don’t put legs on a snake

This is an oldy but goody. GM Yee would say this usually when we were practicing forms.  Some students either by accident or purposely would add an extra motion.  When you add an extra motion and don’t know what your doing the intention the form changes, your snake now has legs and ain’t a snake no more.  Students forget there is a reason you are doing the form or exercise a certain way, usally a good reason.  Not because thats the way we’ve done it for years but because your trying to program your body to react a certain way.  When you start adding/subtracting you compromise your programming.  This usually leads to the next saying of “that’s not my kung fu, you must do somebody else’s kung fu”.