Siu Nim Tau — Tiny Idea
Chu Shong Tin
Siu Nim Tau (小念頭) is the basic form of Wing Chun. It comprises three specialties: (1) No need to exert force; (2) It possesses the strongest structure with the minimum use of energy; (3) It induces the release of mind force from a person.
Learning Siu Nim Tau is divided in to three stages.
Firstly, one must relax the muscles of the whole body. Then, he should infuse the spirit into the spine so that it is maintained straight. Contracting the anus is also important because it can help different parts of the body to form a unified structure.
The second stage is to practise in a completely relaxed state. When one is fully acquainted with all the moves, he should practise every move with the mind to initiate the movement without paying attention to whether the move is correct or not. He must ensure that every movement is initiated by the mind and not by the muscle.
After completing the training of the above two stages, it now comes to practise the main point of Siu Nim Tau. This is to learn how to release the mind force and the familiarization of the automatic reaction applying to fighting.
Expressing this kind of technique on paper is just like inventing a theory without experiment. One will not believe it unless he has experienced such techniques. Luckily, with the assistance of the video, a Wing Chun learner can have a chance to fully understand the techniques.
The important points of Siu Nim Tau can be grouped as follows:
The structure of the moves
The moves to be controlled by the mind
The input of mind force
The theory of center line
The structure of the moves
(a) The basic concept is to utilize the rotation of a circle to generate the force and to tolerate any force applied externally. Given the same mass, a circle can tolerate heavier force applied externally and generate greater driving force with minimum energy than in any other shape. The tan sau, bong sau, and fook sau movements of Siu Nim Tau are obvious examples of applying the principle of circular motion. The practical use is to contact the opponent's wrist on the inner or outer side of the circle. From tan sau to bong sau is to let the opponent's wrist from the inner side of the circle go to the outer side of the circle. Fook sau is to use the outer side of the circle to contact the opponent's wrist.
(b) To use the straight line as the base of exerting force during an attack. The motto of Wing Chun, "A straight line is the shortest distance between two points", is actually applying the principle of the straight line. This is the application of speed and force of impact. In real fighting, speed and great impact force are of prime importance. The short distance reduces the attacking time whilst attacking with a straight line increases the striking force. Combining a "short distance" and a "straight line" will result in high speed and a heavy punch.
(c) The concealed skill of the "Two Adduction Stance" (Yee Chi Kim Yeung Ma). The "Two Adduction Stance" fully reflects the skill in concentrating the force of impact. Because of its posture, it can concentrate force at the centerline or even to the centre point so that every move contains the weight of the whole body. Since the knees are slightly bent and springy, one can transfer the striking force from the wrist of the opponent to one's knees. This action can reduce the burden of the arms, thus increasing the mobile ability of the arms.
2. The moves to be controlled by the mind
From the name Siu Nim Tau (In Chinese means “sense from the brain”), it can be seen that the form is based on idea or mind. Hence, when one has attained a stage that he is familiar with the form and performs all the moves correctly, he need not practice with a mirror in front of him to see if the moves are correct. To not affect the concentration of the moves, he should use the mind to perform the moves. After practising for a long period of time, he should be able to perform the moves with the mind freely at any moment without exerting muscular force.
3. The input of mind force
In learning Siu Nim Tau, when one has passed the stages of imitating the moves and performing the moves with the mind, he should try to input the mind force into the limbs. Nim Lik ("mind force") is an invisible power. Looking at it from another angle, Nim Lik is the power created when concentrating the mind and is similar to Qigong and Ligong. When one has achieved the stage of driving the mind force, he can feel its existence. Wherever a person moves the mind force into their body, the power of that part of the body is increased, and every move he performs will be springy and filled up with energy. In fighting, since he has already possessed the absorbing and rebounding effect due to the existence of the Nim Lik when encountering the opponent, he can use the appropriate move automatically without thinking, thus, achieving the best result in attack and defence.
4. The theory of centre line
The centre line of any object is the centre point of that object; it is also the perpendicular line from the object’s centre of gravity. At the centre of gravity, the weight of that object is supported. Hence, if that object moves in any direction, and if one touches the object’s centre of gravity in the direction it is moving, he will have to suffer the object’s whole weight and impact. Since an object will have a different centre of gravity depending on the shape of that object, it is necessary to determine where the centre of gravity is on each occasion.
The basic moves of Siu Nim Tau are founded based on the centre of gravity of a person and the principle of the centre line. The tan sau and fook sau moves forward from one’s centre point. This is to use the centre of gravity of a person to move forward, thus concentrating a person’s whole body weight when attacking. Bong sau, which moves up from below, uses the person’s centre of gravity to move slopingly forward and upwards. Garn sau uses the person’s centre of gravity of the person moving slopingly forward and downwards. For this reason, if one can master the principle of the centre of gravity, the opponent has to tolerate your attack with your whole body weight. This is the main idea of Siu Nim Tau using one’s body weight in fighting.
The above is just the basic theory of Siu Nim Tau and does not consist of any particular skill. Hence, if you practise Siu Nim Tau in accordance with the above theory and achieve the described level, you will be able to tolerate heavy force and generate enormous power without exerting muscular force. One cannot imagine this unless he has personally experienced it. To really know Siu Nim Tau and feel its power, one must practise Siu Nim Tau repeatedly and persistently for a long period of time.