PASSION

 by Yang Shuangxing

Watch a classmate perform a given form...then watch the same thing when it's performed by your teacher or a tournament champion. There's a difference, but it goes beyond merely slogging through the movements (even if it's done with good speed and power). It's FEELING! In the former, there likely isn't any real passion whereas in the latter, you can almost see the performer's adversaries yourself!

Remember – when you perform your form, you're engaged in a life-and-death struggle. There's no second place winner. You must FEEL it!

Of course, you must first know the interpretations of the various movements. Once that is accomplished, you must infuse the form with spirit and give it life! Your techniques must be so much more than just flowery movements that might impress an audience; you're fighting for your life! One slip, one error in timing, a single technique that's weak and fails to down the enemy, and you're dead meat...just another statistic.

As you perform the set and go on with the battle, you take the lives of several assailants. There is no time for remorse; you must continue the fight until all of your opponents are down.

The form is not simply a set of exercises that are performed in a certain sequence; it is a violent struggle! And it should LOOK and FEEL like it.