I think the word missing here is abrupt. Fast is fine, abrupt is dangerous.

@SilkLotus

Ай бұрын

Abrupt, twitchy, jabby, stabby etc... agreed!!!!!

You're right. We have heard this for years...from everyone. I always took it more as a learning technique, not an operating at your maximum. Build your toolbox of skills slowly. They become automatic so that you can learn new things to add to your toolbox. Because you are smooth, by learning slowly, you get fast(er).

@ihateeverything3972

Ай бұрын

Definitely the best way of looking at it. That's how you learn, you can't learn while compromising technique. So do it right even if it feels slow to begin with.

@ericbarber3420

Ай бұрын

Thats perfectly put.

@233kosta

Ай бұрын

"Slow is smooth, smooth is fast" is a technique to train your hypothalamus. Dat' be where "muscle memory" lives. What is meant by "smooth", in engineering terms, are the higher order derivatives of control inputs. For instance, if you're applying brakes, the absolute value would be break pressure - how hard you're currently squeezing. The first order derivative is the rate at which you're adding or taking away brake pressure, equivalent to acceleration in kinematics. That would be the "slow" part. The 2nd order derivative is how fast you change the rate at which you add pressure. That one's called "jerk". In kinematics, it's the rate of change of acceleration, but it applies equally to control inputs. The 3rd order derivative is the rate of change of jerk, called "jolt". I'm not sure that one applies much here. Anyway, when talking about smooth, what you're talking about is controlling them last two. Jolt shouldn't exist at all, and jerk should be kept to a bare minimum. Obviously that can't be avoided at the start and end points of your input application, but both should be very deliberate and controlled. Once you've mastered that and it has been committed to muscle memory (that's what all that practice is for), you can start venturing outside the "slow" part, since you now have "smooth" nailed to a T. Something else occurs during that time. Your ability to perceive the effect of each control develops in parallel. Your brain stops being overwhelmed by all the feedback and instead begins to integrate it in very fast control loops. This is where learning the correct techniques from the outset pays massive dividends, as you're now in the position to reap their full benefits. To clarify, a feedback control loop is inginerd for "you done did somethin', saw what happened, decided it was wrong, fingered oot how wrong, decided what to change, made the change”, rinse and repeat. What's really important here, is the time it takes to do the fingering oot bit amd decidin' bits. There needs to be enough time between the "you done goofed" part and the "and now it's too late to fix it, you're going down" part for this loop to do its thing and correct the error. If there isn't, you're looking at the typical "loss of control" situation. 9 times out of 10, that's because a hand or a foot went faster than the brain. When you're starting out, that loop is extremely slow, and if your inputs aren't equally slow, you'll do something silly. With all that practice though, this control loop is mostly integrated into your muscle memory. It's practically autonomous, with higher brain function only used to decide "go there" or "STOP!!!" or something like that. Since all this basic decision-making is now handled by your hypothalamus, you're no longer applying a control and waiting to see what happens, you're now feeling it _as_ it is happening, and have built up enough of a subconscious dataset to know what "feels right", what "feels wrong", and how to correct for it almost automatically. Your brain is now functioning as fast as events are unfolding, so the "slow" part is no longer necessary. As long as the rate of your control application always remains slow enough for the rest of the control loop to catch up, you'll never cause a mishap you can't get out of. At this point things begin to get interesting. You're now riding and thinking at a rate that is beyond that of most observers. You're making fast changes to control inputs, which now look very rough to outside observers, but actually they're just fast. Jerk and jolt are still under full control, no motion is without purpose - you're simply that fast now, that you've been able to reach the edge of the performance envelope and are riding it like a surfer riding a monster wave. It's taking all your skill and concentration, but you're keeping it together. And still, your inputs never exceed the speed of your control loop. If/when they do, that's when you're off. I can give a personal real-life example of where smooth control input amd a half-decent feel for my bike saved my skin. I was coming off a roundabout. Two slow cars in front of me. I'd been meaning to overtake them for the length of the previous stretch of road (about 800m), but didn't have enough visibility until we were too close to the roundabout. The next stretch of road is visible for about another 800m, and I see a tractor followed by a column of cars about 300m ahead. Tractors are slow, the decision is made - it's on. Pulling out of that roundabout, I go straight to the oncoming lane, and smoothly but quickly get on the power as I'm standing the bike up. THAT is when I felt the rear wheel go. Had I been rough on the throttle and simply pinned it, I imagine I wouldn't be writing that comment right now, but as it stands, the throttle was instinctively rolled back just enough for the rear wheel to catch grip (nominally a recipe for a high side, if you let it slide for long enough first) and my grip on the bike was loosened enough for it to jump right back up, wiggle around for a bit, and stabilise. I call it a whoopdedoo 😅 With the bike upright, I was right back on the power and gone before the driver of that tractor could swear at me for being an idiot. This whole thing, from wheel slip to back on the power happened in maybe 300ms. 'Twas a very very long 300ms. That day I learnt how long a second can really be, how fast I can be on/off the throttle (some suicide deer taught me how fast I can let go of a locked up front wheel 4 months prior), and how slow (and borderline useless) the traction control on the 650R is 😂 But yeh, slow (at first) is smooth, and smooth can become very fast, if you hone it correctly.

