The most important thing to understand about an American Kenpo form is that it should not be thought of as an imaginary fight between the performer and (an) imaginary opponent(s). Many people make the assumption that is the way one must think about American Kenpo forms. This assumption comes from a couple of venues. For one, most self-defense systems structure their forms this way. For another, almost everyone visualizes an opponent in some way while executing their form. Visualization of an opponent is often used to focus strikes and maneuvers while also helping to provide psychological motivation. Also, visualization of an opponent is often used while learning and/or teaching a form.
In contrast to other styles of self-defense, American Kenpo forms are defined as:
A predefined series of maneuvers that:
1) show the rules and principles of motion,
2) that everything has a reverse and an opposite,
3) by giving an example
Another way to look at it is: an American Kenpo form can be thought of as a packet of information, exposed as movement, used to convey some of the information that shapes the framework of the American Kenpo system. This information is to be learned along with the movements, thus continuing an unbroken line of succession from instructor to student.
One common way to begin to understand the information presented in American Kenpo forms is to first break the forms down into their respective categories. Through some simple analysis one of the first things that should begin to become apparent is that their appears to be three different types of forms. This appearance is correct. The name of the concept associated with this observation is called the Dictionary / Encyclopedia / Appendix analogy. Whereas dictionaries define individual words encyclopedias explain things and concepts in greater detail. But, appendices expand and expound upon a small or focused area of information. Using this explanation, one can create a one-to-one correlation to the observed three categories of forms.
The first four forms (the one's and the two's) appear to have a slightly different style than the higher forms. These forms fall into the 'dictionary' category. They are commonly referred to as defining motion. By this it is meant that these forms concentrate more on the basics and demonstrating their opposites and reverses, and less upon the concepts and theories.
The higher forms (the three's and up) appear to be far more complex than the lower forms. These forms fall into the 'encyclopedia' category. These forms, in contrast to the dictionary forms, lean more toward concentrating on the concepts and theories of American Kenpo and less towards the physical opposites and reverses.
The remaining type of form (the set) is very different from all the other forms. Sets are so different, in fact, that they even have a different name - i.e. sets. These forms fall into the 'appendix' category. By this it is meant that these forms have a very narrow scope. In other words, these forms concentrate and explore the information present within specific genre of information/motion.