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From a purely definition based perspective, coordination can be described as the using of the musculature and structural elements of the body in tandem to produce a physical result. In American Kenpo specific terms, this result would be called a basic. And, the smallest granular element of a complete American Kenpo motion is called a basic. Therefore, one can conclude that self-defense, sparring, and even forms are just a series of basics strung together. And, this would be determination correct.

 

But, what does this have to do with coordination? If this book were to propose that, under any circumstance that one could conceive of, there is only one way to correctly execute a basic; the reader would correctly counter that this proposition is not only wrong, but absurd. But the real interesting part of this thought experiment is: why? Why is this an absurd proposition?

 
Because, in reality, there are a great number of scenarios and each situation may have a great number of ways an individual basic may be executed differently and still be considered correctly executed. There are a great number of elements that may be adjusted to vary the outcome of the "correct" basic. Things such as method, power, formation, positioning, and coordination to name a few. For the purposes of this discussion, the concentration will remain on coordination.

 

Using the definition above in combination with the original proposition, it is easy to demonstrate coordination variations simply by referencing martial art style in relation to a simple basic. One can easily say that differing martial arts styles may very well execute the exact same basic in different ways. For example, a Tai-Chi-Chuan style would definitely execute a large number of basics differently than say a hard style like Goju-ru. And, both of these would be different from American Kenpo. What makes them different can be construed predominantly as differences in coordination.

 

From an American Kenpo perspective, concepts like Body English and the Formulation Equation take into consideration coordination as a contributing factor to one's execution style. And, an in-depth understanding of coordination can allow one to alter their physical execution, at will, to replicate the coordination styles of these other systems.

 

From a high level perspective, coordination is timing of different elements of the body to produce a purposeful physical result. From a low level perspective, coordination is the control of one's individual muscles and structure in such a way as to create a preconceived physical maneuver. In essence, coordination is turning a visualized motion into a physical reality through the use of the mind by controlling the body's many parts properly to produce the anticipated outcome.

 

All this examination into coordination leads up to this final conclusion: one must learn to properly coordinate not only the individual maneuvers, but the sequences of maneuvers to result in the expected appearance of a form. And, this is done through proper visualization of the maneuvers, which then results in the deliberate projection of that envisioned motion into the physical world.

 

From a Form Five specific perspective, the predominate coordination of the form falls into one of two (2) categories: as an isolation sequence or as a self-defense technique, with each having very distinct and different timings.

 

Within the category of isolation sequence, one end of the body should remain isolated from the opposite end. Thus, only one end of the body is executing maneuvers, while the other does not. In other words, if the lower body is executing maneuvers, then the arms and hands should remain in constant positions throughout the isolation sequence. And, vice-versa.

 

Within the category of self-defense, the most common coordination is to time the upper and lower body in such a way that both come to a focused stop simultaneously. This is not to say that a stance is fully obtained with an upper body maneuver. Rather that the settle (or rotation) into the stance is completed at the same time as the upper body maneuver is completed. Another way to think about this concept is that the foot may come to its final position, but the settle into the stance may not be fully completed. Therefore, the upper body maneuver should not be concluded until the settle (or rotation) is concluded. The final observable result should be that the entire body comes to a halt at the exact same time.

 

Next, the self-defense sequence should appear, from an observer's perspective, to be executed as a unit. Therefore, there should not be any unduly long delays between technique maneuvers. Instead, the individual maneuvers should give the visual appearance of being related together, yet not mumbled together into an indistinguishable blur of motion. In other words, each maneuver should be easily perceptible as a single unit, yet also be expressed as an element of a larger sequence, without losing its individuality.

 

The same is true for each maneuver. They should each maintain their individuality, yet at the same time express that they are part of a larger unit. Again, the self-defense techniques should not give the appearance of a large mass of motions from beginning to end of the form. Rather, they should clearly communicate that they are individual units of sequences combined together to create the form. This is generally done by slightly longer, yet not dramatically longer, timing gaps between techniques as compared to the individual maneuvers of a technique.

 

And finally, all of these maneuvers should be further coordinated in such a way as to be expressed with the proper emphasis, In other words, the form should convey not only the desired expression of American Kenpo, but also one's personal signature on it. And, to do this properly requires a high degree of control and coordination of both one's mind and body.