Why Beginners Struggle With Tai Chi: 5 Common Mistakes （Part 1 of 3 )

Tai Chi looks slow, gentle, and simple.
It can feel like you should be able to learn it just by following along.

But the truth is, many people have been practicing Tai Chi for years — repeating the movements, following the forms — and still remain an outsider.
Because in Tai Chi, there are things you can’t see or feel right away. Tai Chi is an internal kongfu. 

Most people don’t struggle with Tai Chi because they’re weak or stiff.
They struggle because they carry the same habits in the gym-try harder, push through.

Tai Chi workout asks for something different. 

Here are five common mistakes I see beginners make — if you notice yourself in any of these, congratulations!

As a Zen proverb says:
“When you can see the river, you are already out of the river.”

Mistake 1: Wanting to Learn More Forms — Chasing Longer Sequences

Many beginners believe that 108-form Tai Chi must be more advanced than 8-form Tai Chi.
It feels like progress simply because the number of movements is multiplied.

But Tai Chi is a foundation-based art.
If the foundation is unstable, everything built on top becomes unsafe — physically, mentally, and energetically.

I have a dedicated student in my Qigong beginners class who once told me that she had learned Tai Chi fan, Tai Chi sword, 28 forms, 36 forms, and even 108 forms.
Yet over time, she realised that what truly benefited her was not the number of forms, but the quality of each Tai Chi movement.

She discovered that the most profound healing often comes from simplicity. So she joined my beginner's class.

I deeply admire her insight. It is completely aligned with what my own teachers have always emphasised:
less is more.

I also observe practitioners who say they have been practising Tai Chi for 20 years or more, yet still struggle with various health issues.
When I watch their movement, I notice something important: the body is moving, but  Tai Chi is missing.

Tai Chi is a healing art.
Traditional masters practised fundamentals every day, rather than performing long sequences mechanically.

There is a Chinese saying:

练拳不练功，到头一场空
“If you practise the form but not the fundamentals, in the end it is all empty.”

It is like carrying water in a woven basket — no matter how hard you try, nothing is retained.

When you practise Tai Chi, bring your attention to the essential qualities, such as

-Yin–yang shifting

-Rooting and grounding

-Softness and relaxation

-Smooth, continuous movement

-Alignment and balance

-Mental focus and harmony

Tai Chi is a body–mind–energy practice.
Beginners often don’t yet have clear body awareness — and that is completely natural.
With patient practice, sensitivity grows on its own.

One form practised deeply will take you much further than many forms practised lightly.

As martial artist Bruce Lee once said:

I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.

Mistake 2: Paying Too Much Attention to the Hands

“Where should my hands be?
Left hand on top or right hand?”

This is one of the most common questions beginners ask — and also one of the easiest traps to fall into.
People often get stuck on hands details like the difference between Brush Knee and Push, or Parting the Horse’s Mane.

In Tai Chi, the hands are not the driver of movement.
They are the result. The trick is to understand the form's purpose, the why, then how.

Movement begins in the feet, is powered by the legs, directed by the waist, and only then expressed through the hands.

When attention locks onto hand positions, several things usually happen:

-The shoulders tense

-The chest stiffens

-The legs stop fully participating

-Movements become fragmented

-Energy heavy on top, leaving the feet light and unstable

When the body moves as one connected unit — supported by an engaged core — the hands naturally arrive where they need to be, without forcing, correcting, or micromanaging.

There is a traditional saying in martial arts:
When someone is an outsider, the teacher shows the hands.
When someone becomes a true student, the teacher teaches the feet.

The feet and legs are the roots of Tai Chi — just like the roots of a plant.
Without strong roots, the plant cannot thrive.

In Chinese, we say:
人老腿先老
“As we age, the legs age first.”

Think about it: how many people do you know who need knee or hip replacements, compared to elbow or wrist replacements?

In modern life, we barely use our lower body or core intelligence.
Most professional work today is desk-based, and research consistently shows that prolonged sitting is associated with a shorter lifespan. This is one of the reasons I chose not to return to a legal career — too much time seated.

In China, Tai Chi and Pilates are often seen as complementary practices. Many studios even offer “Pila-Chi”, combining the two, because both cultivate core awareness, integration, and stability.

In te ao Māori, we speak of whenua — the land & our core.
When the land is nourished, everything flourishes.

For this reason, I personally don’t agree with the idea of “sitting Tai Chi.”
When the legs are not engaged, Tai Chi loses its root — and with that, much of its healing power. And - using it or losing it! 

From a therapeutic perspective, seated Qigong is often more effective than seated Tai Chi. Qigong is designed to be practised in many positions, including sitting, and can directly stimulate meridians, balance Qi, and guide energy through the body with clarity and intention.

There is only one exception.

When someone has practised Tai Chi for many years, the neural pathways are already deeply established. At that stage, even sitting — or simply imagining the movements — can activate the flow of Qi throughout the whole body.

Advanced practitioners are able to “practise” an entire Tai Chi sequence in stillness, guided by mind and intention alone, after years of 'conditioning'.

This is why traditional Tai Chi training emphasises physical practice when we are younger — not to chase performance, but to build lifelong muscle memory, body intelligence, and energetic connection.

 

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