I feel you contradict yourself here. Our actions should be fast in certain scenarios on a motorcycle, on or off the track - navy seals should be fast to achieve their objectives - yet slow is smooth, smooth is fast is acceptable for them? For me it's a mental phrase, not a physical one. If your mind stays "slow" not panicking or riding beyond your limit, then you'll be able to act "fast" and avoid collisions, move your body, change direction as and when you need and want to. I feel the phrase works perfectly well for all motorcycle riders, it just needs to be applied correctly

The way I understand this phrase is through the perception of time. I noticed that when I focus my mind on the technique, as I progress the perception of movement feels slower as I become better. When I hit the apex perfectly I feel like I am going really slow but in reality my lap times are faster than before when it felt like a crazy rush. Slow time until it feels smooth. Once it is smooth you will be fast.

Another way to explain: if your action is not smooth, then you are doing it too fast. You don't want to swerve slowly to avoid an accident, but panicking and jerking the bike around will cause you to "lay her down" which is really not what you want. Similarly, if you are breaking so fast that you lock up your tire, you need to slow down until you are smooth. Usually it is easier to get the smoothness down, then focus on speed, rather than doing something panicked or jerky and fast and just continually trying to do it at the same speed but more smoothly.

@charliebrewer1668

Ай бұрын

Well said. Someone told me something similar; “Fast isn’t fast, smooth is fast.”

I actually have this phrase on my bike as a sticker :D For me it simply means slowing down a second or a half, in order to better understand and "digest" a section of the track. Sometimes when I'm pushing too hard i take inconsistent lines or run into other issues, so slowing down a little helps me to regain control and once I have it figured out, I can ramp up the pace again.

This is covered in 'Twist of the Wrist' - the book describes a type of smooth that is so practiced and accurate that the actions become very fast, and to a casual observer it looks far from smooth.. but it is smooth, it's just impossible for a beginner to understand or achieve

I take the "slow" part is more saying "Don't panic." If you panic, then you can be jumpy and abrupt, which is what we don't want on the street or track. Keep thinking ahead, plan, then execute. Then it comes down to the physical ability you have.

Hmm... These are good points but I'm not sure about your interpretation of the phrase "slow is smooth, smooth is fast". It is true that for high performance in most sports, actions must be fast. But to get actions to be fast AND precise takes practice. It is generally easier to practice precision slowly, then increase speed once the muscle memory is built up. Did I misunderstand your point?

The phrase is for learning. Not blasting on the track or for the competent road rider. It's basically saying dont snatch or yank.

It's all about interpretation.... but this is a great drawn out video 👍 u don't wanna be abrupt with speed... smooth as butter

The first time I heard this phrase was as a young paratrooper when doing training for room clearing. It was further explained by saying "clearing a room in a real world environment while potentially getting shot at, is stressful. under those circumstances, you will be moving faster than you realize, slow down, and stay calm. You will be more effective that way".

One thing to add: a key to being controlled (and not abrupt) is to be proactive, think ahead. For example: next turn is going to be a right-hander, it has a wide radius, braking marker is coming up, I don't need a lot of bar input, etc. etc

Nice work on this! I like how you go through the origins and ultimate purpose of why that phrase actually exists.

I've been a riding instructor and racing certification instructor for a long time. Never used that first part of the state. Slow is smooth. In fact this is the first time I've heard of that. Always used "smooth is fast".. If you're going to be competitive, you have to hustle.

I like to think of it as "deliberate" in smooth...

First time I heard it, was in the Army. Specifically to weapons handling, but applicable to whatever task was at hand.

"Relaxed, smoothly" works for me

It's about slowing down the movement which feels like it's slow. It's also about removing unnecessary movement. For example, reducing free play in the throttle, clutch and brake.

Forgot one... 300cc late braking downshifts. Was not ready for that level of frantic 🤣

@kevinc2332

Ай бұрын

😂😂

To quote Sam Axe, “smooth is smooth, baby.” Ironically a fictional character that was a Navy Seal.

