Don't Force the Bong Sau

When deploying your Wing Chun Bong Sau (Wing Arm Block) you cannot and should not "just throw it out there."

What I mean by that is the Wing Chun Bong Sau is the best and worst move in the Wing Chun system.

Speaking of the Bong Sau being the worst move, based upon the angle of the position, it leaves your entire rib section exposed.

Speaking of the Bong Sau being the best move, it redirects energy allowing the incoming energy of your enemy to be cast aside like a matador does with the rushing bull.

The issue most of us had in our early Wing Chun training is that we thought the Bong Sau looked so cool, so Kung Fu, that we just "threw it out there" to block an incoming attack.

The misunderstanding most Wing Chun student must learn is that we are "forced" into Bong Sau and must not arbitrarily cast this move. Bong Sau is a transitional move and for the most part, must never even be detected by our enemy.

Think of a straight punch coming right to your face. Why take the chance of shortening your response distance with a Bong Sau (think of the bend and angle of your arm) allowing the punch to come within inches of your face?

Instead, your initial response should always be a linear attack response and once contact is made (based upon incoming energy) you then apply your Bong Sau, thus allowing your natural responses to take over and buying yourself proper time and distance to recover from your enemy's punch.

Again the Wing Chun Bong Sau is one of the signature movements in the Wing Chun system and is fantastic to apply...just apply it correctly!

We will be filming a short instructional video on this topic from our Wing Chun Self Defense class in Chicago and posting it on our Izzo Training Systems Youtube channel!

Dominick Izzo
Lead Instructor
www.izzo-training.com

Wing Chun Self Defense for Chicago and the NW Suburban Area

Wing Chun Drills

Doing Wing Chun drills "in the air" along with foot work training, hand movement training or any type of form work is essential to understanding your body and its relationship to fighting.

Dan Innosanto said that Bruce Lee did not teach forms because students would not understand the applicability of the movements unless they were exposed to physical contact from a mock attack.

While I understand this, I believe there are times, post understanding the context of the movement, where you must explore and solidify YOUR understanding of YOUR movement.

You are the only denominator which will not change in a fight. It is as simple as Sun Tsu's comment on knowing an enemy and knowing yourself. Doing Wing Chun drills are not about the movements so much as they are about understanding how your physicality affects and is affected by the movements.

Bruce Lee also advocated punching in the air (or hanging sheet of paper) to build tremendous punching power.

I encourage and ask my students to do their homework daily if they are to improve their Wing Chun Self Defense skills.

Understanding your body is paramount if you are to learn how to defend yourself. Do not discount the real meaning of drills.

Dominick Izzo

Wing Chun Self Defense Chicago
www.izzo-training.com

Wing Chun Self Defense Chicago Youtube!

Be sure to check out our videos on our youtube channel.

www.youtube.com/izzotrainingsystems

Our channel features info and short training clips on the concepts of Wing Chun Self Defense.

As always, your feedback is appreciated.

Dominick Izzo
Wing Chun Self Defense Chicago
www.izzo-training.com