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Visualizing an opponent while executing any form is a very personal decision. It can be used to help the practitioner focus their strikes to a specific point in space and may help them further concentrate their attention to increase their performance, by giving them someone to fight against. Others may find this technique distracting and refrain from it.

 

Whether a practitioner does this or not is really not as relevant as the ramifications of the use or non-use of the practice. Regardless of choice, one should always remain aware that the American Kenpo forms are not intended to be an imaginary fight. They are intended to convey specific information about the rules and principles of motion.

 

By imagining an opponent, one may fall into the trap of then coming to the conclusion that the motion is for defensive purposes and get lost in that style of visualization. By not imagining an opponent, one may also get lost as to how the movements relate to real defensive execution and only see the maneuvers as being executed in space, without any tie back to precisely where and how the movement should be executed on or against another individual. Instead, one needs strike a balance and avoid both of these common traps.

 

There is also one other caveat that one must always be aware of if they wish to visualize an opponent; some of the maneuvers of the forms are impossible to be executed correctly against another individual, as they are executed in the form. This is due to the nature of the goals of a form in contrast to the goals of self-defense. The forms are designed to work on definite patterns, and sometimes this intention demands that (a) specific maneuver(s) need be modified from the ideal execution path (and/or angle), in relation to the same maneuver(s) used for self-defense.

 

A good example of this in Form Five is the self-defense technique at the beginning of the form, Destructive Fans. In order to stay on the beginning line of the form, the left to right flank line, the technique is purposely executed to a different angle, staying completely on that left-to-right line; unlike the self-defense technique maneuvering outside of the form and against a real opponent.

 

Therefore, if one chooses to visualize an opponent, then they should be aware of such instances and be able to also suspend their belief that what they are doing, within the context of the form, would actually work in a live situation. Not an optimal, but surly a workable situation.