I attend the Illawarra Ving Tsun school with Sifu John Smith. I’ve been a practitioner for nearly 5 years.
My Sifu studied under WSL from 91, till his death in 97. My Sifu, openly admits that when he started Wing Chun (a different lineage) that he too, was taught that the fook sau was some kind of spastic block.
It isn’t. The fook sau, is training the elbow. And more importantly lat sau jik chung (foward springy energy).
The fook sau can easily become a punch. Be it a punch, a side palm, a straight palm.
The handle is the elbow, the punch,chop, etc. is the tool, its exactly the same motion.
With chain punching, we are training concepts of lin sil die dar. Simultaneous attack and defense. As one punch comes forward, the other one retreats down the straight line of the wrist to the elbow.
The most important thing is that we are hitting our opponent, but if we can’t hit cleanly, we can remove the obstruction.
Loi Lau Hoi Song, Lat Sau Jik Chung. Intercept what comes, pursue what departs, when the hands are free of obstructions attack instinctively.
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Comment: Hi Dan, thanks for your input on the fook sau and giving us all a little glimpse of your training and kwoon. It sounds great.
I find that the fook sau is a diverse structure. Unfortunately, I don’t use it often in random or sparring situations. And when I do use it, I use it as a clearing move, and it’s great for that.
However, your comment about training the elbow makes a lot of sense. The overall fook sau structure and energy is very similar (the same?) to the lap sau and jut sau, which I do use a lot.
