I had been practicing and teaching Chen Style Form for many years, when I decided to learn Yang Family Short Form. My Yang instructor frequently told me that I was going too fast. When I explained that Chen was a bit faster and that I was trying my best to slow down, he disagreed with me about the speed of Chen (which he did NOT teach).
Throughout my 20 plus years of teaching Tai Chi and Qigong, I found that when I practice, I do so at different speeds. I probably practice SUN slower than Yang. Practice speed often depends on my mood, what kind of day I’ve had, and even my focus and/or purpose of practicing at that time. I like to do my first form a bit faster than my following ones. Personal preference! And the subject of great debate and lots of controversy (as you would guess).
Most people enjoy performing and/or watching Tai Chi performed slowly. It’s graceful and soothing. In fact, I’m guessing that most would not think to add speed to their practice. In their minds. that would ruin the benefits we derive by going slow.
So why do we go slow? Slow, deliberate movements help us to develop and channel internal power more efficiently, teaches our body to relax, improves our balance, focus, and teaches us precision and/or accuracy. It also helps us build a deeper mind-body connection and to develop muscle memory in order to execute the form properly. By going slow, especially at the beginning of our training, we build a foundation. There are so many benefits of slow practice that I am not going to touch on all of them.
That being said, while Tai Chi is known for its slow, flowing, and meditative movements, there are times when faster suits your purpose for doing the form. Styles like Chen style Tai Chi incorporate fast, explosive movement sequences. During push-hands and fa jin (issuing power) speed varies. Martial applications often require powerful, “lightning-fast” movements. By having a solid foundation, you learn to keep your body both soft and powerful even when moving at high speed. One article I read stated that faster movements keep people from being bored!! Really???
Will we ever need to execute controlled, powerful, and lightning fast movements? Maybe or maybe not. Some Tai Chi forms incorporate Fa Jin, which involves explosive, rapid movements in order to strike your opponent. It’s nice to know that it’s there if and when you need it. When pushing-hands with a partner, the speed varies depending on the aim and skill of the practitioners. And, last but not usually mentioned, students and instructors may enjoy a more rigorous faster pace, turning Tai Chi into an aerobic exercise at that moment.
Here’s where the controversy begins (or continues) - let’s start with Slow
One of the benefits of moving slow gives you a break from our fast and, sometimes furious, pace at which we live today. This allows our body to slow down and function more naturally and “better”. It also gives both our body and mind time to stabilize and new patterns and connections to emerge.
When we practice Tai Chi slowly, our breathing is slow and deep and matches the speed of our movements. Slow, deep breathing causes the diaphragm to rise and fall, which massages organs and glands. This massaging motion enhances body function. Another advantage (and there are many) of going slowly, is when a “postural” error needs correcting, it is easier to identify. Here we are talking about things like footwork angles, foot width, shoulders raised, body not aligned, awkward transitions, etc.. Some students go through the form so quickly that they miss these nuances to the detriment of their Tai Chi.
What about our balance? Slowing your movements helps you to see whether or not you are balanced. You are better able to also distinguish between your empty and full foot. When you move slowly, you are able to correct any of these errors. Going slowly also strengthens your legs because you are not letting momentum take over. Last, but not least, you improve your ability to flow from one movement to another without breaks and/or jerky transitions.
How slow is too slow? Unofficial rule of thumb: As a rule, don’t move slower than you can properly breathe with your movements.
There are those Tai Chi instructors, practitioners, and students who feel that Tai Chi should be done fast. One rationale is that if it was supposed to always be slow, how could it be used for fighting? I will assume that all of us know that Tai Chi, when done with great skill, can be formidable (whether for self-defense or fighting). The superior inner strength of practitioners who have done focused, long, intensive practice, is more “powerful than the brute forces of the ‘hard’ martial art styles”. Long-term focused Tai Chi practice provides these practitioners with not only body awareness, accuracy, and speed, it also helps them develop more awareness and the ability to “read” their opponent.
Is there a benefit to practicing at various speeds? What about heights?
There absolutely is. By changing our speed and/or height, we train various skill sets. By experiencing these variations, you learn how you might maximize the benefits of your practice. There are advantages and disadvantages of practicing with different speeds and heights. Much depends on where you are with your experience and training.
When we are learning, we need to use a higher stance so that the legs don’t fatigue. Doing form at a medium (not fast and not slow) pace, helps the beginner to remember the postures and sequences. In this way, you also get an overall feel for the applications. At this intermediate speed, you will improve your balance, develop Qi, and basic Tai Chi benefits. As you become more experienced, you can slow the form a bit (being sure to use intention with an empty mind). You can also use deeper stances. If you are looking for meditative benefits, longer (meaning slower) is better.
When you decide to slow and lengthen your form, your legs will also strengthen, especially with deep stances. It is best not to try to meditate at a very slow speed unless you have practiced a length of time and have very strong legs. The disadvantage would be legs that hurt or shake. This would be very distracting to your meditation.
The following information is derived from the Yang Family Forum:
In a Tai Chi Magazine, December 1994 interview with Fu Zhongwen, he stated that the fastest form would be 18 minutes and the slowest is 22 minutes with 20 minutes being ideal. Late note: Zhongwen is talking about the 85 or 108 form. In his opinion, the movement should be continuous and at the same speed, otherwise you are not following the Tai Chi Principles. According to his grandson, James Fu, the reason Tai Chi is done slow is because we want to do it faster!
Of course, he was talking about your mind (not you) controlling your movements. According to Zhongwen, when people do a Tai Chi set/form for a long time (like an hour), they are no longer doing Tai Chi. Their body is stopped and there is no Jing!
According to one contributor, Yang Jun puts “emphasis on internal’ aspects of doing form”. Breathing should be natural. Flow should flow in Jin-like waves, with one wave expending its force before another “begins to rise”. Often when a practitioner does form very slow, the movements don’t seem to flow. When you go too slow, you may lose the Jin and your movements won’t be connected internally. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? If it does feel “broken” or “choppy”, speed up until you feel the internal connection. Once again, you can slow down later.
Of course, doing the form too fast also causes problems. Too slow or too fast disconnects your breath from your movements.
The bottom line: How fast or high we do Tai Chi depends on many things: your physical condition, your age, your experience, your skill, your physical and mental capacity, etc. You need to do what is best for you. It is important that you keep your body and mind calm and not feel rushed. Do remember that Tai Chi avoids excesses, whether they be effort, speed, height, or anything else that detracts from what it was meant to be. You need to be aware of how you feel: alive, bogged down, rushed, motionless, and so on. Based on that awareness (and it may change daily, weekly, etc.), you can determine whether you need to speed up, slow down, or perhaps even take a rest!
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Some interesting videos, if you are interested:
Mix of speeds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5gDfT3EJkc
Slow:
https://www.google.com/search?q=videos+of+very+slow+tai+chi+done+too+slow
Why slow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i99GYZnYCw&t=3s
Fast:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Videos+of+fast+tai+chi+youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x2DR_j-tlI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0xQNwYBuO4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdPpb1fQYeM