From The DANCING WU LI MASTERS

And from EMBRACE TIGER, RETURN TO MOUNTAIN
He begins from the center and not from the fringe. He imparts an understanding of the basic principles of the art before going on to the meticulous details, and he refuses to break down the t'ai chi movements into a one-two-three drill so as to make the student into a robot. The traditional way. . .is to teach by rote, and to give the impression that long periods of boredom are the most essential part of training. In that way a student may go for years and years without ever getting the feel of what he is doing.