This is Small Circle not Large

Rashid Oso asked an interesting question:  What about practicing Tai Chi at a very slow speed? Many Tai Chi practitioners nowadays (on YouTube) tend to move quite slowly, even in a very deliberate, drawn-out manner. Can one maintain the same feeling of relaxation and internal energy at that slow speed? For me, practicing Tai Chi at a normal speed is the most natural and comfortable. It's the pace that just feels right.

Rashid Oso et al. at Slower speeds: One can certainly attempt to slow the speed down to a "snail's pace" as an experiment; no one will scold you. However, 99% of "other" Tai Chi may appear to move slowly, but consider the mechanics of what they are doing and the size of their "frame" and "circles."  Also, to quote Master Stephen Hwa "...Jim Roach, they don't do INTERNAL..."! For instance, if someone is making a sizeable circling movement of their arm, doesn't that naturally extend the time because of the circle size? We do "small frame" and "small circle"; making a smaller circle takes less time than a large circle. As an experiment, you stand, feet parallel, and reach toward the wall, stretch till you first engage your core, then stop. Hold the stretch, count to 5, and then continue the stretch. In other words, you slowed your playing speed, but the internal force level did not change. You stopped the internal movement midway and found it remained energized. So, you also have this time to experiment while doing the form. You found that even playing slowly still gives you more time to sense and experiment with the details of the internal move. If you go slower and slower beyond a certain point, the circulation of the internal energy becomes a problem, not the initiation. There is a factor of diminishing returns, which you will sense, and you will find that it is becoming an intermittent circulation. That is a sign that you are playing it too slowly. People say, "Oh, play it at 20, 30, 40 minutes, etc." However, intermittent circulation will occur once you approach the 20-minute mark in these small circle-round forms. Remember, you are making small circles, and that has its own physics, which you try to defy at a "snail's pace."