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During your first lessons on the Siu Nim Tau, you’ll be taught about the importance of the centre line, and the gates of the body. You’ll also start practicing the Yee Gee Kim Yeung Ma (YGKYM) or Wing Chun mother stance.

A short word on this. The YGKYM is not a fighting stance, it is a training stance from which all other Wing Chun stances come. It trains stability, balance, and starts you off in understanding the principle of body unity.

So when you first start learning the stance, don’t be too quick to discount it. I promise that at first you’ll be uncomfortable, it will fee like  a strange way to stand, and your legs will undoubtedly start to shake. This will pass in time.

I recommend that this stance alone should be practiced as often as possible during your early training. Always make sure that you set up your stance correctly and be disciplined about it. Don’t get lazy, and if you find yourself in the wrong foot position while training, stop, set the stance up again, and continue. I think that this very basic thing is vital in terms of building a solid foundation in  Wing Chun. After all, this stance is literally your root. If your root is weak, your tree will not grow.

To set up this stance begin with both feet together, standing straight. Secondly, bend the knees so they just cover the tips of your toes when looking straight down. (Don’t actually look down when practicing, this is just to learn the alignment.) Then open the toes out, as wide as they will go. Lastly, open the heels out, so your feet rest at approximately 60° pointing in toward your centre.

Getting this right, may seem easy, but you’ll be surprised how many times I see people get this wrong, and slip out of it while practicing. Try not to bounce around as your feet move.

I have learnt it in such a way that my head doesn’t move when I slide my feet out, but each school may have different opinions about the importance of keeping your head level. I leave this to your Sifu to guide you.

At first you may feel unstable, but over time you’ll learn to sink into this stance very naturally and you’ll find yourself becoming more and more stable in this position. All footwork in Wing Chun can be referenced back to this stance. Which is why it is so important to train it properly.

The whole of the first form is performed in this stance, and if, like me, you likes to spend a long time performing the first section of the Siu Nim Tau, then you’ll really start to feel it in your legs. But in time your legs will strengthen and you’ll be able to maintain this stance for hours without discomfort.