What is Beast Mode? (plus a sneak peak at opening gates)

Beast Mode

I’m going beast modeis a phrase I commonly used during the 2009 US Wushu Team Trials. What is going beast mode?

During practice beast mode often occurs 45 min after warm up while I’m into my last sections before I do full forms. Beast mode can also occur on your third section after you have done 2 full sets already.

Beast mode is a switch that can be turned on and off in the user’s mind. Typically it converts the user from a sane modern civilized human into a primal animal with beast strength and rage. This switch must be learned to be controlled and not used at the wrong place or wrong time. Typically for me it is turned on at full power during competitions and even during parts of the warm up phase. Some such as He Jing De have so much beast that beast mode is maintained on while performing normal functions such as walking around or putting on an everyday shirt.

Opening Gates

Being able to turn on beast mode is a requirement for opening gates.

There are eight wushu power gates. These gates are the different barriers of logical exertion that your body can sustain. These gates block the body from over exerting themselves. But some wushu athletes are so advanced that they can break open these gates. The gates in order are: initial gate, heal gate, life gate, harm gate, limit gate, view gate, wonder gate, and death gate. Breaking the initial gate allows the user to increase his or her natural abilities. Opening gates causes extreme physical damage, but grants the user almost exponential power. The 10th World Wushu Championships held this October 2009 may require use of the Death Gate.

8 Celestial Wushu Gates - Don't use death gate unless you have to protect something dear to you.

Typically beast mode is not highly activated in the straight sword event, but in this case I fully turned it on. See example below: