Sil Lim Tao Part 2

The second section of Sil Lim Tao is in set in stark contrast to the first section.

It feels far more animated, is great fun and adds far more scope for attack or defense - attack/defense may be more accurate as I try to force myself away from consciously blocking or attacking . This section is aware of low/high/side/back gates, dealing with kicks/knees to the body and opens up a treasure chest of different ways to utilise the arm when still adhering to the principles founded in the first section.

The beginning gum sau to the left then right can be thought of as a way to ward off a kick or knee but do not lose sight of the fact that it is also an opportunity to cause damage and disrupt the structure of the opponent.
The following rear double palm strike/gum sau I usually associate with a similar situation to one which requires an elbow to be drawn back but could be used to deter a knee from an opponent to the rear.
Forward double gum sau, I've ran out of commentary on the gum sau.
The double lan sau then executed I will leave out of this post as I never really appreciated it until I learned Chum Kiu.

From the double lan sau position the arms are extended fully as a double fut sau. This makes little sense to me as to why this is included in the first form and turning footwork is not. I can, however, appreciate this from a Biu Jee perspective in that the arms go from being as far from the center line as possible then returning. The concept of the lan sau to fut sau also helps enforce the directness of the form, the hands do not arc towards the opponent but the side of the left palm goes in a straight line from around the right shoulder to terminal extension of the arm.

Double jut sau. The jut sau appears a middle ground between the tan sau and the man sau but in my mind is far more aggresive than either. The jut sau involves a small turn of the forearm at the moment of impact. This turn is executed when the man sau cannot proceed directly forward and the full turn into tan sau, which seems almost entirely defensive, is not required.
Next we move to a position I do not know the name of, both hands moving to a wu sau position but, with the fingers pointing forwards ready to head towards a bil jee strike. This manourvre is a perfect example of 'following as the opponents hand comes towards you' the double bil jee is then performed, remembering to always keep the fingers bent to stop them from breaking upon impact. Both palms then move downwards on an almost vertical plane keeping the arms fairly straight then straight back up to perform either a wrist strike to the chin area or providing a rather helpful defensive against an incoming arm , perhaps both if you're lucky.

Huen sau both wrists and return to the neutral position.

This section of the form provides a release from the cultivation of the first section. The section should be practiced with next to no energy, in a very dynamic way - as if firing thunderbolts with the radius and ulna as the barrel - and of course utilising the ever helpful middle ground.

The use of the wrists is elaborated on in this section. In the first section the wrists are used in, almost, static positions. The second section teaches the use of the wrists when the situation is in flux - no need to move use the wrist to move into position then move the arm, we can simply adjust the wrist as the arm does whatever it needs to to maintain a good position. This adjustment improves the 'little idea' greatly but also complicates matters hugely as form is no longer dictated by fixed positions.

Onto my favourite section, the third - the beautiful middleground and melting pot of the first two sections.

For reference some video of Sil Lim Tao:

Yip Man performing Sil Lim Tao

Ip Chun in action

Samuel Kwok & a hall full of people, complete with comedy nokia phone ringing for ambiance