when i began we never did any drills, so you could say that we began chi sao from day one. the first action i took was to touch hands with my teacher.
having said that, i did dan chi sau only for the first 3 months or so, very boring but great foundations, for the next 6 months it was only rolling both hands, last 3 months of first year was chi sao i think..
when is the best time? from day one IMO, but in the same way as i found it, i'd recommend doing boring dan for the first 3 months.
now chi sau is everything... but then i have no gong lik too PTL
Ecce nunc patiemur philosphantem nobis asinum?
what transcends the buddha and the law? Cakes.
"Practice is better than Art, because your practice will suffice without art, while the art means nothing without practice." - Hanko Doebringer, 14th century