Tan Sau
攤手
Literally: spreading hand
Wing Chun covering technique in which a rising arm with the palm facing up spreads the opponent's pressure away from the centreline.
Quick Facts
Katas containing this technique
About
Tan Sau (攤手), literally spreading hand, is a Wing Chun covering technique. The written form combines the character tan, meaning to spread or unfold, with sau, hand. The arm rises in a vertical position with the palm facing up; it acts as a rolling arm that spreads the opponent's outward pressure away from the centreline. According to sources, it does not block the attack directly but redirects it: it turns it away from the central path and opens space for an immediate counter-strike. It differs from Bong Sau in direction, since Bong Sau carries falling pressure diagonally down across the centreline, while Tan Sau spreads it outward with a rising motion. Fook Sau, in turn, controls the opponent's arm and presses it down, while Tan Sau disperses the force sideways. Tan Sau is one of the basic techniques of the first form, Siu Lim Tao (also Siu Nim Tau), alongside Bong Sau, Fook Sau, Wu Sau, Huen Sau, Gan Sau and the chain punches. According to the teaching of this form, it is developed in its first third, which focuses on basic power.