Chi sao
黐手
Paired wing chun exercise in which both partners keep their forearms in constant contact and react to each other's pressure. It develops sensitivity and reflexes.
Quick Facts
Word breakdown
Definition
Chi sao (黐手) is Cantonese for “sticky hands”. Two practitioners face each other with forearms in contact and circle them in an agreed rhythm. Each tries to sense where the partner has a gap and insert a strike into it, while the other closes it by touch. The exercise teaches reacting to pressure and changes of tension before the eye notices them. It starts with one hand (dan chi sao), then both (seung chi sao). Chi sao is neither a fight nor sparring, though attacks are free in the advanced stage. Tuishou in taijiquan has similar principles.
Relations to other terms
See also
Paired exercise in taijiquan and other internal styles. Practitioners, in hand contact, try to unbalance each other and sensitively neutralize the other's pressure.
Muk yan jong木人樁Wooden dummy, a training device used mainly in wing chun. It has three arms and one leg and is used to practise blocks, strikes and footwork.