Slow down!

Over the years, I've watched people practice karate and taiko countless times. And it occurred to me that too often, I see people rushing through whatever exercises they're doing. Why the hurry?

I hear kids have a much easier time going slow when instructed, whereas the rest of us often want to go faster to get to the next thing. That can't be a good thing...

Ending solos tend to be the fast ones, and fast kata are more dazzling. Fast gets our attention, looks more fun, looks more challenging. But practicing something fast is actually pretty limiting. It's quite often harder to do something slower.

Movement-wise, it forces you to really pay attention to individual parts that make up the whole. Where you used to rely on propulsion, now you have to figure out where the power is really generated from. When it comes to extending your arms, you'll find out how much you relied on centrifugal force versus actually making the effort to maintain good form.

Rhythm-wise, speed often hides good technique. The tendency is to make sure the notes are placed right rather than struck well. When speed is the focus and technique is lacking, accents tend to blend into the other notes, and more subtly, often the feel/groove of the rhythm gets lost. It's like the master musicians who know exactly when to play notes and why it sounds so damned good when they do.

Practicing something slow is hard both mentally and physically, and yes sometimes you just have to practice something fast. Just don't get stuck there, realize that there's a lot to be gained by slowing everything down quite a bit and making sure that all the components are understood if not solid.

Savor!