Something else that causes the 'illusion' of speed is positioning. Having your hands in the right position to execute the attack when the opponent responds as expected.

You have to be loose to generate world class speed. Ali's jab...

Our form Gau Bo Twi, has roughly 108 moves, do it in 4 breaths for the aggressive execution, 2 breaths for the perfect execution. A breath is one in and one out.....yang and yin, all that...

You have to draw fully deep, ( belly, chest, shoulders) and exhale fully like a pump.