I read too much, visit forums too much, and generally waste a lot of time, so I won't be able to accurately cite the source. With that being said...

I've often heard there are three levels to Martial Arts training.

The first being the forms level. This is for the absolute beginner to teach them the structure of the style.

The 2nd being the tui shou, playing hands, chi sau stage. This is where you start to play with the techniques and start using the principles with another person.

The 3rd is the free fighting stage. This is where you really start to internalize and apply the concepts of the style.

Then there's the mastery level where you're able to incorporate other styles and concepts into your own application.

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IMO, the problems we express with TCMA are because there's a tradition of spending way too much time in levels 1 and 2, and real personal development doesn't happen in those levels. What were finding now is that there's difficulty in properly achieving the 3rd level. We're having to write the book to get there because it kind've got lost. To make matters worse, a lot of the middle aged masters that are teaching now realized this - unfortunately during the 70's and 80's, and the style of fighting that they tried to bridge to isn't good ultimately for modern TCMA.