Biu Jee: the "Desperate Measures" Form

[wingchun100]

Regarding topics like this, I think it would be a great idea for me to start out by saying this post represents MY opinion on things from what I have observed so far.

In my school, Sifu has the opinion (which I tend to agree with) that one should really focus on sil lum tao, chum kiu and the dummy form because they really teach the essential techniques of the system. With SLT and CK, you are learning the hand movements, pivoting and footwork. With the dummy form, you are learning to apply those to a tangible object instead of just doing them in the air. He has called biu jee "the desperation form" in that it is full of techniques that are meant to assist you if you lose control of the centerline. That's not to say he thinks biu jee is a frivolous or useless form, but he puts emphasis on those other three.

But I was just thinking: from the fights I have seen in my life, MOST people are cowards who will come at you when you aren't ready. Now anyone who trains in martial arts will probably know they have to develop a sense of environmental awareness, so hopefully you KNOW someone wants to fight even if THEY think you are unaware. However, we can't all bring our A game all the time, and there may be days where someone gets the jump on you. When they do that, you probably aren't going to be flatfooted and ready to rumble. You will probably be leaning into your car or bending down to tie your shoe or something. In other words, your centerline is already gone.

So it occurred to me that maybe, even though learning the basics from SLT and CK is important, that the "recovering the centerline" techniques of BJ should be given just as much priority, especially given the cowardly tactics some people would use when attacking you.

At any rate, it was just a thought I had, and I felt like sharing it with my MT brothers and sisters.

 

[Transk53]

Regarding topics like this, I think it would be a great idea for me to start out by saying this post represents MY opinion on things from what I have observed so far.

In my school, Sifu has the opinion (which I tend to agree with) that one should really focus on sil lum tao, chum kiu and the dummy form because they really teach the essential techniques of the system. With SLT and CK, you are learning the hand movements, pivoting and footwork. With the dummy form, you are learning to apply those to a tangible object instead of just doing them in the air. He has called biu jee "the desperation form" in that it is full of techniques that are meant to assist you if you lose control of the centerline. That's not to say he thinks biu jee is a frivolous or useless form, but he puts emphasis on those other three.

But I was just thinking: from the fights I have seen in my life, MOST people are cowards who will come at you when you aren't ready. Now anyone who trains in martial arts will probably know they have to develop a sense of environmental awareness, so hopefully you KNOW someone wants to fight even if THEY think you are unaware. However, we can't all bring our A game all the time, and there may be days where someone gets the jump on you. When they do that, you probably aren't going to be flatfooted and ready to rumble. You will probably be leaning into your car or bending down to tie your shoe or something. In other words, your centerline is already gone.

So it occurred to me that maybe, even though learning the basics from SLT and CK is important, that the "recovering the centerline" techniques of BJ should be given just as much priority, especially given the cowardly tactics some people would use when attacking you.

At any rate, it was just a thought I had, and I felt like sharing it with my MT brothers and sisters.

Intriguing choice of words regarding regarding BJ.

 

[wingchun100]

Intriguing choice of words regarding regarding BJ.

Thanks, man. The other reason he calls it that is because that's where you learn a lot more destructive techniques like jabbing your fingers to the eyes and the use of elbows. Well, you learn it to an extent in the other forms, but it is more pronounced in BJ.

 

[Transk53]

Thanks, man. The other reason he calls it that is because that's where you learn a lot more destructive techniques like jabbing your fingers to the eyes and the use of elbows. Well, you learn it to an extent in the other forms, but it is more pronounced in BJ.

I know that for one thing, the Sifu that I briefly trained with, did show us a little of BJ in the last bit of the lesson. This was demonstrated by himself the Technician. Anyway, thinking a bit further on it, does your Sifu mean that desperation is seen as you should not have lost the centre line in the first place?

 

[wingchun100]

I know that for one thing, the Sifu that I briefly trained with, did show us a little of BJ in the last bit of the lesson. This was demonstrated by himself the Technician. Anyway, thinking a bit further on it, does your Sifu mean that desperation is seen as you should not have lost the centre line in the first place?

Yes, that is EXACTLY what he means. One of the key concepts of wing chun (I define three of them, but I can get into that somewhere else) is that you are looking to control the centerline: attacking your opponent's, defending yours.

 

[Transk53]

Yes, that is EXACTLY what he means. One of the key concepts of wing chun (I define three of them, but I can get into that somewhere else) is that you are looking to control the centerline: attacking your opponent's, defending yours.

Yeah I can see what the Sifu is on about, especially as Wing Chun is defensive as apposed to the first strike. Still don't think BJ should be refered to as being desperation tatics though.

 

[yak sao]

WT has a redundant teaching system built into it. Many of the things found in the BT form have been trained since SNT and CK. First of all then, the BT serves to reinforce what has already been trained with the previous forms.
But then there are things that the BT form focuses on that are not necessarily found in the other two.
I agree that BT teaches ways of regaining the center if it's been lost, but if you'll notice, isn't that already taught in CK, which teaches us to "seek the center".
I think what the BT form gives us is more than an emergency tool kit. BT trains our body to deliver our force in a more whipping fashion. The biu strikes found in the form, for example, as taught in our lineage, are not finger strikes at all.
The strike is with the whole blade of the forearm, generating a whipping, explosive force into the strike. The force is allowed to travel down the arm.

Biu Tze, or thrusting fingers, means to strike a out fully concentrated force through the finger tips, not with the finger tips. This will develop tremendous short power that can be delivered through the fist, forearm, elbow, shoulder, etc.

Another thing the BT form gives us is to train us not to be bound by a "style" of movement. If you'll notice, there are places in the form that contradict what we've already been taught from the previous forms: leaning forward, leaning back, collapsing the elbow, grabbing with two hands.
I think these are put there as a way to remind us that once the principles of WT have been internalized, we are not to be bound by them. The form's ultimate purpose then, points the way of freeing ourselves from a constricted way of movement and allows WT to become an expression of ourselves, not simply make us a cookie cutter version of our teacher.