There is a lot of subtle and often overlooked execution information that can be learned from Short Form Two. The vast majority of this information is absorbed through perfecting the form through practice and through feedback from an instructor. Often this feedback and 'perfecting' is minute and absorbed through repetition and repeated correction. Also, this information is often absorbed over a long period of time, over a large number of practice sessions, and gets almost to the point that the information is absorbed subconsciously. To quote an often used phrase - 'One cannot fool experience'.
Also, perfecting the execution of the other American Kenpo forms can help improve the execution of Short Form Two. Therefore, it is not recommended that the practitioner preclude the practice of the other forms for this one. The diverse movements of the other forms can and will help to improve the execution of the seemingly simplistic maneuvers of this form.
Even though Short Form Two is a relatively basic form, the skilled eye can easily discern differences between practiced and knowledgeable executions, from those that are more primitive and/or less experienced. Timing, elimination of wasted motion, settling, power, and smooth execution are only some of the factors that comprise a properly executed form.
Occasionally, a practitioner will attempt to hide or compensate for inexperience with enthusiasm and/or over acting. This is most often done for competition. The purpose of this practice is to try to convince a panel of judges to grant a higher score by having them overlook other shortcomings in the form. This tactic often works and is why some competitors employ this strategy. While this practice may be of use for competition, it should not be used to dismiss or bypass the overall refinement and improvement process of the form - which is sometimes done.
All too often, execution emphasis is used as a substitution for proper execution. And, sometimes it is used to purposely distort proper execution. Each element is important for proper execution of a form. And, one element should not be used to compromise or diminish the other.
As mentioned earlier in this guide, changing a form for competition is fairly common and is not discouraged. But, it is discouraged that a personal modification to a form make its way back to the standard execution of a form. In other words, the practitioner should be able to distinguish between and execute the form both the standard way and with their own personal modifications.
Regardless of its origin, each execution error falls into one of three types: 1) movements / methods that the practitioner was not aware they were doing and were never corrected; 2) movements / methods that the practitioner is aware of and currently working on to correct; 3) movements / methods that the practitioner is aware of and not motivated (for whatever reason) to correct. This chapter is designed to help with the first two and to discourage and/or help eliminate the third.
What follows is a fairly comprehensive overview of the most common and egregious errors / mistakes that should be eliminated from the proper execution of Short Form Two. These problems are typically found and corrected by a qualified instructor, but can also be corrected by self-analysis. The information presented in this chapter can be used as a sort of checklist of items to look for when attempting to find / fix problems with form execution.
One common way to self correct problems of form execution is to video the execution of the form and review the video, looking for errors and areas of improvement. This practice goes all the way back to SGM Parker who often filmed himself and others and used these films both as reference and for improving execution of material. Today it is relatively easy and commonplace to video one's self. One can often find it an eye-opening experience to see them-self from a third person's perspective. This is because viewing one's self on a video is often very different from what one imagines it to be. A final point about this exercise - it is good practice to have multiple people view and give recommendations about the same video. Often, different individuals viewing the same video will find different items of correction. This is due to the different experiences and perspectives of each individual. These differences of observation can be used to make the corrections of the form more comprehensive.