Forms and Sets > Short Form 3 > Execution

An important aspect of form execution, which is often overlooked or under-appreciated is coordination.Coordination is just as important an element as proper physical dimensions, weapon formation, bodily alignments, etc. to the proper execution of a form. Changes in coordination can dramatically change your and/or an observer's understanding of, opinion of, reaction to, interaction with, and/or characterization of the maneuver(s) in question.

Even though coordination is extremely important to the execution of (a) maneuver(s), coordination is typically considered non-destructive. This means that even though coordination changes can change the emphasis point on maneuver(s) or alter whether an individual maneuver's execution is maximized or not, the general information contained within the movement(s) is in most cases not altered.

Coordination should not be confused with method. Where coordination concerns synchronization of (a) maneuver(s), method refers to the manner in which (i.e., how) (a) maneuver(s) is/are executed. For example, changing a maneuver's Method of Execution from Thrusting to Snapping, would, by definition, change the effect, intent, and information pertaining to the maneuver; but a change of method does not necessarily necessitate a change to the coordination of the maneuver. Also, as stated earlier, where as a change in coordination is typically non-destructive to the information presented in a form, a change to method is typically destructive.

In the context of forms, coordination can be viewed from two different perspectives:

1)coordination within the execution of an individual maneuver

2)coordination between the execution of a predefined set of maneuvers

3)coordination between groups of predefined set of maneuvers

For the purpose of this analysis, individual maneuver coordination will be referred to as Maneuver Coordination, coordination between multiple maneuvers will be referred to as Self-Defense Technique Coordination, and coordination between groups of predefined maneuvers will be referred to as Transition Coordination. This degree of combining multiple maneuvers into a single unit of analysis is chosen because Short Form Three is a self-defense technique based form. And, when the form is broken down into individual sections for analysis, it is almost always done by looking at the individual self-defense techniques that make up the form.

Note: To read more about coordination refer to Infinite Insight into Kenpo - Book 4 / Chapter 7. To read more on coordination and how it can specifically affect a form, refer to EPAKS Guide to Long Form Two - Execution of Long Form Two, Form Coordination.

So why is coordination important to the overall execution of the form? Well, first, let's assume the entire form was executed with exact same coordination throughout. Therefore, the entire form would have no emphasis or coordination variations whatsoever. That would make for a very boring form to watch. Plus, it would give an observer no indication as to what elements of the form where intended to be important. It would be like listening to a speech where the speaker used a monotone voice and cadence throughout the entire speech. That would make for a very bad and very boring speech - no matter what was being said. But, if the same speaker were to add emphasis and voice inflections to parts of the speech, it would make for a very different speech. Even though the exact same words would have been used, the difference in what and whether people paid attention to what was being said would have been dramatic.

Finally, another good example of coordination in action would be music. It is often said that the one element that is just as important to music as the notes themselves is the space in between the notes. Image any piece of music that you remember. Now envision that music being executed with the exact same spacing between notes and the exact same inflection of the notes throughout the entire piece. Again, the change would dramatically alter the intention of the composer. But, technically the music wouldn't be changed, because all the notes would have remained the same. This is one reason why some famous performers are better than other non-famous performers even though they can sometimes play the same music. One may be very technical and boring, while the other 'puts their soul into the music'. It is the same for form execution. It can make the difference between a form that is boring or average to one that is exciting and stands out.