Technique vs Skill

It was a lesson for me today during pushing hands. I learnt what is technique and what is skill. And how they actually need to be practised hand-in-hand, so that one can really be said to master the application of taijiquan.

Technique is the technical application of the moves in taiji. That is to say, where to sweep and where to stand and how to turn the body to be able to apply a certain move such as Grasp the Sparrow Tail. One way to train technique is to have a partner for you to continue practising the moves. Well trained, you can easily apply the moves in fluid motions. You can either be leading with your movements, or your partner can be feeding you with moves for you to counter.

Skill is about the understanding of taiji. This is about being able to relax, being able to listen to your opponent's force, being able to neutralise your opponent and being able to use your opponent's force against him. To train skill, you need a partner, so that your partner can be feeding you moves for you to listen, discern, neutralise and return.

If you focus only on learning technique, you will find that you are able to apply the moves in taiji well against the unskilled and even against those skilled up to a certain degree. But the limit is that you are restricted by form (because you only train the application of the moves in the form/routines). And thus against the truly skilled, because they have no form, they are able to listen, discern, neutralise and then return your force.

If you focus only on learning skill, you will find that at first, you will not be able to handle someone good at techniques. Because you are still unable to properly listen and discern his force, thus you are unable to effectively neutralise and return his force. But if you persevere, you will find that not being restricted by form means you will eventually progress further along the road. But it will take a long time...

The compromise? Practise to gain skill when training with a partner, but think about application when practising your form. That seems to me to be the most effective and efficient way to improve in learning how to apply taijiquan.