Ho Kam Ming Wing Chun

The Art of Intercepting and Control.

- Kiet Pham

Before you can hit your opponent, you must be at his doorstep and find a way to “sneak” into his “house”. For this, you need to shorten the distance, establish contact, and control your opponent at the first touch. In Ho Kam Ming Wing Chun, this concept is called Jip Sau, the Intercepting and Controlling Hand in entry fighting.

Jip  means to receive (“Intercept”) and hold something that has been projected at you. Sau denotes the hands. In Wing Chun, the hands are also called Kiao (“Bridge”). Jip Sau is usually affiliated with the concepts Yat Dian Lik Jip Xut (“Single Point Power Contact”) and Jip Xut (“Contact or Sticky Touch”).

In entry fighting, Jip Sau means you move forward to receive and establish contact (Jip Xut) and immediately control any techniques thrown at you by your opponent. Your control of the opponent’s hands or legs is through a contact point (Yat Dian Lik). Through this contact point, you can feel and control your opponent’s reactions. After initial contact and control, you can change to a variety of Wing Chun techniques to hit your opponent with perfect timing by adjusting your positioning and distance. Once you are in contact with a true Wing Chun master, you will feel his hands are soft, but powerful, springy, and threatening force from the joint power to the point you cannot hit him. It is like iron hidden in cotton. You won’t be able to manoeuvre yourself much. The more you move, the more he will find optimal positions to hit, threaten or destroy your structures at will.