# What is fook sau?



## bully (Jul 22, 2010)

So, I am trying to show my missus some basic shapes.

I will post plans as to why pretty soon.

She hasnt done any ma apart from some basic kickboxing but more for fitness than anything.

Showed her bong, tan, pak and gan. We done the stance and I showed her the first part of SLT.

She has intelligence (not taking the piss) with regards to physics and fitness etc and to be fair she is a damn sight fitter than I am (not difficult).

So she gets bong, tan etc but when I showed her fook she looked at me funny and asked what it is for. Fair question and as a relative novice myself, what do I answer??

It looks bloody weird and when it comes to the real world, ie boxing and getting hit....what is a easy way to explain what it is for?

Any help is good, and what else should I show her?? Sensible suggestions only as we have been married for 8 years she has seen most other things of mine:angel:

Cheers

Bully


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## yak sao (Jul 22, 2010)

When you send your arms forward down the center, if you do not encounter a barrier, then you strike. If however, you do meet an obstruction, it's going to be either on top of your arm, in which case your arm changes to bong sau or tan sau depending on the force given. If you encounter the obstruction and your arm is on top, then you would use fook sau or kau sau again depending on the force given.
Or, thought of another way, when punching, if your arm is on the inside of their arm, you wedge upward toward their face, if it is on the outside of their arm you wedge downward Which is pretty much fook sau.
My si-fu is cantonese and I believe he said the literal definition of fook is "overcoming." I'm not 100% certain on that.


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## zepedawingchun (Jul 22, 2010)

Fook sao is your lifeline.  In chi sao, it's used to feel your partners movement or intention when it has made contact to the bridge (forearm).  We translate fook sao as sensing hand, so when in contact, it is used to sense your partners foreward pressure, or movement to attack you, or run, or escape from you.  With what you feel, it is then determined whether fook sao should transition to jut, huen, kune, tan, tau (pull), attack, whatever.  It's a very useful tool, one of the three major hands.


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## mook jong man (Jul 22, 2010)

Its used to redirect our opponents  force or apply our own force on a vertical axis in the shape of a sphere , when a force encounters the edge of the sphere.

  Depending on the nature of the force it can be either directed down or up .
 Other vectors of force will also come into play when pivoting from Chum Kiu is used in conjunction with the Fook Sau.

Or the easy answer is when our arm ends up on top of their arm we can use our arm to control their arm and stop them from hitting us.


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## mook jong man (Jul 22, 2010)

If I remember correctly we translated it in our lineage as Subduing Hand.


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## geezer (Jul 22, 2010)

bully said:


> So, I am trying to show my missus some basic shapes...
> I when I showed her fook she looked at me funny and asked what it is for...



You showed her _a good fook.._. and she still asked you _what it's for!?_ Oh well. My wife has no interest in the martial arts at all, so I won't comment further on that.

My old Chinese teacher used to translated _fook sau_ as "bridge-on arm"... since in both common forms, the "hooked" shape seen in Siu Nim Tau and the palm-down, straight-wrist form seen in Chum Kiu and elsewhere, it essentially _sticks to your opponents bridge_, springing gently forward. Along with tan-sau and bong-sau it is one of the foundation or "seed" techniques of the system. 

As you pointed out, the basic deflecting functions of tan and bong are readily apparent. They are essentially mirror images of each other. Look at the way they relate in poon-sau. When your opponent extends energy across your bridge, he rolls your arm over into bong or tan. Each is similar in shape, a bent spring that borrows and deflects your opponent's energy, but in opposite directions. Hence poon-sau. Borrow and deflect the energy to one side, then to the other. Pretty straightforward.

Fook-sau, or "bridge-on arm" is quite different in that it is undefined, springing forward, listening and controlling, but uncommitted... ready to become bong, or tan, or spring forward into a strike... whatever. Bong and tan are like constants in an equation. They have assumed a specific function. Fook is still a variable, an x-factor that can transform into whatever is needed according to whatever energy it receives.

At least that's the way I've been looking at it. One of these days I might get another one of those really cool "Eureka" moments that Mook described on another thread, and come to a whole new level of understanding. One can only hope!


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## bully (Jul 23, 2010)

Thanks all, next lesson is tomorrow so I will explain it then.

I am sure she will still look at me funny:uhyeah:

I have an idea she is going to get better than me at this.....


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## chinaboxer (Jul 23, 2010)

i understand what she is saying, because i had the same questions when i first practiced fuk sau or "controlling hand". in this video, i try to explain the basics of this very important shape..hope it helps.  - Jin

http://www.thechinaboxer.com/2009/09/23/fuk-sau-basics/

this is a basic fuk sau drill...

http://www.thechinaboxer.com/2009/12/10/fuk-sau-drill/


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## dosk3n (Jul 23, 2010)

I dont know if youve heard the saying if you cant pak it, fook it.

Heres a nice simple drill to use fook sau with against a one two jab combination.

As the first jab comes in, if youre caught off guard you may not have the coordination to pak so fook sau instead. Dont forget to pivot. and point towards the centre with forward energy.

Then as the second jab comes in you are in a perfect position to Lap Sau and continue as you wish.

You know some say Wing Chun is a mixture of a snake and a crane well that simple drill made a light bulb go off in my head and helped me understand flowing like a snake.


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## profesormental (Jul 25, 2010)

Greetings.

Fook Sao has several ways in which it can be executed, depending on the specific applications.

Many have been already talked about.

Its use is mainly as a controlling structure. On arms, neck, shoulder, etc.

Yet there are other uses for advanced levels... it teaches how to "short hand" movements that normally require longer paths of action to execute with maximum power.

This has been one of the most impressive discoveries I've been exposed to in the last year or two.

Hope that helps.


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## profesormental (Jul 25, 2010)

Oh, and I laughed at all the fooking jokes... LOL


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