Does Tai Chi Come Naturally with Enough Practice?

I recently saw a post on Facebook asking:“I’ve read that Peng will not arise by itself - you must be led to it. But my school says Taijiquan is natural and can be discovered in the world around us. So, which is true?”

This raises an important question:Can Tai Chi be learned “naturally” through enough repetition, or must we work at it deliberately?

From my experience, Peng Jin does not arise on its own. It must be cultivated—patiently, consciously, and with a great deal of diligent practice.

Why can’t we learn it “naturally”? If “natural” means that, by repeating movements long enough, the body will spontaneously correct itself, then the answer is simple: it won’t.

If we had stopped developing after toddlerhood, then perhaps we could. A toddler’s structure is remarkably close to what Tai Chi requires. Toddlers are relaxed with their shoulders and elbows dropped. Their hips are naturally sunk. Their weight falls effortlessly into their feet. Their breathing is deep, slow, and abdominal. They have not yet learned tension.

But we don’t remain that way.We grow up and begin to imitate the adults around us. We learn to stand stiff and “upright,” which really means we stop sinking the hips. We hold our weight up instead of letting it drop. We tense our shoulders. We tighten our backs. We breathe from the chest rather than the belly. By adulthood, most of our natural alignment has been replaced by layers of muscular holding and structural habits that run counter to Tai Chi principles.

To develop Peng, then, is not simply a matter of repetition. It is a process of unlearning the habits we have accumulated since childhood. It requires learning:

• how to align the body from the ground up,

• how to song, or release,

• how to expand and open all the joints,

• how to sink the weight,

• and how to root.

These skills do not appear spontaneously. They must be trained systematically.

And for that, a good teacher is invaluable - someone who can guide you out of old habits and help you experience what true Peng feels like in your body.