Chi Sao
Wing Chun Technique – Chi Sao or “Sticking Hands”
Chi Sao (Chi Sau) or “sticking hands” is unique to Wing Chun. This technique helps students to develop their reflexes, sensitivity, structure and form.
Many Wing Chun practitioners will have heard that the purpose of Chi Sao is to improve your sensitivity.
While sensitivity training is an important element, Chi Sao also has another key function, i.e., what we call “bridging.” By this we mean Chi Sao serves as a bridge between the empty hand forms (the three sets) and real life fighting. In other words, without a bridge, we cannot do real fighting or utilize our empty hand forms.
It’s also important to recognize that Chi Sao is a form of fixed, routine training, and should not be confused with real fighting.
Neither is Gor Sao real fighting, as it is just a more advanced form of Chi Sao. The only way to simulate real fighting in our training is to use protective gear in order to execute full contact and full force punching and kicking. There are several deeper conceptual elements to bridging which I will now briefly explain.
1. Attacking Track: In Chi Sao, we learn to use all of the key positions or tracks - e.g., high vs. low, inside vs. outside, front vs. rear, straight vs. curve - that are needed to attack our opponent (as well as to defend).
These are also the same tracks or paths that we would use in a real fight situation, so Chi Sao serves as a training bridge to help us understand how to use key positions or tracks to attack an opponent in a real fight.
2. Awareness of Favorable or Unfavorable Positions: In Chi Sao, we are in constant contact with our opponent. In such a position, it is easy to feel whether you are in a favorable or unfavorable position.
If you find yourself in a favorable position vis-à-vis your opponent, you should attack right away, applying Lut Sao Jik Chung concept. If you find yourself in an unfavorable position, you need to reposition and correct yourself, e.g., return to your centerline.
Chi Sao training therefore teaches you to take advantage of favorable positions and to reposition when needed in a real fight situation.
3. The 12 Hand-to-Hand Situations: These 12 positions are basically all the positions that you will find yourself in, whether it is Chi Sao or real fighting, e.g., inside position both right and left, etc. The Chi Sao rolling exercise helps replicate all of these 12 positions.
Once you’ve trained in using them, you can employ them without thinking, by just acting or responding.
4. Fighting Range: Another important concept in Chi Sao is determining the fighting range. There are basically three fighting ranges or points of contact with your opponent: the wrist, the elbow, and the shoulder. Each of these ranges requires different fighting strategies.
For example, the wrist area is the safest as it provides the greatest distance from your opponent while still in contact with him. Elbows can be used for striking and bring you much closer to your opponent, but also increase the chance of being struck. The shoulder is considered the take-down range and is the closest contact with the opponent short of full grappling.
In Chi Sao rolling, we can experiment with each of these three ranges through different attacks and footwork.