The Snake stylist must be much more precise in his choice of target and much more accurate in the delivery of his strike. Soft tissue targets are typically much smaller in area and so much more difficult to accurately target. In order to effectively target such areas, the Snake must not only be extremely accurate and fast, but must augment the energy of the strike with a real Ch'i flow, the Snake's poison. What is life energy for the Snake, can be poison for his enemies. The Snake does not have opponents, but enemies.
Weapons training constitutes the last major tangible aspect of the Snake stylist in our system.
The object of the weapons training first encountered in Brown belt work is not so much to teach one how to fight with cane, sword, staff, etc., as it is to force the student to enlarge his dynamic sphere. Prior to the Snake each animal's sphere of influence has limited the physical reach of the stylist. For the Snake, however, handling weapons forces the stylist to extend his awareness further into his environment. First, simple coordination and dexterity are stressed to new limits until the stylist begins to feel the weapon to be an extension of himself and unconsciously avoids his initial clumsiness. Second, a transition from physical dexterity to a correspondingly enlarged mental awareness is attempted.