Review - Eddie Chong's Advanced Chi Sau DVD

Customer/3rd Party Review: This review was done by a customer/3rd party and is listed here for you reference only. The views and opinions of the reviewer are not those of Everything Wing Chun and do not necessarily reflect EWC's views or opinions on the subject matter. It is posted, like all customer reviews, to give you more info on the product and to give you different opinions on a product so that you can make the best decision for yourself about it's content. The review is NOT by an EWC employee or contractor and EWC cannot stand by anything said in any customer/3rd party review. Enjoy!

What it’s about:

Master Sifu Eddie Chong demonstrates advance training in the Chi Sau of Wing Chun Kung Fu, in two part segments.

Comments:

Chi Sau training is essential in developing skill in Wing Chun technique and cannot be learned effectively without a skilled teacher.  It’s more than banging and rolling one’s arms with a partner.  That is certainly a crude description of it, however, without patience and consistent training real skill in Wing Chun cannot be achieved.

Master Chong provides an excellent introduction of the basics and advance training in this superb martial art.  The basic purpose in learning Chi Sau is to develop proper structure and sensitivity.  Chong begins his Chi Sau demonstration with the double hands and explains the proper position of the arms and hands during the exercise.  In the double hand demonstration he immediately shows you what to do if your opponent steps in on you, one can turn with the incoming movement and use technique.  One can also counter by rooting and position oneself first.  Stepping at an angle and rooting properly, makes one capable of redirecting the opponent’s posture and creating an opening for technique.

Advance technique requires movement of the body; one cannot just stand there all the time without changing position.  Attacks can be used with substantial structure with swift movements and without reliance on strength. Master Sifu Chong demonstrates this quality so well in his Chi Sau technique.   Not often seen in Chi Sau training DVDs is the use of the Tiger and Leopard hand technique.  These specific hand techniques might be regarded as more of the “Faht Shan” style of Wing Chun Kung Fu.  Chong goes through get pains to demonstrate how a technique is done properly while also showing what happens when one does it improperly.  The position of the arms and hands are just as important in using them for attack as well as in defense.  In defensive movements you are protecting the vital gates of the body.

In part two of this DVD, emphasis is placed on footwork, one’s angle and direction in the Chi Sau.  In Chong’s demonstration of footwork the fifty-fifty weighted stance is used.  It is clear Chong does not promote the empty stance as a defensive posture, with the front leg empty; weight on the back leg and foot turned at a 45 degree angle.  Part two of this DVD talks about the importance of one’s body structure and the coordination of the arms and hands as technique is executed.  Vital points or Chin Na practice is shown which adds to ones repertory of techniques.  In the last portion of this DVD, Chong shows how important it is, in putting it all together.  One must integrate all that has been learned and allow technique to emerge while using an opponent’s strength and movement against him.

Technical Specifications:
Title: Advance Chi Sau: part I and Part II
Presenters: Eddie Chong
Region:  all
Number of disc:  1
Length:  Part I, 00:36.48 - Part II 00:58.06
Language:  English

Rating scale 1-5:
DVD rating: 4 out of 5
Production Quality: 3.5
Sound Quality: 3.5
Video Quality: 3.5
Material covered: 5
Instructional qualities: 5

Content Overview: Wing Chun Kung Fu – Advance Chi Sau.

1. Introduction
   1. Training and Background of Master Sifu Eddie Chong
      1. The Grandmaster Ip Man Influence
      2. The Grandmaster Pan Nam Influence
2. Part One – Advance Chi Sau
   1.  The four gates
      1. Double Bong Sau
      2. The fook Sau
      3. The Tan Sau, Bong Sau sequence
      4. And the Fook Sau
   2. Stance and proper structure
      1. Position of the arms in the tan Sau and bong Sau
      2. What happens when your bong Sau is positioned too high
      3. Position the body first as one steps in.
      4. Following through and reversing a technique
      5. Tan Sau and hitting a vital point
      6. Tan Sau and punching below the shoulder
      7. Defense against being pulled
      8. Using the gong Sau and Wu Sau hand
      9. Defense against a Wu Sau guarding hand with a Lan Sau, Wu Sau press combination
      10. Turning and pulling for a kidney shot
      11. Using the leopard paw to inflict greater injury
      12. Tan Sau Palm strike
      13. Tan Sau Back fist strike
3. Part Two: Advance Chi Sau
   1. Footwork
      1. Angle
      2. Direction
      3. And Center-line
   2. Body Structure
      1. Coordination of Sau techniques and movement of the body
      2. Footwork-closing the gap
      3. Stepping properly turning into the stance
      4. Advancing forward and turning ( a chum Kiu Movement)
      5. Turning and using a Tan Sau and Fook Sau hand
   3. Vital Point points
      1. Chin Na and using  the vital points for control
      2. Turning the wrist and using the Fook Sau hand
      3. The Tan Sau hand and its application in vital point usage
      4. Locking the arm in an upward position and breaking the wrist
      5. Using foot work position to gain access to vital points
   4. Putting it all together
      1. Demonstration of how techniques emerge according to the situation or circumstance

(This content review does not contain all of the techniques shown in Part One or Two, of this DVD; there were just too many variations shown to include them all.)

Reviewer: George Hernandez
Date: 12/23/2011
Buy the Eddie Chong DVDs on Everything Wing Chun