Intensity

         Every so often the word intensity gets talked about in relation to our forms.  A lot of times when I think about intensity, I'm thinking of doing the form faster and with more power, and of course, looking at my "opponent".  Why I bring this up, is because last week when we were going over our forms again and again, I noticed, especially at the beginning, that when I was trying to bring intensity to my form through speed and power and how by doing that I was throwing off my harmonies.  Specifically, I could feel myself shift my weight forward as I was trying to add power into my techniques.  Sure this may serve the most recent technique, but if I were going up against real opponents, the first one would be on the ground, but then I'd be on the ground immediately after.  I didn't have the same control.  My weight was forward, which made it harder for me to execute my next move.

        Luckily, we were repeating our repetitions many times, and I was getting tired, so my intensity was no longer in bringing speed and power, but in the sharpness of my techniques and the look in my eyes... which the look in my eyes may have also shown that I was getting tired.  My point is, I gained a semblance of my harmonies back.  I didn't have the energy to go full speed, full power, but that didn't mean that my technique wasn't strong.  In fact, I think my technique was stronger, because I had gained back my control.  I was finishing each technique, which also helped me to catch my breath.  I was definitely once clueless about how to bring intensity to my forms, but I think I understand it better now.