futsaowingchun
Black Belt
An Alturnative use of Gum sao.
GuM Sao movement SLT
- Thread starter futsaowingchun
- Start date
If these are alternative uses, what do you hold to be the primary use?
I use side gum-sau (both single handed and double handed) to get up out of an armchair.
I use side gum-sau (both single handed and double handed) to get up out of an armchair.
OP
futsaowingchun
Black Belt
- Thread Starter
- #4
Most people apply the side Gum Sao sole as a pinning hand. I was taught its about training the jointsIf these are alternative uses, what do you hold to be the primary use?
I use side gum-sau (both single handed and double handed) to get up out of an armchair.
Danny T
Senior Master
I learned not as side gum sao but as a scraping palm and is a excellent shoulder butt.
Thanks, Futsao. We also use the side gum-sau to dissolve joint locks and to deliver a "shoulder-punch" as well.
lansao
Purple Belt
As I've learned it, we leverage gum sao to fill space between our middle gates and lower gates. With a side step and healthy gum sao, you can deflect a front kick (for example). The scraping motion of the gum is also useful for redirecting the front kick to put your opponent off balance. Here is a quick clip of how I practice gum sao in open hand:
~ Alan, Wing Chun Student
~ Alan, Wing Chun Student
lansao
Purple Belt
Yikes, that's awful! The trick with our gum sao, and it took some practice for me with a patient partner, was making contact as opposed to blocking or even striking. Stepping off the line of force helped avoid much of the impact of the kick and positioned us to make contact. The muscle zone we would aim to make contact with was the vastus lateralis between the v. medialis and the rectus femoris. The area of the hand we would make contact with the lower base of the abductor digiti minimi. Once contact was established we would nudge the target zone of the kicking leg to cross the opponent's base leg, effectively spinning them.
We practiced defending low kicks with kicks/leg checks, defending high kicks with kan sao, and defending middle gate kicks with gum. That said, it's important I add that there are really no limits to applications of these root/derivative movements.
~ Alan
So, just some thoughts here...
It sounds like you're already well out of the way of the kick and even a bit past it if you are close enough to reach their upper leg with your hand.
I think from that angle/position, having already avoided the kick, there's no real reason to touch the leg with your hand. The off-balancing and turning of the opponent you're looking for could be accomplished with entering footwork while keeping both hands up for attack/defense.
Since they have arms too, and the technique is asking for a fair degree of precision and timing to get the desired effect, I'd rather not lower my lead arm which I'll probably not have time to recover from a bad position to defend up top if it didn't quite work out.
