No Urgent

Sifu often tells us 'no urgent' which he explains as don't rush the movements and also don't expect the power to come instantly, it will take time.

He also told an anecdotal story recently of how Si Gong once got in a fight and was too 'urgent,' stiff and tense. He stepped back and realised what was happening. He calmed himself down, removed that sense of urgency, relaxed and then won the fight. 

Clearly it is hard enough to relax and be calm in the class room let alone when you're in a fight!

Someone asked why we don't train for those kind of high adrenaline situations by sparring fully with gloves etc.
From the discussion that ensued what I got from it was that this person was trying to run before they can walk. Sifu says that there is no point training for that until you can open your little idea.  Otherwise this training will only train your big idea and make it harder to open your little idea.

You cannot rush this training.

Gang sau

When you roll down Gang Sau it is the same movement as letting it drop down on its own. There is no need to think about the movement.

When you let the arm drop, It naturally pivots on the shoulder joint first.

This is the first thing to remember. The second is that, as always, you should drop the shoulder onto the elbow. 

Sifu describes this as 'putting your arm on the table.'

Imagine you are stood next to a High table and you lean on it. You're not pressing down but a large proportion of your weight is going into the tables structure. 

Once your shoulders are dropped then you can rotate the shoulder joint and expand the elbow joint.

Easier said than done! 

Importance of structure

A lot of people are finicky about structure.
Sifu explains that while it is important, it isn't the be all and end all. Having good structure simply makes it easier to balance, open little idea and maintain the basics.

Once you have got the structure to a certain level you have to stop thinking about it. You are not trying to make the movement perfect. You are trying to make each movement relaxed so that you can use your little idea to power it.

Si Gong says something similar in his article about Siu Nim Tau