as Kang
& Rou (release and load) is specifically performed slowly in order
to target your breath with stillness during our boxing. Why is it
important for the reality of fighting? If the breathing isn't freely
flowing then the body immediately tenses up and the body becomes
sluggish, clumsy and weak rather than dynamic and spontaneous.
The first stanza in the Siu Lin Tau
Kuen Kuit states: "Collect the Yi, Union with the Shen in the Equal
stance". This maxim clearly discusses the third area of discussion in
this article regarding basic cultivation: the mind. First, let’s break
down this Kuen Kuit for you. Collect the Yi is telling us that
over-active thoughts must be quieted and then it will Union with the
Shen (spirit) or have equilibrium of a relaxed mind, relaxed breath
& relaxed body in the Yee Jee Ma or Character "=" Stance. This
equal stance is discussing the concept of neutral power, which allows
for stability, strength and movement in any direction.
The
fundamental purpose of lower abdominal breathing is to gradually quiet
the mind over time and this is why is must be isolated and trained
faithfully. The process isn't complicated, but is often neglected by
practitioners. The simple truth is the above knowledge is
the basic Gong in Gongfu. What benefits does this bring us in the
reality of the streets? Emotions are extremely powerful before and
during a heated exchange. The ability to stay calm will cage those
emotions allowing your full athletic potential to surface.
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