Section 1 of 4. Things I think I've learned.

Hands down, sword at rest position in left. Deep breath. Relax, turn slightly right.

Who knew relaxing could be so much work? It is, but it isn't. However hokey and cliche'd the old yin-yang philosophy may seem, it's stayed around because it made sense. There's a lot of ridiculous mysticism that surrounds the martial arts, but this isn't part of it. It isn't Magic. It isn't Truth. It's just the way things are, without a hint of pretentiousness. In wushu, you relax so that you can generate power. It actually helps you move faster, not slower. It may seem counterintuitive at first, not to put every last ounce of strength into a strike or a stance, but there's a point of negative returns; tense muscle fibers create resistance and friction; your sword point, fist, or kick reaches the target faster when you're not fighting yourself. It's not a floppy, weak-limbed motion either, though - ideally, you don't shake at the end from a sudden stop; you know where the move starts, and where it ends. It should slide right into place, a metered motion. I don't know all the details, but part of it is pure efficiency; removing wasted movement. If you tense, and anticipate, your body becomes committed to a particular course of motion. Worse yet, the tension suffusing your body makes your center of gravity rigid and actually roots you to the spot; it's no wonder that motion afterwards becomes less than natural. Tensing up also telegraphs your next move... I think it's one of those things that, in a sparring match, your opponent could probably sense.

Eyes sharp right, as the right hand rises palm up. Snap left, right hand returns, sword presents, but still at left.
Pause, but stay fluid
Right-slap-kick-clear-both-arms-left-foot-back-drop:-cat-stance

Eyes and timing. Two things that really stand out when you're doing wushu. If the eyes are the window to the soul, they're a window into your own fears as well... vulnerability, timidity, strength, or resolve. The first time someone told me that your eyes are as much a weapon as your hands or your blade, I had trouble taking the comment seriously. I think I'm beginning to understand, though. It's kind of like basic street-smarts; thugs and crooks are lazy like most human beings. They prefer easier targets. If you look like you're going to be more trouble than you're worth - if you look like you have an escape route, if you look like you can run fast, if you look like you're not preoccupied, if you don't look like you'd be a deer in the headlights when they try to jump you, they'll wait for a more hapless target. They've got time; they don't have jobs. There's no rush. They're like tells in poker; and when you're doing your forms, there's some of that essence there too. It alters the perception of everything else you do. If you do your forms with unfocused eyes, the judges (and your peers) can tell. If you look at the ceiling all the time, you look like you're always trying to remember what move comes next. Ditto if you gaze at the floor. If there's no ferocity in your gaze, it makes you look like you're moving even slower - like you're not putting any effort into the routine, or worse, like you're half asleep. All the same, you also try not to sneer or look constipated... that's not too attractive either. The ideal is an aggressive, combative gaze that's not too overwrought; the feeling is not so much a frenzied I'm going to kill you!! so much as a forbidding yet calm, I'm going to go straight through you, and then the guy behind you, and then the guy behind him.

The timing's also harder to grasp than I would have guessed. This was true when I started, 10 years ago, and it was still true last year. So many nuances, so many details. When you read the form in a book, you can't see the timing. This is one of the reasons why learning martial arts may always be a tradition of master and student; without someone to watch, to constantly evaluate your improving performance, it's hard to know exactly where to vary the timing. If you do everything at full blast, and at the same speed, tension inevitably builds due to the nonstop exertion and accumulation of fatigue. The pauses give you a moment to refocus, to catch your breath, and to shed the excess tension so that you can maintain a good average speed throughout the form, rather than starting out with power and ending with exhaustion. The balance of relaxation and explosive speed, or exhalation and rest, is one of the things that seems to make for good wushu. Always that balance. That includes treating your body right when you're not practicing... if your body needs nutrition, go out and eat some good food. Make sure you get your vitamins. Get enough sleep. Don't work out to the point of self-destruction; if you need to rest or heal, then take the time out and do it. A day off from practice may feel like a delay; two months out due to an injury is much worse. Macho posturing doesn't pay when your body's health is on the line.

Remember to breathe
*slam* *leap* *land*
clear block, palm strike. Transfer sword to right hand, and flower behind.
Eyes return forward, left hand readies... slow rise, back, and then forward

I'm no expert... three years doing this form, and there are details in the above I learned just last week.
Hm. All of that motion, and only now does the sword make its way to the right hand.

Fastest part of the set. Forward step. Thrust. *Snap*
Turn, coil, swing left, right, coil, left, right, step right, arm-clearing flower, horizontal, reassert center stance, vertical flower, stand up, thrust skyward. *Snap*

Kids have the advantage in this part of the set. Come to think of it, kids have the advantage in all aspects of the sport, except possibly maturity. They have energy to spare, so the niceties of the whip-and-relax balance of motion are sometimes lost on them. They don't feel fatigue the way we do. It's still one of the most visually impressive parts of the set, though - especially to people who don't know wushu. All they see is an explosion of movement. Once, at a demonstration, I went into this part of the set and someone in the front row made some kind of surprised squeaking noise. I nearly lost my concentration at that...

clear stance, transfer sword to rest position, running start, jump-front-kick
retrieve sword, jump-inside-crescent kick
land, sword behind, left arm blocks skyward
stance rises, sword readied along right arm
flower, jump, turn, land, aggressive circle slash left and right, chamber and coil behind right shoulder
straightsword cloud flourish, return forward, slowly clearing block
Thrust forward *Snap* Relax Thrust left, open posture *Snap*

1st section done. Don't forget to breathe.

Hmm. Needs work...