Bridge Seeking

Read Your Enemy Like A Book

Unlocking the skill of Wing Chun requires the practitioner to study Chum Kiu,or 'Bridge Seeking'. As the foundation of Wing Chun slowly engrains itself into its practitioner, Chum Kiu becomes its guide - a bridge, as it were, that connects defence to offence, or movement from here to there. Understanding how Chum Kiu acts as a guide in the bridging process is actually the key to, or secret of, effective fighting. For purposes of this article, I discuss the primary and secondary phases of bridge seeking and offer practical techniques for successful implantation.

Preliminary Phase
  Safely bridging the gap is the first phase of bridge seeking. Wing Chun practitioners must be able to take advantage of openings in the enemy's defences that the enemy creates on his own - or openings that the enemy makes in response to the practitioner's actions. Doing this effectively requires the practitioner to learn how to move aggressively from point A to B and quickly penetrate the enemy's defences. This is accomplished through biu ma or thrusting steps.
   Thrusting steps allow the Wing Chun practitioner to gain entry into the enemy's openings. To thrust the stance in a forward motion, the practitioner must keep the body upright, lift the toes of the lead foot, then heel, while keeping the toes pointed slightly inward to help protect the knee. Once the lead foot is raised off the ground, the practitioner must simultaneously push off with the rear leg to gain the exclusionary force necessary for covering one to three feet of ground. When the toes are raised first, it helps load the rear leg for added force. To regain the normal space between the feet (which should be about shoulder width apart), the practitioner should simply bring the rear leg up.
   However, to properly execute thrusting steps, the practitioner must know where the centre of gravity is at all times. It may sound trivial, but it is amazing how many practitioners do not know where their centre of gravity is, and even worse, are completely unaware of how to use and exploit it. The centre of gravity is approximately 55% of the practitioner's height from the floor measuring up, and lies exactly in the middle of one's mass. The Wing Chun practitioner should consider the measurement as a point and should keep the point over the feet at all times during the course of any movement. This allows the practitioner to maintain balance and position himself to exploit the enemy.
   Besides encouraging their practitioners to learn proper footwork in the Chum Kiu form, masters of Wing Chun also emphasise the necessity of using footwork to bridge the gap with speed, power and courage. For the beginning practitioner, the master draws two parallel lines on the floor about two feet apart. One line is labelled 'A' and the other 'B' (for the more advanced practitioner the lines are drawn approximately three feet apart). The practitioner then has one minute to advance from line 'A' to 'B' and back again as many times as possible. As the practitioner more fully executes this footwork with speed and power, he/she will be more fully prepared to take advantage of the enemy's weaknesses. In simple terms, the idea is to seize the initiative by attacking and exploiting the enemy's openings. Sometimes the sheer act of advancing with courage, without evidence of emotion, will cause the enemy top react. The practitioner should be prepared to perceive and act on the enemy's response.

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