To Learn Faster, Move Slower

Many Tai Chi students could improve faster if they moved slower.

The slow speed at which Tai Chi ought to be practiced is widely misunderstood. How can a martial art be effective, many ask, when the movements are so slow?

The answer, of course, is that the movements are slow only in practice. In a self-defense situation, Tai Chi can be explosively fast. The seeming paradox is that the best way to attain great speed is to practice sets of movements slowly.

Power and speed in Tai Chi are achieved by training the mind, energy and body, and unifying them for a specific task. That’s a tall order. The mind must be calm and focused; the energy, or qi, must be full and free to circulate throughout the body; and the body must be supple, relaxed and aligned. And all three must be harmonized for every martial technique or application.

By practicing slowly, a Tai Chi player is better able to monitor each movement and make the adjustments necessary to unify mind, energy and body.

But while practicing solo movements slowly is the best way to build both health and martial power, that’s not to say you should only practice slowly. It’s important to occasionally practice movements at full speed to test your progress. If a movement feels sloppy, broken and weak when you try it at full speed, then you know that more slow practice is needed.