backbone of Wing Chun. Sifu Lo points out:

　"A human being is not a piece of wood."

　Before one is taught the next form or stage, Sifu Lo insists that students be able to mix all the techniques from the form together in a continuous flow, in a fighting situation. To attain this, students practice a sparring exercise called Chi Sao - sticking hands.

　Chi Sao is a very swift exercise: two people with arms and wrists touching, constantly and spontaneously attack and defend, utilising form techniques. By contact he can comprehend his opponent's energy and changing movement. On understanding his feelings, thus his intentions, he has the advantage. A well-known Wing Chun proverb states: "Every move (both offensive and defensive) outpaces that of the opponent."

　Chi Sao not only helps to utilise the forms, but also teaches real fighting and defence rather than "dead Kung-Fu," where forms look impressive in demonstrations, but are incapable of use in actual combat, due to lack of practical experience.

　It takes years of Chi Sao to obtain such a highly developed feeling of sensitivity. To speed up the process, advanced students