Siu Nim Tao

Siu Nim Tao (小念頭 lit. little thought) is a practice routine of Wing Chun.

The first form is practiced following five major principles:

• kim sut ("knees in")
• lok ma ("lower the stance")
• ting yu ("tuck the hips under")
• dung tao ("head erect")
• mai jahng ("elbows in")

There is no footwork in the first form. However, over time there is a substantial amount of development of the muscles around the knee. This strengthening and conditioning is needed in order to correctly perform the Chum Kiu[?] (尋橋) set.

The form trains many things:

• keeping the center line
• keeping the body still while moving the arms correctly
• providing a stable state to return to while executing wing chun
• applying the elbow energy correctly