Wing Chun Dummy notes day 2

Performing the Bui Tze as a form requires a lot of practice and patience. After preforming the form over and over again, I learned how to take certain techniques out of the form and how to apply them 1) in a real situation (emergency only) and 2) on the Wing Chun dummy. This form has a lot of hidden defense and counter offense techniques in it the one can only discover over time. The circular foot movements in the Bui tze can be used in the dummy form to rotate inside an opponents defenses. The Bui sau or darting hands can be used as finger strikes, neck chops and counter offensive hand grabs. These techniques are really hard to defend against because the come upwards, under your opponents line of vision. The Kwan sau is a useful block against powerful kicks as long as you adjust your distance. Elbow strikes and be worked into the sequence of attacks from the Bui sau hand-grapping motions. Penetrating defenses with basic attacks is more effective than multiple move combos. Always mind the distance your are from the (dummy) opponent because distance also effects the amount of power you can put into an attack.

Arm breaks are most effective when thrown in inside and outside pak sau combinations. Once you grab an opponents arm (from a tan sau/wrist rotation) it may turn into a wrestling match. Its better to strike and break rather than grab and break. Lets face it, it the guy is trying to hurt you, hes NOT going to throw single attacks so you have to always prepare for two or three attacks in advance.

Wing Chun is like playing chess, you have to be able to calculate 2-3 moves ahead of your opponent. When the gloves are off, then one mistake means that you get hit. If you get hit with one, then two, three ect will ALWAYS follow so there is no room for error. When training with the dummy, its good to think about what attack you are block and what arm you are striking. Use the dummy as a template for a body, dont just do techniques. In every technique you do on the dummy, think of where you are and what you are going to do if the technique is countered or doesn't work like you planned. Unlike the dummy, a real person moves, thinks and reacts, so you have to create and imaginary opponent in your head when you are training alone. Just using the dummy as it is (a stiff piece of wood) is not enough.

When throwing elbows, there are 3 angles you can use to strike the head, side of the head spear the body. When throwing a downward elbow to the head, make sure that you clear or trap an arm first because your opponent can use an elbow to counter your strike and hit you in the face. Elbow strikes are best thrown in combination with blocks because your opponent is going to attack you when you come into his range. You may hit him with the elbow, but you will get hit with his counter if you dont block and strike/ trap and strike at the same time.