Any competent book on an American Kenpo form must also contain some analysis of the form. This is because American Kenpo as a system is composed of different divisions, with each division adding to the system as a whole. The forms of the system fall into the basics division of the system, and as such, are chiefly designed to convey information about, and of, basics; but also, information that is not present elsewhere in the system. What they are not is a choreographed fight. They can be practiced as a choreographed fight, but that is not their purpose. What they are intended to be is moving basics that add vital system information to the practitioner.
Yet, this does not fully answer the question of why analysis is a big part of the forms. Since the forms are not choreographed fights, they serve another purpose. Their primary purpose is to show the rules and principles of motion, that everything has a reverse and opposite, and give an example of this. But, even this commonly cited phrase is a relatively vague answer. A more specific and in-depth understanding of this is in order.
This phrase may be broken down into three (3) parts: rules and principles; reverse and opposite; and examples.
First rules and principles. This part of the phrase is often mis-interpreted as implying that these elements will only be demonstrated in a positive or correct light. This is not a true assumption. Frequently, the forms will display things that are purposely executed incorrectly, or not following a rule / principle. For example, in the technique combination Crashing Wings / Dominating Circles of Long Form Three, the execution line of ending of Dominating Circles is nearly physically impossible to execute with an opponent. Also, any of the isolation sequences of this form are purposely designed to highlight maneuvers and not obey many of the rules.
But this is not to say that the rules and principles are routinely ignored. That also is not true. They are mostly followed and are only disregarded for specific reasons. For instance, although the isolation sequences do not show the rules and principles from the perspective of a moving situation, they do demonstrate correct physical responses (a.k.a. rules / principles) to the variety of grabbing scenarios presented within them. They generally fill in missing information that is not present elsewhere in the form. This point also provides a segue into the second part of the phrase, reverses and opposites. Because if one can show the adherence to rules and principles, one can also show the opposite, non-adherence.
Next reverses and opposites. This part of the phrase is broad and covers not only physical reverses and opposites, but other aspects of motion, such as: intent, degrees of, and potential options. As one example, Long Form Three runs through a litany of aggressive scenarios, from a variety of directions, and from a variety of depths and varying applications. These scenarios are not random in nature. They were specifically chosen to be included in the form for the information provided, in relation to the needs of the form. And, this provides another segue into the final part of the phrase, examples.
Finally, examples. This part of the phrase can be summed up with two words: category completion. The forms are designed to be relatively complete in information. They do not leave glaring holes in this information, unless purposely omitted (yet another opposite). In other words, they attempt to complete categories of information about specific subjects and ideas. The main issue that arises from this common refrain is that one needs to understand what the category is and how it is being completed. All too often, this is not the case.
With this understanding of the forms and their purpose, one should easily see why analysis of the forms becomes a crucial element in understanding what the form is designed to teach and impart to the practitioner. And, how this analysis helps in the formulation of the system as a whole. With this part of the analysis question answered there is still one critical question that needs to be answered.
Where to start with analysis?
Being that Long Form Three is not the first American Kenpo form, one should first understand that Long Form Three is not the ideal place to start one's analysis into American Kenpo forms. One should at least be exposed to some of the important information presented in the previous forms, especially Short Form Three, before ever taking on an in-depth analysis of Long Form Three. One important element to note, about Long Form Three is that it and its shorter version, Short Form Three, are the first advanced (i.e., Encyclopedic) forms, and the information that is exposed in these forms is not always directly analogous, but is always complimentary, to the information of the lower forms. In other words, the three's start down new paths of informational exploration that is not present in the lower forms, but does continue to advance and expand upon the previous information. With that being said, in order to start an analysis of Long Form Three, one must first answer two simple questions:
1)What exactly is it that is being analyzed?
2)What is the intended purpose of the analysis?
What is being analyzed?
The obvious answer is the form is being analyzed. But what exactly is Long Form Three? In the most fundamental terms, Long Form Three is the longer version of its shorter version Short Form Three. Its purpose is to expand upon the information that was originally started in Short Form Three. From a more physically fundamental standpoint, the form is a set of related self-defense techniques, and other maneuvers, executed in a specific series and pattern to create a form. And as stated earlier, this means that the analysis is concentrated toward the main purpose of the forms. And, to reiterate this purpose, it is:
1)show the rules and principles of motion,
2)that everything has a reverse and an opposite,
3)by giving examples of this tenant
Provided with the above information, one can move on to the second question posed.
What is the intended purpose of the analysis?
Again, the obvious answer is to expose the information presented in Long Form Three. But what information is being exposed? From the definition of a form derived above, one can refine their analysis to concentrate on the three elements that compose the definition. But one notable difference from the analysis of the lower forms is that, those forms mainly concentrated on number two (#2) and number three (#3) of the definition where the three's shift their major focus more toward number one (#1) and number three (#3) of the definition. This does not mean the lower form analysis did not include number one (#1) in its analysis, just that the preponderance of the information fell into number two (#2) and vice-versa.