What is a martial arts form?
Wing Tsun’s Three Forms
Wing Tsun kungfu has three forms for you to learn before learning the 116 wooden dummy techniques. The forms are sequences of movements that represent the techniques you will learn for those grades on your learning path. They are Siu Nim Tau, Chum Kiu, Biu Tze. The forms give a martial art structure, therefore the use of the word “form.” Other martial arts have a word from the nationality of the martial art they practice. The Chinese word for “form” is Kuen.
In Wing Tsun, the forms are basic, intermediate and advanced, each form building on the next.
The forms were created as a way to accurately pass on all the techniques of our martial art to the next generation. In addition, learning the forms is a discipline that you can take with you should you move on to other areas of your life.
Wing Tsun does not have any secret techniques or movements that are so obscure that nobody knows what their purpose is. There are no redundant movements and everything has a purpose, even those that seem to be incidental.
Wing Tsun Learning Path Via the Forms
Siu Nim Tau, Chum Kiu, Biu Tze
When you begin, the first set of movements is the Siu Nim Tau. In Chinese, it means literally the “Little Idea Form.” This meaning is quite profound in that it refers to your learning a basic idea of Wing Tsun. The stance is trained by remaining in it throughout the performance of the hand techniques.
When you reach the third student grade, you begin the Chum Kiu form. It means “Arm Seeking Form.” This refers to your training in looking for a bridge between your arms and your attacker. During the training of the techniques in Chum Kiu, you are taught to stick to your attacker’s arms so that defense can be made in real time with little or no errors.
When you reach the Primary Level Technician, you have a few more sections of sticky hands training. Then you may begin the Biu Tze form and sticky hands applications. The reason it is taught at instructor levels is because the techniques are all directed at the softest ares of the human body. In addition, the movements are even more economical and therefore FAST. A high level of control is needed to practice with a partner as well as a sense of responsibility in actual encounters. By this time, your instructor has had a chance to see if you are, indeed, not going to use the training to hurt without being seriously attacked.
