太极拳：慢练与快用之谜解
太极拳的“有快有慢，能快能慢，快慢相间”，正如太极拳拳论所说的：“慢能慢到十分，快能快到十分”、“慢如抽丝，疾如电挚”。长期以来，我们往往只看到太极的柔，却不知太极拳的刚，“快”的要领在我们中没有被充分认识和引起足够的重视，只知慢，不知快，只知慢练，却不知为何要slowly practice,加上门派式传授演化的原因，使得“太极拳就是slowly practice”的观念根深蒂固，以至忽视了slow's essence and fast's aspect, even some people say "既要fast，又要call it Tai Chi, others will not believe you're practicing Tai Chi", completely denying the importance of fastness, blindly pursuing slow practice, leading us into a misconception. However, in fact, Tai Chi in combat situations must be "fast", as combat is about competing for victory and opportunities are fleeting; one must grasp these opportunities with fierce inner strength combined with swift speed to win.
《Punching Scripture》 vividly describes the concept of "speed" in Tai Chi: "Force should be swiftly released; technique should be swiftly executed; whenever there is a delay, defeat follows; whenever there is swiftness, advantage ensues." “The more rapid the force release and technique execution are—the better.” “When advancing like a gust of wind that blows on someone or flashing like lightning—swiftness matters most.”
Thus we can see that Tai Chi's martial arts and competitive nature require both power and speed. The article highlights how unique training methods such as slow practice contribute to achieving high coordination among intention (yi), energy (qi), and strength (jin) within the body. By mastering this method through slow movements under controlled breathing techniques while maintaining an upright posture with relaxed muscles but strong internal energy flow from Dan Tian (the lower abdomen), practitioners gradually develop their internal structure so that they can eventually execute powerful external actions without any visible tension.
In summary:
Slow Practice: It allows for precise analysis of each movement facilitating mastery by providing time for adjustments.
Fast Execution: This refers to quick onset when executing moves unexpectedly giving opponents no chance to react effectively.
Slow Practice creates an environment where we could become proficient at every detail ensuring our movements remain fluid yet powerful while Fast Execution enhances effectiveness making it difficult for opponents to anticipate our next move due to its unpredictability.
By understanding these two aspects together we can unlock the true potential of Tai Chi which lies beyond just slow practices alone but also includes swift responses during combat situations enhancing overall skillset allowing one achieve superior results whether fighting against multiple opponents or facing singular adversaries alike.
