Biu Gee the third form
Article by Dan Knight added on 23 Jul 2012. Last updated on 13 Mar 2014.
Biu Gee or Darting fingers
A lot of people think Biu Gee [Darting Fingers] is for attacking people. But the real meaning behind Biu Jee is not really attacking. Biu Jee promotes and develops many emergency techniques.- Ho Kam Ming
Wing Chun's third hand form
Biu Gee (thrusting/darting fingers) is sometimes also referred to as Biu Tse, Biu Jee or even Bil Gee. The different ways to spell it, arise because it is hard to Romanise (put into Latin or western letters) Cantonese speech. Despite the different spellings the pronunciation in Cantonese is the same. Biu Gee is the third and final hand form of the Wing Chun Kung Fu system and was traditionally only taught to close or trusted Wing Chun students. Usually students who had been training for a longer period of time. As a result, the Biu Gee form will vary most between lineages, even within Ip Man linage, the final form is different between different instructors.
The goals / Benefits of training Biu Gee
The following could be seen as some of the key benefits of learning and practicing the Biu Gee form.
- The student learns to develop power through very short distances in order to help perfect the students ging.
- Biu Gee helps the student learn how to use Wing Chun to recover from a fall or from being being trapped or pinned. These are called emergency techniques.
- Improve on the turning and footwork developed in Chum Kiu.
The structure of the form
The form has a number of parts which don't break down into 3 sections quite as easily as Sil Lim Tao.
the first part of Biu Gee teaches the student how to perfect the use of 'inch energy', enabling the practitioner to develop power through very short distances. It also builds on the two way energy developed in Chum Kiu.
The first section also contains footwork is known as circle stepping or Huen Ma. This is essential to the Wing Chun system. Again this builds on the Chum kiu style thrusting stepping or Biu ma. Huen Ma enables the rapid but safe change of direction enabling the practitioner to avoid an attack and swiftly counter attack.
The fist section also introduces the practitioner to a technique known as Kop Jarn, or downward elbow. Kop Jarn can be used to attack at very close distance where punching or striking with the hand is not an easy option. It can also be used to block an incoming attack when the practitioner has his/her hands trapped. This is one of the reasons Biu Gee is said to contain emergency escape techniques.
Other emergency techniques are seen in Biu Gee, for example the use of Biu Gee/Tse to escape when the elbow has been pinned.
The last part of the form contains ways to recover the centreline along with some large areas covers and strikes to different directions. The final part of the form shows the student an effective way to recover from a fall. Therefore Biu Gee completes the hand forms of the Wing Chun system by finalising the use of power and energy in techniques, building on the Chun Kiu style stepping and providing the practitioner with options to escape a bad situation such as being pinned, trapped or recovering from a fall.
Because Biu Gee builds on Chum Kiu which itself builds on Sil Lim Tao, it should only be learned after Chum Kiu has been properly understood. Once Biu Gee has been mastered the practitioner can deliver devastating power through extremely short distances with much greater accuracy.
Biu Gee video
This video shows Grandmaster Ip Ching perform Biu Gee, the final hand form in Wing Chun Kung Fu.
Related Biu Gee products
Traditional Wing Chun DVD
In this DVD Samuel Kwok covers Wing Chun fighting applications, Chi Sau and all 3 hand forms. The Wing Chun 3rd form, Biu Gee can be learned from the Traditional Wing Chun DVD. The video has all the empty hand forms, as performed by Sam Kwok, along with a lot of bonus footage.
Available To Buy for £12.99
Mastering Wing Chun Book
This is an essential tool for anyone looking to improve all their skill and learn to master the martial art of Wing Chun! This book covers all the hand forms including Biu Gee and some history and philosophy about Wing Chun.
Availible On Amazon
RRP: £23.95
Price: Unknown