Form Study

Most of my Kung Fu practice is through the study of forms. What is a “form” in martial arts? It is simply a set sequence of movements, either empty-hand or with a weapon. Some forms are short and/or fast-paced, taking 2-4 minutes to execute. Other forms are long and/or slow-paced and can take as much as 20-25 minutes to perform. Some forms have movements which repeat frequently, often like punctuation marks between different sections of the form. Other forms have hardly any repetition at all. There is great variation.

I have heard that a form is like a martial arts textbook, and this makes sense to me. Basically, it is information or ideas about how to execute martial movements strung together. Practicing the form ingrains these movements in the body. Of course, each movement or movement phrase can be isolated and practiced in repetition to refine the move. Stringing a single movement together in repetition is usually referred to as a drill. I encourage my students to drill the movements of the form I am teaching them in this way and I should probably do more of it myself.

Over my years of practice, I have learned far more forms than I remember today, and there are even fewer that I can currently execute with any degree of confidence and competence. Sometimes the fact that I have forgotten so much makes me sad, but really form is just a means to an end. Forgetting a particular form because you have ceased to practice it regularly, does not negate the benefits of learning the form in the first place and having practiced it regularly at some point. Still, learning any form is a big investment of time and energy, so holding onto what has been gained is most desirable.

But recently I have discovered that I can sometimes regain what has been lost. Recovering a form is easiest if I have video of myself or someone else performing the form. Now, in the age of the smart-phone, creating such video is easier than ever. Most importantly, however, I have the great good-fortune to study with a Master who is willing to review a form with me, or even teach it to me a second time if I have truly lost it, although he does appreciate it if I make the effort to relearn a form as best I can (usually done by studying a video) before coming to him for assistance.

Refreshing or relearning a form can be delightful. It can be like reconnecting with an old friend. Also, often surprising, is the amount of body memory that is uncovered in reviewing/relearning. With some prompting, suddenly a string of movements, long consciously forgotten, will bubble-up from some unnamable place in the body/mind.

Even better still than this seemingly spontaneous body-remembering, is when I execute a movement in a previously forgotten form far better than when I first learned it. In a way, this should not be surprising. After all, although I have not been practicing the forgotten form, I have been working on other forms and basic drills, increasing fundamental skills, strength, flexibility, and muscular control. Still, it is hugely gratifying to revisit a form and find that movement that was previously difficult or may have eluded me entirely is now within my grasp. In this sense, forgetting a form is actually good, like letting a field lie fallow for a season or two to find that it then blooms with better, greater growth.