FORMS AS TRAINING TOOLS

 by Phillip Starr

Serious martial artists are always looking for new ways to improve their training and performance. Typically, most of them look into the latest up-to-date technologies. It is sad that so many folks see their world only in a linear progression; the past is something to be tossed away or maybe improved upon. Only the future holds lessons of any worth to them.

I'm not saying that many newer innovations (that can be used in martial arts training) have little or no value, but those who follow the ancient path of the martial Way know that many of the most valuable lessons and tools come from the past. For instance, a practitioner of karate, taekwondo, or gong-fu may recognize the value of his forms in some respects but he may not necessarily be aware that these routines can be used as an excellent type of aerobic training tool.

The usual approach to a form is to do it with the correct speed, focus, rhythm, and power one or more times. Sometimes it is repeated several times, especially if the repertoire is rather limited. Other training sessions may ask for the performance of each form, one after another. These methods are fine and are probably the only ways to learn the form's “shell” (outer movements) and memorize them, and the form's place within the curriculum of the style. Once it's been well-learned, however, it can be used as a training device.

For instance, select a single, simple form that doesn't involve a great many movements and do it at the usual speed but without any real power or focus...25 times. That may sound easy enough, but by the time you get to 15 or so reps, it gets a bit challenging. Don't stop...as soon as it's been completed, do it again. If you manage to finish, you'll have a deeper understanding of it and you'll see how a form can be used as an excellent tool for building stamina!

There's another way of doing it. Once it's been thoroughly learned, do the first two or so movements. Forms tend to begin with a defensive movement, which is followed by an offensive action. Do these movements 10 times in a row, then go to the next defensive-offensive sequence and do the same thing. As you focus on doing these small portions of the set, you'll begin to notice things that, in ordinary practice, you have overlooked...what part of your body moves first... are you turning your head so that you can clearly see your enemy before you defend against the attack? Does your knee turn into the technique to drive the hip forward?

This kind of practice quickly becomes exhausting but the kind of physical challenge it offers is a bit different from that of performing the whole thing without force. Both of these methods of practice illustrate how your forms can be used as training tools. They shouldn't replace your regular form training and they're not meant to. But you can use them to expand your appreciation of what a valuable facet of your art they are.