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Most people practice Tai Chi slowly, at 30 seconds per move, but you can do Tai Chi at many other paces. Other paces you should try are : Hard & Abrupt (tensing only at the moment of IMPACT) Fast & Flowing (as fast as possible) Slow (one minute per move) Super Slow (five minutes per move) Each of these paces trains your body in a different way, giving the Chi a wide variety of ways to flow. The Super Slow mode is the most powerful, engraining the moves into your autonomic nervous system as a new set of reflexes that will operate in combat without any need for your mind to slow you down. Also, the Super Slow mode will pull up a tremendous amount of Chi and magical like things will begin to happen around you. Best to wait until you are comfortable with Slow mode, before doing Super Slow mode. The body needs time to adjust to it. Super Slow mode really is a monster, which is why nobody teaches it. I just sort of stumbled onto it myself. When you are ready to do Super Slow mode, you will notice every tiny nuance of each move, every single muscle, tendon, ligament & nerve that is involved. Having your form exactly correct is very important in Super Slow mode, because you are deeply imprinting the move in the reptilian portion of your brain. Another thing to consider, is Short Form & Long Form. In Short Form, conservation of movement is practiced, and the back is generally kept perpendicular with the ground. In Long Form the movements are extended quite a bit. Once you're comfortable with it, slow down to one move per minute. At this pace you can begin to notice nuances within the moves, and make corrections to your form, so that you are always in proper posture & balanced. One of the benefits of Tai Chi, is that it coordinates the entire body into each move. Thus, a punch will carry, not only the force from the arm & shoulder, but the energy of the entire body, including the legs. That is, a punch with the force of a kick... Also, more than muscular strength is employed, since the strength of the ligaments is also utilized. After a few months of real slow, you will be ready for super slow : one move every five minutes. Here you will become aware of every single nerve & muscle fiber. Subtle things in the forms will become apparent, & your back will adjust itself to perfect alignment. At five minutes per move you will not only feel great amounts of Chi flowing through you, but you will also see it dripping off of your hands & feet, like a clear sirup. The Chi will flow up from the center of the Earth. Trees & wild animals will know what you are doing, and you may be visited. At this point the moves will be etched into your autonomic nervous system, as a new set of reflexes, which will be under the control of the lower portion of the brain around the brain stem. This part of the brain is known as the reptilian brain, because it governs reflexes & involuntary movements, and is the earliest part of our evolution as a physical species. In other words, your reaction time in combat will become so fast that neither you, nor your opponents will ever see what you did.