Slow or Fast Exercise

[emattson]

Obviously, the object in a good karate move is exerting a lot of power to send a devastating punch or kick, but I occasionally see people giving demonstrations of slow Kung-Fu moves during festivals. I notice when practicing, especially kicks, that slow movements increase the difficulty of the exercise, forcing me to concentrate more on balance. It helps me focus on getting the positions correct. What are your thoughts?

[richardaik]

I think slowness helps with understanding the nuances of physical movement of a form and also it helps with improving the awareness of internal system.

Learning to connect the muscle, tendons, skeletons, blood as one unit of body mass helps efficiency in effective maneuvering and striking/grappling with an efficient breathing.

Hopefully that translates to effective execution during stressful applications. Like a car or motorcycle, good air intake, exhaust, suspension matching the body mass of the vehicle and tires to yield a performance and energy efficient ride.

In Uechi Ryu, that means, we want to move nimbly, breath smoothly, strike or throw efficiently without exerting unnecessary force. I think it also helps in getting awareness in distancing and improve sensitivity up hand-to-hand contact. In Chinese arts, they call it Tin Jing, listening to the tendon/fascia.

[emattson]

No question slow moving helps improve accuracy while learning kata as I gives me more time to calculate positions.