Yes—manual focus can be faster than autofocus in some situations, especially in street photography and low light. The key is that you usually don’t try to refocus from scratch for every frame.

Common approaches are:

• Pre-focus on a spot where you expect action, then shoot when the subject enters that distance.
• Use hyperfocal distance / zone focusing so a chosen distance range stays acceptably sharp, reducing the need to refocus at all.

This works best when you understand how aperture affects depth of field. A narrower aperture gives you more margin for error; at very wide apertures, precise focus becomes much harder and consistency drops.

Manual focus is also useful when autofocus becomes slow or unreliable, such as in dim light. Whether it’s “faster” depends on your camera, lens, subject distance, and your skill. Many photographers do become quick enough for practical use, but it takes practice and familiarity with each lens.

A good way to learn is to start with static subjects, focus manually, then move slightly to see how focus changes. Over time you develop a feel for distance and for where each lens is sharpest.

So: yes, it’s practical—but usually through anticipation and zone/pre-focusing, not by critically refocusing every moving subject wide open.