Nothing can be accomplished if you do NOT dedicate the time to train……..
“Until a movement is repeated 10,000 times, it will never be mastered.”
This was according to Grandmaster Cheng Jin Cai, that was shared to him by Chen ZhaoKui.
There are three criterion that will help you progress in Tai Chi.
1. Finding a good master with experience
2. Understanding the theory
3. Finally….TRAINing
Proper Tai Chi training is not about just memorizing movement….
but requires the understanding of theories and foundation to apply in training to develop Gong Fu or Qi Gong.
The forms are tools in Tai Chi so memorizing the forms are important to guide you in your training.
Training is where you apply the theories and the MASTER teaching the application of theories in your form. It is very important that you apply the 13 Fundamentals throughout the form.
Before starting Taiji, make sure you find an experienced Master that teaches Taiji as a form of Self Defense AND…….as a form of Qi Gong.
Unfortunately you can not learn everything by reading a book, watching videos or online research. There are some things that can NOT be preserved in videos or books. Many people make these mistakes thinking they can watch YouTube videos to learn Tai Chi. Sadly this only causes confusion for the low to mid level students. Many of the older Gong Fu manuals have hidden meanings that a layman can not understand with many jargons in it as Grandmaster Yang Jwing Ming always mentions.
Learning Tai Chi requires a good teacher (master) and training. Traditionally a master & disciple relationship is established and the disciple absorbs the masters teaching through one-on-one training. In the old days the student actually lives with the master and the martial art schools were established. This relationship is very much like the Star Wars movie were the Padwan follows a Jedi master to absorb the experience through day to day training. GM Yang Jwing Ming loves using the Jedi padawan term.
In order for you to understand the Martial Arts application of Taiji, YOU MUST Push-Hands or do sticky hands with other Gong Fu schools.
Abstinence of sex or at least during the time you train is very important. Any master that tells you otherwise is lying to you or do not know the true understanding of the body and the theory in TCM.
The more you train, the more you start seeing Tai Chi as an art……