This WC forum has been really dead lately, but I suspect that there are still a few of us WC die-hards lurking about so I thought I'd throw out a few things that have been on my mind for general discussion.
One thing that a student has asked me about is the traditional practice of doing Siu Nim Tau (as it is spelled in my WT/VT lineage) at a
super-slow speed, especially the first third of the form involving the "saam pai fut" movements (the repeated centerline extensions and retractions of tan and fook sau).
Now in our group, these movements are always done fairly slowly in comparison to the rest of the form, with each extensions taking between 3 and 5 seconds each, and the retractions equally as long. That is to say they are done at roughly the speed shown in the clip below taken from a closely related lineage.
However, sometimes people practice these initial movements at an
extremely slow pace, taking five minutes or more for each extension. And I've heard stories of Grandmaster Yip taking as long as 15 minutes extending the tan-sau. The justifications for this practice often include building focus, concentration, superior structure and, when combined with proper breathing, as a form of meditative
chi-gung exercise.
In the past, I
have tried this, spending up to about two minutes on each extension, however, I've never made it a regular part of my own training, and certainly, have never made it a regular part of my classes. For one thing, our class time is just too limited. And for my own part, I'm way too undisciplined and ADD to train that way consistently! Besides that, over the years I have become increasingly skeptical about some of the more mystical claims made regarding chi in TCMA.
So my question is, do any of you regularly train the very slow version of SNT, and what do feel are the practical benefits? ...Or on the other extreme, do some of you spend
less time doing SNT at all, as you have progressed further in WC/WT/VT?
