Is Siu Nim Tau bad for your knees?

[Tydive]

I recently got Leung Ting's book on Siu Nim Tau. One of the things that really stood out for me was the basic stance. Abducting your knees like that can put a lot of pressure on the joint. Do any of you who have been doing this for a long time have issues in this area? Can you give some tips on posture or form to avoid damage?

[S.Teebas]

some tips on posture or form to avoid damage

Avoid tension. Link your lower and upper body for support, relax fully. Let the force travel to the floor.

Do not force your knees in.

[anerlich]

Teebas is correct.

The position is one you should be able to relax into, not have to force yourself into.

I know people that have done this for over forty years, and in my 15+ in this style I've never met anyone with knee problems resulting from standing in the basic stance - though knee injuries are hard to avoid totally in any contact sport or equivalent activity.

[YongChun]

I have torn ligaments in one knee so it's very weak and prevents me from doing too much kicking or fooling around with BJJ. But I find the close in knee position is OK for my knee if I don't do it too long and also if I don't try to put pressure on my knee to force them in or down. If the knees are closer together then the angle of the feet can't be parallel or else you do put a big strain on the knees. I think the key is not to force it.

I have heard from a chiropracter that they consider the knee in position as bad. Also a QiGong/Tai Chi guy felt it was a no good position too. Most Wing Chun lineages don't seem to have the knees in too much but lineages descending from Leung Sheung seem too (but not all). I think YKS Wing Chun also use the knee in approach.

[reneritchie]

Keep the foot pointing in the same direction as the knee. If you have knee problems, find a good physio and get their advice.

I have bad knees (strained, not torn like Ray--sorry to hear that!), and I ice them, take supplements, and rest when needed.

People do all sorts of things, even with torn ACLs, though it will stop you from being competitive if you're into that.

You're better off asking a health care professional than a martial arts forum, however.

[Tydive]

Thanks. My knees are fine, I just want to keep them that way. Most of the MA I have done are pretty clear on not abducting, the internal ones even more so... so it seemed kind of odd to have it as such a big part of the art.

[stonecrusher69]

I had some knee problems for awhile but I found out it was not do to the SLD stance but my kidney was weak,so when I took some herbs for a few months my knee problems went away.

[foolinthedeck]

relax
toe with knee
use tendons not muscles

= ok

walk down the street with tension, using major muscles, and point knee away from toe = problems