On Patient Learning...

The process of learning Taijiquan gongfu takes far longer than the practice of external gongfu.

Taijiquan gongfu relies on patient learning over a period of time.

Moments of enlightenment may suddenly occur and flashes of brilliance manifest spontaneously, so that the casual observers believe that they occur by accident. In fact, skills are accumulated over a long period and are built from the basics.

Chinese idioms such as "go fishing for three days and dry the net for two" and "have one day's sun and ten days cold" - meaning to work by fits and starts - are frowned upon during the acquisition of skill.

It is well acknowledged that for Taijiquan skill "three years attain small success; ten years attain big success". People who practice Taijiquan not only need to work twice as hard but also be able to "get" it. If they do not understand what Taijiquan is, their "ultimate achievement is superficial".