Forms are a critical foundation to any martial arts training. As Sifu Tom mentioned in a previous post, they strengthen the body, improve accuracy and technique, and develop critical fighting strategies. Unfortunately for a beginner, the task of memorizing long series of unfamiliar movements can seem overwhelming. For the more experienced martial artist the prospect of developing and retaining those forms can seem equally daunting. Here are ten ways to simplify your learning, improve your form, and hold onto that hard-earned knowledge forever.
1 Make the Movement Matter
Ask Sifu Tom his opinion of forms he sees performed by some “other” schools and he will say that they are “just sloppy.” The practitioner is waving his hands around ambiguously and moving fast. To the untrained eye it looks pretty impressive but a real martial artist is looking for the meaning in those movements. Is that a block or a strike? Is the target the jaw or the solar plexus? In short, does the performer know the intent of his movements?
Every movement of your form has a meaning. If it didn’t, it wouldn’t be there. Know it and make every one with intent.
The first move in Longfist One? That’s a low block to a forward kick. The elbow followed by circling your arm behind you in Kenpo Chuan Two? Someone has grabbed you from behind and you are fighting to get free. The low drop stance in your tai chi form? That’s the beginning of a throw. Practice the moves in your form with the intention in your mind. Perform as if you are really throwing a punch or blocking one. Your moves will look cleaner and if you ever do experience a similar attack in a fight you will already know what to do because you practiced for it in your form.
2 Fight Your Self. Then, Fight Someone Else
Standard practice for performing solo forms is to move as if you are fighting an invisible copy of yourself. This means that a strike to the jaw would be at the same height as your own, a block to an overhead blow would be as if it came from someone of equal stature. With two person forms, the strikes and blows must be aimed at the correct targets for your opponent. Two person sets require adjustments by both participants to make the movements work in the context of the form and each other. The extra work is worth it: learning to adjust movements to opponents of different size and fighting styles is a key to better fighting in real-life situations.
3 Practice Individual Movements
Baseball players go to batting cages and practice just their swing, professional tennis players who want to improve their forehand practice that movement over and over again. Do the same with the movements in your form. If you know you have difficulty with a particular part of your form don’t practice the whole thing, work on just that movement or section over and over again until you get it right. Your form will get better overall and it’s a much better use of your time.
4 Practice The Moves Correctly
What you do in practice is what you will do when you perform for your teacher at school. What you do at school is what you will do on the street. Don’t short-change yourself. If the form calls for a high kick or a low stance, do it.
5 Practice Any Way You Can
If you don’t have time to work out, you can still practice. Unlike entire forms, individual movements and techniques usually don’t require a lot of space. Practice what you can, when you can, where you can, even if it is just for 5 minutes a day.
If you are in a situation where you can’t physically practice, you can always work through the movements of the form “in your head.” Mental training is a great way to reinforce the order of the movements so that when you do perform live you will move through the form with fluidity and confidence.
6 Know Your Learning Style
There are three basic kinds of learners: visual, auditory, and tactile. Some of us learn better by seeing something done while others are more dependent on what they hear, still others prefer a hands-on approach. Know what works for you and focus your training around those styles.
7 Slow Down
Only do the form as fast as you can do it correctly. Again, this is about making your movements matter. Don’t go so fast that you are sacrificing correct movement for the sake of speed.
8 Go Faster
When you do feel confident in your form, push yourself to do it faster. When you speed things up, notice the places where your form starts to break down and you make errors. Slow down again and work on those parts of the form. Then, speed up and do the whole thing again.
9 Practice Regularly
Learning an entire form correctly takes a tremendous amount of effort and hard work. Don’t put all that work to waste by forgetting what you have learned. Regular practice keeps the movements consistent in your mind and body. Figure out how often you need to review your forms in order to maintain them. This may be once a week or once a month. You will be happy you did when testing time comes around.
10 Work with your peers
Kung fu requires individual effort but you aren’t alone. Talk to your kung fu brothers and sisters. Meet outside of class and practice together. When in doubt, ask the more experienced students questions: they are happy to help!
Mastering martial arts forms is challenging and requires dedication, hard work, and perseverance. Fortunately, the results are extremely rewarding. From a child performing a simple technique at his very first graduation to an accomplished student executing advanced moves for her black sash, there is a profound sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that comes with the performance. Mindful practice of movements is beneficial for real-life fighting situations because repetition will lead to quick, instinctive responses under real-time pressure. Learning how to maximize the quality of the time you spend working towards your goals translates to everyday life, giving you the tools to finish work decisively and confidence in the knowledge that if you work at something hard enough you can master it. Get out there and start training, you can do it!
by Kim Lindner
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