Forms

The forms in Wing Tsun are different to traditional kung fu forms or karate's kata. Rather than using a set of movements to tell a story or demonstrate applications Wing Tsun uses forms training to teach our bodies the shapes and movements we need, more akin to a dictionary. The first form is called Siu Nim Tau and means “Little Idea.” This form teaches our arms about the lines of our bodies and simple rules of biomechanics to use our bodies in the most efficient way possible.

Siu Nim Tau
The Siu Nim Tau (Little Idea) is the dictionary of Wing Tsun. It teaches us all the important shapes and movements we will need throughout our WingTsun training as well as giving us increased muscle control and definition. The Siu Nim Tau really is the corner stone of the WingTsun system and only dedicated practice of this form will allow you to progress within the system.

Chum Kiu
When we have learnt the movements and started to understand the lines of our bodies the student moves on to the Chum Kiu form. This form introduces the elements of shifting and turning the body whilst maintaining the hands in the correct shapes and on the correct lines. Three of the WingTsun kicking techniques are also introduced in this form as well as one of our less famous punches, the lifting punch. Chum Kiu means “Bridge Seeking” and the movements within are primarily focused on making contact with the opponent.

Biu Tze
The biu tze form has sometimes been referred to as almost an art form within an art form; the concepts and applications of this form are visually very different than from Siu Nim Tau and Chum Kiu. Biu Tze is about attack rather than defence, generating power rather than absorbing it and as such contains some of the deadliest moves in martial arts. Famously Biu Tze was said to “never leave the door.” This means the form was never taught to someone outside of the WingTsun family and this is why in the WT Midlands schools student must achieve their First Technician grade before they can begin training the Biu Tze form.

Wooden Dummy (Muk Yan Jong)
The wooden dummy serves many roles in WingTsun training. It takes the place of a training partner if no one is available and in fact becomes the perfect training partner because you can hit it all day and it never gets injured, tired or wants to train itself. The arms of the dummy have a protractor effect on the WT student, allowing them to correct the angles of their arms against the unyielding power of the dummy.

Long Pole (Luk Dim Boon Kwan)
The first weapon of the WingTsun system is the long pole, an oak staff approximately 9 foot long that is held at one end and tapers slightly at the other. The long pole training in WingTsun is undertaken once a student has completed the empty hand curriculum. The essence of the long pole lies in that the WingTsun student has learnt to control the centreline with his tactile and flexible arms and by training with this dead, solid implement the WT student becomes more aware of the movement of his whole body and develop very fine motor skills. This is because due to the physics of levels a movement of 1cm in the hands produces a much greater movement at the other end of the pole.

Butterfly Swords (Bart Cham Dao)
The butterfly swords are the final element to the WingTsun curriculum. Historically these were used by shaolin monks due their being easy to carry and conceal. However their small, broad and razor sharp blades are perfect for slices to wrists and body, making them ideal weapons to disarm rather than to kill an armed attacker and therefore make the perfect weapon for a self defence system such as WingTsun.