Siu Lim Tao - Part 1

My first lesson in Wing Chun Kung Fu was on a summer afternoon one Saturday many years ago. On Satudays, my Sifu taught (and still teaches) the Qigong class first, followed by Tai Chi and Chun Yuen Quan then lastly the Wing Chun class. Before the Qigong class, I asked my Sifu if I could start learning Wing Chun today, to which he replied ‘Yes, of course’. And that was it; I had started learning Wing Chun.

Every Wing Chun class started the same. First there was a warm-up for a few minutes and then we would practice the first Wing Chun form, Siu Lim Tao. The name Siu Lim Tao means ‘minimize thought’ (Grandmaster Michael Tse wrote a clear explanation of the name here). This involves practicing the first part of the form as slowly as possible. Now in class, we would only have time for about 10 - 15 minutes, but in that first lesson this felt like a lot longer. The feet are stationary for this form so you are moving one arm at a time. When it’s unfamiliar to you, this can feel a lot more challenging than you would expect.

By the time we finished the form, there was a little sweat forming on my brow. For a form where you didn’t even have to step, I was amazed how much effort it had taken to form and hold the positions. And what we had just done was basically the ‘quick’ version. Watching the more senior students and my Sifu, they all made it look effortless. I needed to find out more about this form, and to do some more practice