Tai Chi is just another martial art. Like all martial arts it relies on:

Health
Posture
Breathing
Balance
Mindfulness
Emotional intelligence
Discipline
A balance of internal and external
A connected body
Smooth movement
Technical skills
Speed
Coordination
Physics
Strength
Flexibility
Time + effort
A good coach
Strategy
A healthy philosophy toward life

These are the basic requirements of all martial arts, tai chi is probably closer to judo than any other art but they are all connected by the above. It’s got its fair share of weirdos but that’s all they are, put them into an environment where they have to have their skills scrutinised and they’ll fail.

There are no ‘secrets’ these days, but like any skill it takes time and effort to learn and internalise.

I teach well known senior grades from all the different ‘internal and external’ martial arts and they all agree that tai chi ‘fills in many gaps’ for them and gives them depth, the important thing is that it blends seamlessly with their existing arts.

If it’s taught without mumbo jumbo and in layers in plain language it is an in depth uncorrupted, synergistic traditional family art that covers all the bases with a mass of classics to help modern day practitioners.