Imperfect Practice

It is said that practice makes perfect. That has been updated to perfect practice makes perfect. 

But we are imperfect people. There was an article on Thoughts on Tai Chi regarding how we imperfect people can progress through our imperfect practice. An excerpt is below. The full post may be read here.

So, what about Tai Chi? What is the value of imperfection, and how can you apply these ideas? First of all, some traditional Tai Chi teachers argue that striving for perfection while practicing Tai Chi creates more obstacles than it does improvements. I agree with this, especially when it comes to trying to perfect every detail.

Focusing too much on the “perfection” of the final posture in each movement, trying to replicate your teacher’s exact appearance, or obsessing over how things should look points to a shallow mindset and indicates that the person is focusing on the wrong things.

Instead, your focus should be internal. You should aim to feel and become aware of your movements and internal state. Your mind-body connection is what truly matters for developing internal awareness. You will be able to sense where your movements have “gaps” and “weaknesses,” but what you feel won’t always directly impact the visual appearance of the form. Developing smoothness and balance in the movements certainly will, but again, these real qualities are brought forward by focusing on the internal state and maintaining awareness in each moment – not by external corrections of the form.

Another aspect of focusing too much on imperfection is that it can make your Tai Chi feel “double weighted” or “double heavy.” In Tai Chi Chuan, it is crucial to separate Yin and Yang. But what does this mean in practical terms? It means that one side of the body leads, while the other follows. One side is “weak” or empty, while the other is “strong” or full.

This separation should also influence your focus and awareness of movement and posture. If you try to balance everything equally or maintain the same focus on both sides, you will block yourself. Your movements will become forced, and you will prevent yourself from moving smoothly and freely.

In fact, we could say that a certain imperfection in the balance between the two sides of the body creates smoothness and freedom in movement. Because of this aspect of practice, it becomes easier to let your body make decisions by itself and move more naturally, as it wants. This is also what the masters refer to when they speak of developing “natural movements”—something impossible if you try to force yourself and your movements.