I really like this because of its cloudy meaning. You have to think about the meaning. I have heard if for years and never really thought about the martial arts implications. But recently, say the last couple of years I have adapted this phrase as one I use in my classes all the time.  It all started, the selection and use that is, is when I was watching a student rush through a Hyung or Kata if you are of the Japanese system. In my classes, I always teach doing the Hyung/Kata a little bit slower so that you can concentrate on the development of power. I tell them that the techniques they are learning about will go much faster in a real life situation and they will enjoy creating all the power they have been practicing on in the classes.  I tell them that in the streets, the speed will come when they need speed and power that will be there all the time.  Besides, as a reward for doing what I call a lot of “power work” I reward them by doing the hung/kata full blast as fast as they can just to feel what it is like to move like the wind at full power. Believe me, they love it. And they do not violate the rule of: “always move fast, but never get in a hurry”.

Now that is concerning practice in what I call “form” work but what about free sparring?  Taken from free sparring, this is something I took from my days studying Choy Le Fut - Kung Fu. In that system , from Sifu Jolles, I learned about a thing called “harmony sparring” it is where two students do everything in super slow motion that they would ordinarily do at full speed. The point is to let the other person hit you (very softly of course) as much as they want to. What is good about it is that it lets you see what you leave open to attack. It also teaches you about counter punching. It teaches you strategies for kick/punch combinations. It is an excellent “fighters” learning strategy that I really enjoyed.  I highly recommend it and used it in teaching my students.

Another thing about this is to learn the value of “slo-mo” (or slow motion) when you are learning self-defense. As a rule, once a student can do the self-defense technique fairly well, I then have them perform the techniques in sets of five, doing them as slow as possible, then at medium speed and then at full speed.

Then I have the pyramid inverted and do three sets of five at slow, slower, and the slowest speed. When I mean slow I mean like moving through cold molasses. The result is that the students can go through the self-defense techniques at lighting speed and do them perfectly when asked to do so. This is what happens when you create a “safe space” that is truly devoted to learning the technique so well, that each student could teach it to his or her daughters or any other little girl they crossed paths with in their life blind folded.Why am I so thorough in my training of women and girls? Because I know that martial arts classes are things that cost time and money that most people don’t have. I know that transportation is a problem for a lot of girls that are raised by just the mother so what is the chance that they could learn how to protect themselves? I would say that this is the best idea to come along in a long time. I am not joking about this either. What I am offering can and will change your life for the better. Now, let’s talk a little bit more about “always move fast, but never get in a hurry”.  I really understand about teaching self-defense to women. First and foremost to me, that means that when you get in a hurry you are afraid. Getting “in a hurry” is about being frantic, fearful and unsure of your self. In a hurry is fear driven at best. One thing martial arts study has taught me over the “long haul” is that there is no reason to be in a hurry ever. If you have perfected your art, when it comes time to do it, it will be just fine and you will more than achieve what you want to achieve. Being in a hurry is the same thing as being afraid. When you are fully trained, you got nothing to be in a hurry about.  The reason I say that is because the part of the brain that operates your fight skills is the unconscious part of the brain. Although your brain and the unconscious mind work together, it is still the unconscious mind that “runs the show.”

Why do you not want to be in a hurry? Because being in a hurry means emotionally the student is coming from a place of not “being enough” to get the job done in her own time. Being in a hurry comes from a place of fear and I don’t want students to be fearful and powerless when they do self-defense. So, I teach them thoroughly and then start all over again as if I have not taught them a thing. They are often surprised when I say something that they have not heard before. I know they forget most of what I tell them over and over again. A good instructor knows that most students forget 90% of what they are told and it takes repetition that seems to go on and on forever. Its like the student comes to class, just like filling the gas tank of a car, to get filled up again. Being in a hurry guarantees mistake and mistakes can cost you. Being in a hurry guarantees pressure throughout you body, mind, and spirit. Being in a hurry always starts on the inside because of a feeling of lack. To take that feeling of lack practice the way I told you to. Slow, then mid speed, then burn it down fast. What you must understand is that slow is best always for learning this work. You are burning neural pathways in your brain every time you do a technique slowly. So just remember: “always move fast, but never get in a hurry”.