Ryu found himself going back further than he thought he would have to, or more so, it wasn't that he had to, but instead that he found himself entranced. The movements of the panther spirit were just great enough that he felt overwhelmed, intrigued and highly impressed, but they were also weak enough that he could actually see what was so special.
The strength of the panther spirit was perfectly controlled, almost too perfectly controlled. Every movement was intentional, and yet could be stopped in an instant and reversed at will, almost as though it could…
A sense of enlightenment overcame Ryu. He was thinking too much about his muscles and firing signals to them, but not nearly enough about his Vital Qi and how it circulated. In fact, he didn't think very much about circulating his Vital Qi at all. The only times he did was back when he had to absorb the Vital Qi of beasts to improve his body, and also when he used his master's technique.