Editing Wing Chun (section)

===== Siu nim tau =====
The first and most important form in Wing Chun, '''siu nim tau''' ({{Lang-zh|t=小念頭|s=小念头|p=xiǎo niàn tou|j=siu2 nim6 tau4|l=little idea for beginning}}{{refn|"Nim Lik (念力)" is literally translated as "Idea Power" in CHU's 2011 book<ref name="TBOWC">{{cite book |last1=CHU |first1=Shong Tin |last2=CHAN |first2=Eddie |title=The Book of Wing Chun |date=May 2011 |publisher=The [[Hong Kong]] Social Sciences Press |isbn=978-0-8234-1474-1 |page=54 |url=https://www.everythingwingchun.com/BOOK-Chu-Shong-Tin-Book-of-Wing-Chun-1-p/book-cst01p.htm |access-date=13 July 2019}}</ref>}}), is practiced throughout the practitioner's lifetime.<ref name="wingchunkungfu.eu">{{Cite web|url=https://wingchunkungfu.eu/ip%20chun/siu-lim-tao-full-by-ip-chun|title=SIU NIM TAO: The first form of Wing Chun|date=2022-11-10|access-date=2022-11-10}}</ref>  It is the foundation or "seed" of the art, on which all succeeding forms and techniques are based.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Michel Boulet |title=The Simple Basics of a Complex Art |url=http://www.wcarchive.com/articles/michel-boulet-simple-basics.htm |access-date=2013-02-10 |publisher=the Wing Chun Archive}}</ref> Fundamental rules of balance and body structure are developed here. Using a car analogy; for some branches this would provide the chassis<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jim Fung |date=2009-02-23 |title=Wing Chun Stance |url=http://wingchun.com.au/media/wing-chun-articles/wing-chun-kung-fu-articles-essays-theory/wing-chun-stance-article-guide-how-to-grandmaster-jim-fung |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319184812/http://www.wingchun.edu.au:80/media/wing-chun-articles/jim-fung/wing-chun-stance |archive-date=2014-03-19 |access-date=2013-02-10 |website=International wing Chun academy |publisher=Wingchun.com.au}}</ref> and for others, this is the engine.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-05-22 |title=The Hidden Power of Siu Nim Tau by Tsui Sheung Tin |url=http://www.tstvingtsun.bc.ca/HiddenPowerOfSNT_remix.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170522102424/http://www.tstvingtsun.bc.ca/HiddenPowerOfSNT_remix.html |archive-date=2017-05-22 |access-date=2018-11-23}}</ref> It serves as the basic alphabet of the system. Some branches view the symmetrical stance as the fundamental fighting stance, while others see it as a training stance used in developing technique.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sifu Cogar |title=An Overview of Wing Chun |url=http://www.richhealthandwellness.com/martialarts2.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203231318/http://www.richhealthandwellness.com/martialarts2.html |archive-date=2010-02-03 |access-date=2007-05-04 |website=richhealthandwellness.com}}</ref>

Although many of the movements are similar, siu nim tau varies significantly between the different branches of Wing Chun.  In [[Ip Man]]'s Wing Chun, the first section of the form is done by training the basic power for the hand techniques by tensing and relaxing the arms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kwokwingchun.com/about-wing-chun/the-wing-chun-forms/sil-lim-tao/|title=Sil Lim Tao the first form|last=Knight|first=Dan|date=March 13, 2014|website=kwokwingchun.com|language=en|access-date=2019-01-23}}</ref> In [[Moy Yat]]'s Wing Chun, the first section of the form is done without muscle tension and slowly in a meditative, calm, and being "in the moment" way.<ref name="wingchunkungfu.eu" /> In 1972, weeks before he died, Ip Man demonstrated Siu Nim Tau (also known as Siu Lim Tau) on film, showing how the form is to be performed.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://wingchunkungfu.eu/documentary/video-ip-man-record-wing-chun-forms | title=Ip Man performs Wing Chun Forms }}</ref>