You can move in to attack without exposing yourself to an opponent's surprised counter and with the best advantages to yourself. If the opponent executes a surprised counter with his leading hand, brush away or grip and pull him towards you while you sink back your stance without moving your feet, and continue with your planned attack. Notice that here the initiator uses his right hand to ask the way, and his left hand to start his leading attack, which is the reverse of that used in our basic combat sequences like “Black Tiger Steals Heart”. Can you think of the advantages of this reverse manner?

There is the danger of attacking with unguarded kicks, which are not uncommon amongst Taekwondo, Kick-Boxing and Muay Thai practitioners. Why don't their opponents counter like what Sifu Michael does in the video clip? A main reason is that they are prevented by safety rules to do so. But in kungfu such safety rules which are necessary in martial sports do not apply. In attacking we must not only guard against surprised counters but also make room for retreat. This principle is also important in real life.

Here the roles are reverse. Use just the start of Combat Sequence 1 Responder's Mode of Tantui against a Boxer's attacks, applying just one pattern, known as "White Horse Returns Head", repeating it accordingly. Notice that the crucial point in the counter-strike is not the hand technique but footwork. The movements, which are spontaneous, are purposely slowed down to enable the course participants to see more easily.

A Boxer is fast. This is due to his high-level skills. But if we leave aside other factors and consider only techniques, a Boxer's techniques are slow! In contrast kungfu techniques are fast. For convenience we call this "technical speed". A Boxer's powerful punch comes from his shoulder, traveling about 2 to 3 feet to reach an opponent. A kungfu exponent's strike using internal force comes from his hand which is often held close to an opponent, traveling about a foot to reach him.

Here is the superiority of technical speed in kungfu when counter-attacking an opponent. If you bounce away when an opponent attacks, then bounce back to strike, you will be technically slow. It will be technically faster if you shift your body backward while deflecting his attack, then shift forward immediately to counter-attack. Here we consider only from the perspective of techniques. If a Boxer is skillful, although his techniques are technically slower, his actual attacks may be faster than your defence if you are less skillful.

Moving in stances is technically faster than bouncing about. A Boxer needs to bounce away or forward twice where you can cover the same space in just one step using the Bow-Arrow Stance. Presuming that both of you are equally skillful, you are about twice as fast as a Boxer in your moving in to attack, or retreating from an attack. When a Boxer bounces away from your attack, you need just one step to go right into him. On the other hand, when you retreat you need just one step to create a space which a Boxer would need two steps to cover.

Training in many martial art schools is normally full of tension and aggression, but in Shaolin Wahnam it is always full of fun and laughter. Concerning technical speed, Grandmaster Wong retold his experience a few years ago teaching Taijiquan. One of the students was an army commander who was also a former national Karate free-sparring champion. Doubtful as to whether the slow, gentle movements of Taijiquan could really be used for fighting he asked Grandmaster Wong for a test. He gave a feint move than swiftly turned around to execute an elbow strike. But to his utter surprise he found Grandmaster Wong had disappeared! Grandmaster Wong then gently tapped his head from behind, drawing much laughter from the listeners.