The Wing Chun system has only three 'empty hand' forms while other martial arts have dozens of forms. Coming from a Tae Kwon Do/Kenpo Karate background I found this amazing.

How could they teach everything you needed to know about empty hand combat in just three forms?

As I practice Wing Chun, I'm finding that everything you really need to know is in the Sil Lim Tao (or Little Idea) form.

When I teach, it's interesting to watch people doing the Sil Lim Tao (SLT), especially those that don't understand what is really being taught. It's almost like pulling teeth.

They have the look of, 'Man, this is so beginner stuff. Let's do the Chum Kil or Bil Jee.'
And if you ask what principles or concepts that are taught in this form, many can only name one or two.

If you do not learn the principles and concepts in the SLT you will never be able to truly master this form or any of the others. While doing Chum Kil, I discovered this first hand when Sifu corrected one of my positions.

Looking at the finished position I found that what I was doing before broke a principle found in SLT. The principles and concepts in the SLT are 'instant checks' when you are doing your forms.

When you do chi sau (sticky hands) the SLT has all the hand positions you'll ever need, (because the remaining hand positions for the most part are only variations on the SLT ones). If you stick to the principles and concepts taught in the SLT you'll have everything you need for effective chi sau.

What are the principles and concepts in the SLT? Here are a couple: (you'll have to do some research to find others and their explanations.)

1) Centerline Theory
2) Elbow Theory
3) Gates theory
4) Unification/Structure Principle
5) Angling Principles

By mastering the principles and concepts you can discover the keys to the Wing Chun System.

Keep Training, Keep Praying, Keep Learning

Chuck O'Neill is an evangelical Christian and martial artist. Over his 12 years of experience in martial arts he as had formal martial arts training in Judo, Tae Kwon Do, and Kosho Ryu Kenpo Karate. He also has had training in elements of Western Boxing, grappling, Tai Chi, and Wushu. He is currently learning Wing Chun from Sifu Nelson Chan of the Christian Wushu Fellowship, located in Toronto, Ontario.

The opinions of this article are solely those of the writer and are not the expressed opinions of the Christian Wushu Fellowship. Copyright 2004 Charles G. O'Neill

To read other articles by Chuck O'Neill check out "Modern Martial Artist"