Kung fu forms as moving meditation

I've always been aware that kung fu forms are very complex and dense in content and not just in terms of the variety and sequence of moves. In performing these forms, one works on breathing, strength, coordination, mental focus, balance, footwork, power…  As a beginner, I was overwhelmed just thinking about all this. So I took my teacher's advice and began to practice the forms over and over again, but focusing on a different aspect each time. And, that approach helped me make significant progress. But now I understand how interdependent these aspects of kung fu are… for example, power cannot be expressed without good balance and footing, nor can it be used effectively without fluidity and good structure. So, clearly, at some point, it's necessary to synthesize all the different lessons.

How can I practice my forms with speed, power, coordination, fluidity, balance etc all at once? I know what doesn't work… I cannot hope to achieve any success by using a linear, checklist-like thought process.  Tried it, found out just how miserably it fails. Rather than improving my kung fu, it left me scatterbrained and made my movement chaotic. And then it hit me that I should have seen it coming… I'd tried the checklist approach elsewhere and learned just how badly it fails. It had happened while sparring… I'd gotten so focused listing possibilities in my mind, I got clobbered.

Thinking about sparring, I realized I also already knew the right answer. On just a few occasions, I'd managed to be fully alert without being tense. I wasn't actually thinking at all in the usual way… I would simply observe my opponent and respond. When I say observe, I don't just mean visually either… it was an odd synthesis of sensory information. Did I know about the incoming punch because I saw the arm move or because I heard my opponent's foot shift or because his facial expression changed? I couldn't tell you. I just knew the punch was happening. And my response happened similarly too… I didn't really consider a number of options before selecting and employing one… my arms just sort of went where they needed to go. I should try to achieve the same mindset while practicing my forms. Attain a state of calm alertness where I'd be able to identify and correct my technique on the fly without getting bogged down. In fact, one could argue that a major objective of practicing forms is really to achieve such a mindset which can then be applied elsewhere whether it is combat or some other situation. In fact, done this way, even a pre-defined form would transcend to honest self-expression. In this sense, the practice of forms could very well be thought of as a moving meditation where one trains to settle the mind.

At the minimum, such practice of forms should be effective training for martial applications but going beyond that, such training obviates the need for physical conflict as a means of gaining insights.