Hard and soft martial arts forms Kung fu snake and tiger.

Commitment of oneself to the moment and to dedicate every last thought, breath and intent of the being to the technique is the true way of the martial artist.

The term “intention” is an amount of focus that the practitioner puts into their movements both physically and mentally. Though it is easy to move fast and punch hard, without the mind behind it, it is merely dancing.

The mind must balance the body, and the body must balance the mind. When one throws a strike as if using it in the moment of combat, the body and mind are unified and the depth in technique is seen.

Take Tiger form for example, the already powerful strikes are thrown with the intent to effectively drop an opponent. This strong and powerful intention is seen within. Intention does not always appear forceful and aggressive as in hard movements like the Tiger Set, the focus can be seen as well in the soft, circular, devastating internal movements.

Watch the Snake set, beautifully, artfully and truthfully as how the techniques would be used in combat. One can still see the high level effectiveness in both sets, yet contrasting in basic appearance. Both types of intention must be exhibited to truly become a full rounded martial artist. This can be acheived by smart practice of your forms. Dedicate yourself to the moment and action, use the mind to guide and the body to strike, yin and yang, together. When you think like it’s a real situation, and visualize a real situation, that is the only time you truly practice for the real situation.

Devote yourself in practice, devote yourself to practice.

Snake and tiger Kung fu are part of the advanced Kung fu training at the Hung Sing martial arts school in Norwich.