I've noticed that my cornering is not smooth at all. But it's not because I lack the technique, I turn too far in at too slow of a speed and the bike 'falls' over too far into the corner and I have to correct it to go wider. Now if I would trust myself and my tires I would go through those corners that much faster and catch the correct line and lean angle for my bike and my skill. Not only that but motorcycling much more relies on instincts, you don't think while riding, you just ride. The "slow is smooth" applies to making sure in each moment that you're doing everything the right way, you don't have those thought processes while riding at speed.

Track days years ago at Loudon it was "fast guys go smooth, smooth guys go fast"

I always thought to my self... do it slow and smooth(controled) until you learn to do it faster.. bit by bit get better dont just force it cuz you will fall... especially on the road

@matthewsinclair507

Ай бұрын

I always thought, if you do it smooth, the speed will come naturally.

babe wake up new life at lean video

This vid could not be more true !! I was really lucky and almost ate some asphalt learning this. As I started doing more track time I found myself smoother on breaks and gas. I was getting faster passing more people and it just felt easy.

Nice work

I love your videos, if I wasn’t as shy as you I’d post more like you. Your information has been noun other than correct from what I hear.

If you are on the safer side I think you can just send it to find your limit. Problem for me is I don't want to have an acsident to find that out. Unlike most other extreem sports a crash on a bike can create a ton of damage

I think I've heard that saying in artillery circles.

There is another way I look at the phrase, not as a tool for your end goal but as a learning tool. By going slow(er) you are not pushing your limits, you are able to get an understanding of technique you have the brain cycles for working out what you need to do and then you progressively get faster. If you go at it fast from the get go, you will always be on the edge and hit a limit because there is no/less technique backing it. So by developing slowly you get a smooth development to begin to add speed and end up faster.

I thought it was Fast is Smooth and Smooth is Fast.

@deanmsimpson

Ай бұрын

Yes, so did I. I was looking for someone to say this. "Smooth is fast and fast is smooth"

"Slow is smooth, smooth is fast" is a technique to train your hypothalamus. Dat' be where "muscle memory" lives. What is meant by "smooth", in engineering terms, are the higher order derivatives of control inputs. For instance, if you're applying brakes, the absolute value would be break pressure - how hard you're currently squeezing. The first order derivative is the rate at which you're adding or taking away brake pressure, equivalent to acceleration in kinematics. That would be the "slow" part. The 2nd order derivative is how fast you change the rate at which you add pressure. That one's called "jerk". In kinematics, it's the rate of change of acceleration, but it applies equally to control inputs. The 3rd order derivative is the rate of change of jerk, called "jolt". I'm not sure that one applies much here. Anyway, when talking about smooth, what you're talking about is controlling them last two. Jolt shouldn't exist at all, and jerk should be kept to a bare minimum. Obviously that can't be avoided at the start and end points of your input application, but both should be very deliberate and controlled. Once you've mastered that and it has been committed to muscle memory (that's what all that practice is for), you can start venturing outside the "slow" part, since you now have "smooth" nailed to a T. Something else occurs during that time. Your ability to perceive the effect of each control develops in parallel. Your brain stops being overwhelmed by all the feedback and instead begins to integrate it in very fast control loops. This is where learning the correct techniques from the outset pays massive dividends, as you're now in the position to reap their full benefits. To clarify, a feedback control loop is inginerd for "you done did somethin', saw what happened, decided it was wrong, fingered oot how wrong, decided what to change, made the change”, rinse and repeat. What's really important here, is the time it takes to do the fingering oot bit amd decidin' bits. There needs to be enough time between the "you done goofed" part and the "and now it's too late to fix it, you're going down" part for this loop to do its thing and correct the error. If there isn't, you're looking at the typical "loss of control" situation. 9 times out of 10, that's because a hand or a foot went faster than the brain. When you're starting out, that loop is extremely slow, and if your inputs aren't equally slow, you'll do something silly. With all that practice though, this control loop is mostly integrated into your muscle memory. It's practically autonomous, with higher brain function only used to decide "go there" or "STOP!!!" or something like that. Since all this basic decision-making is now handled by your hypothalamus, you're no longer applying a control and waiting to see what happens, you're now feeling it _as_ it is happening, and have built up enough of a subconscious dataset to know what "feels right", what "feels wrong", and how to correct for it almost automatically. Your brain is now functioning as fast as events are unfolding, so the "slow" part is no longer necessary. As long as the rate of your control application always remains slow enough for the rest of the control loop to catch up, you'll never cause a mishap you can't get out of. At this point things begin to get interesting. You're now riding and thinking at a rate that is beyond that of most observers. You're making fast changes to control inputs, which now look very rough to outside observers, but actually they're just fast. Jerk and jolt are still under full control, no motion is without purpose - you're simply that fast now, that you've been able to reach the edge of the performance envelope and are riding it like a surfer riding a monster wave. It's taking all your skill and concentration, but you're keeping it together. And still, your inputs never exceed the speed of your control loop. If/when they do, that's when you're off. I can give a personal real-life example of where smooth control input amd a half-decent feel for my bike saved my skin. I was coming off a roundabout. Two slow cars in front of me. I'd been meaning to overtake them for the length of the previous stretch of road (about 800m), but didn't have enough visibility until we were too close to the roundabout. The next stretch of road is visible for about another 800m, and I see a tractor followed by a column of cars about 300m ahead. Tractors are slow, the decision is made - it's on. Pulling out of that roundabout, I go straight to the oncoming lane, and smoothly but quickly get on the power as I'm standing the bike up. THAT is when I felt the rear wheel go. Had I been rough on the throttle and simply pinned it, I imagine I wouldn't be writing that comment right now, but as it stands, the throttle was instinctively rolled back just enough for the rear wheel to catch grip (nominally a recipe for a high side, if you let it slide for long enough first) and my grip on the bike was loosened enough for it to jump right back up, wiggle around for a bit, and stabilise. I call it a whoopdedoo 😅 With the bike upright, I was right back on the power and gone before the driver of that tractor could swear at me for being an idiot. This whole thing, from wheel slip to back on the power happened in maybe 300ms. 'Twas a very very long 300ms. That day I learnt how long a second can really be, how fast I can be on/off the throttle (some suicide deer taught me how fast I can let go of a locked up front wheel 4 months prior), and how slow (and borderline useless) the traction control on the 650R is 😂 But yeh, slow (at first) is smooth, and smooth can become very fast, if you hone it correctly.

