At the gym today: twenty five minutes practicing the 24 posture T'ai Chi form and the 54 posture sword form: two or three times each. The Cheng Man-ch'ing versions.
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| Cheng Man-ch'ing demonstrating the sword form |
The common image is of old men doing exercises in the park, very slowly. But I've always felt that the core of the discipline is its martial intent. You should know the bunkai (the combat intent) for each posture.
I also think that at least some of the time you should do the forms fast and lethally, as if you intend to dispose of an opponent. That's the story for karate kata - slow while you're learning and to hone technique - fast when perfected and with power and spirit. When I look at videos of Cheng Man-ch'ing and his student Ken van Sickle demonstrating the sword form (e.g. below) they are much faster than is currently convenient for me.
When practicing, I run through the forms slowly then faster with an opponent in mind.
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