<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation:  Forms and Sets > Short Form 3 > Frequently Asked Questions > Why does Short Form Three include only one semi-live technique?

One aspect of many of the American Kenpo forms is that they can contain maneuvers or elements that aren't entirely connected to the current themes of the present form, but instead foreshadow theme(s) that will occur in a future form (typically the next form). The American Kenpo term for this practice is called a "preview of things to come".

 

In the case of Short Form Three, the "preview of things to come" is the technique Fatal Cross. Where each of the other self-defense techniques of Short Form Three are a defense from the simplest category of attacks (i.e., dead-handed attack - grabs, hugs, holds, locks, chokes, etc.), Fatal Cross foreshadows the concept of defense against the next complexity level of an attack (i.e., semi-live attack). This level of attack will be a major theme of future forms.