Intensity

         What is intensity?  How does one define intensity?  I've actually written a paper on intensity already, but my definition is constantly changing upon my experiences.  

        I keep going back to a picture on the shrine in the Kwoon, of Master Margie Hilbig.  There is an intensity in her eyes.  How can a picture be intense?  Well, I imagine it has to do with the emotions it evokes.  I know a little bit of the history of Master Hilbig from the stories Master Brinker has shared, and how intimidating she was, I can sense that intimidation, that intensity through her eyes in that picture.  Then the other day at open class, I was talking to Sihing Langner, and talking about Da Mu Hsing.  We talked about how to maintain intensity throughout such a long form, and he mentioned about maintaining that intensity even in those periods built into the form where we are catching our breath.  I never really put that piece together until he said it, but of course we are maintaining intensity then too, in the way we breath.  So if a period of rest and breathing can still be intense, then how does one define intensity?

        I'm a cinephile, so the best way for me to try and define intensity is examining this media and its different genres.  A high octane actin sequence, for me personally the Raid 2's knife fight scene, where I first saw the Karambit in use, is INTENSE.  The horror movie the Conjuring, intense throughout.  Dramas like Atonement, where there are no action sequences or jump scares, just people dealing with complex emotions, there is intensity to those scenes.  What all of these movies have in common, is they made me feel tense, through heart racing scenes, fear, anxiety, and a slew of other emotions.

        When it comes to Kung Fu, and talking about forms in particular, where does intensity come in?  I think it starts in our eyes.  Our eyes can say a lot about our state of mind.  Are they focused?  Are they wandering?  Glazed over?  Then how is our body moving?  Is it moving with purpose?  Moving with boredom?  Speed can sometimes play a role in intensity, but not always.  How about individual techniques?  Does someone throwing a punch evoke a sense of excitement, or does it leave me feeling unenthused?  When I'm doing my forms, my heart rate starts to go up, my eyes focus in on my invisible targets, I try to stay as relaxed as I can be, but I am at the ready.  I stay that way until I'm done my finishing bow, and then I'm tired.  I got asked by Sifu Hayes which form is more tiring, Da Mu Hsing or Lao Gar, my answer is both.  The intensity I do both of those forms tires me out.  Sure, DMH is longer, but Lao Gar still is exhausting when you're putting everything you have into it.  That too is a part of intensity.

        I can say that this iteration of defining intensity is different than my first, but what is still true for me, is that intensity is defined by how acts or someone's presence makes others feel.