How long on average would you say it takes to go from Sil Nim Tao to Biu Tze? I'd say I'm 6 months or so away from Chum Kiu and I'm curious as to the time frame...

IMO I wouldn't be in such a rush to get to the next "new" thing. The basics are the foundation advanced techniques are built upon. Brush over them & your kung fu will never get strong.

don't get my wrong here... I'm not in a 'rush'... I fully understand the importance of repetition and complete mastery, which is required before you can even consider chum kiu... i was just wondering what my total time investment was lookin at....

It really depends on how your teacher does things. You could always ask him, or a higher ranking student who has already learned the Biu Tze.

For me it took a little over three years for my instructor to show me.

But if you really can't wait, you could watch a peer, or a tape. Learning of a tape is deffinately not the same though, I have seen so many differant varriations of the same form, but the principles are ussualy the same, and they do share a lot of the same movements. In the end If you want to know "when" or "how long" it takes for you to learn Biu Tze I think it is best to ask someone from your school.

After all, all teachers teach differantly.

wing chun is.... funny.

I personally don't think that there should be so much emphasis on the forms as being grades. Instead I prefer to teach people more naturally, showing them things be it from first form or third form, or even dummy form, if they get into a situation that can only be answered by that movement.

of course, whether or not they do get into a situation that I can't asnwer with sil nim tao is a different matter. For some reason, tan sau seems to answer most wing chun questions.

getting back on topic.

on average, I've noticed that most schools will place about 3-6 months on first form training, then another 1 to 1+1/2 years on chum kiu, then what-ever is needed until they need biu gee.

one thing though, no matter what level you are at, you should be able to spar effectively in a open environment. You don't need biu gee to be good.

don't get my wrong here... I'm not in a 'rush'... I fully understand the importance of repetition and complete mastery, which is required before you can even consider chum kiu... i was just wondering what my total time investment was lookin at....

Sorry to jump to conclusions. Just a pet peeve of mine.

No problem ! my major concern is that I'm off to college very soon, and I'm not sure where, if I'm not accepted to MSU, which is literally RIGHT next to my Wing Chun class, and accepted somewhere else, I may have to leave, which would cut my training and definatly break my heart.