Speed hides your flaws

There is a TaiChi maxim that says slowness reveals the hidden flaws.  This means that speed compensates for imperfections in technique.

Another TaiChi Maxim:  If you can't do it slow, you can't do it fast.  Balance and kick height are easier if the kick is fast but doing it slow both become increasingly difficult.  This is also seen in weight lifting where momentum gives the illusion that one is stronger than they really are.

In Eishin-ryu Iaijutsu another maxim was:  Speed is an illusion.  Too much speed leads to inaccuracies and mistakes.  Rather the speed is only as fast as one can move and still do the techniques correctly.  Fast slope is useless compared to slower correctness.

In the US Army we were faster at getting out "gas mask" on if we went at maximum speed that retained proper technique than we were if we moved at maximum slop speed.

The bottom line is that the goal in martial arts is not to be as fast as possible, but to be as fast as possible while retaining proper technique while ensuring that the technique remains the same at TaiChi speed and fast speed.

#kdhughes #martialarts #tenkidokan