Thought this for ages..... This and similar phrases are often quoted and you really wonder whether the person saying it really understands in the way you've described here.

More haste, less speed.

@ihateeverything3972

Ай бұрын

I like that. Different people think about stuff differently. U gotta get in ur own head and figure out how you're wired to learn better I feel like

@dielaughing73

Ай бұрын

Never rush

US Marine here we used the phrase all the time but learned it in our training

It's more of a metaphor. As such, those that understand it, comprehend it's intention. If you use this phrase without understanding it, you're doing it wrong.

10/10 I always felt that it should be, "Controlled is smooth, and smooth is fast"

Smooth riding pays off

Agree that slow is smooth simply doesn’t translate to what we do on track. Smooth is fast still works because sudden or jerky inputs will not make you quicker.

Slow is slow, fast is fast. Slow isnt necessarily smooth. I think what people misunderstand is that if you are going so fast you cannot be smooth you need to go slower until you can use proper technique. Its like lifting a weight. If you cannot use good form, lower the weight. If you are trying to get fast the objective is to keep pushing the pace at which you can do things smoothly. Go only as slow as you need to go smoothly. Slow is not smooth, but it gives you more bandwith to be smooth. The best way of thinking about it is slow is slow, smooth is smooth, fast is fast, but to go fast safely you need to be smooth.

It means practice control and precision don’t just slam the bike around as hard as you can. It feels like you’re moving faster when you have a high degree of physical effort but in actuality you are moving much faster when you are smooth and controlled.

Speed is fine accuracy is final you need to be accurate in a hurry.

After some training you are slow in your perception, but others see you as very fast dude.

I think the reason they use “slow” is instinctively people want to be fast but you need to slow down first in order to learn the skill correctly.

I would argue this is a Jumpmaster saying in the US military. Not a SEAL saying.

Have you seen Alistair Sealey’s style ?

Your argument is misleading. Shame.The quote is solid. Train for precision with slow and efficient movement to build muscle memory. Repetition is key. As the required movements become instinct, speed becomes near effortless. And news flash, this can be applied to all things

Good vid..

Nope. Its for learning, pretty much any skill. You dont start out trying to learn at or near full speed you practice at slower speed so you get the technique right, you become smooth with the controls or hand eye co-ordination ect. Once you are smooth with the technique, you become faster and still smooth. Works with everything from writing, using a spray gun, nail gun, riding, operating machinery ect ect

this makes sense！

never heard this phrase

Fast is indeed fast

This phrase is completely true when overtaking slow/stopped traffic. Better to take 1 min of extra time than to get cut off by a car.

Small is Smooth - Smooth is Large is probably much better for 2 wheels then on a precicsion gun range Small ADJUSTMENTS are Smooth Smooth allows Large ADJUSTMENTS the better your adjustments the QUICKER you can go track days are about QUICK not FAST you want FAST hit an AUTOBAHN oran Air Field

slow is slow, smooth is smooth, fast is fast