Effortless Skill? Options

I dont know where the first place i have heard the saying "No skill is a skill unless it's effortless," or something similar.

it is in a whole lot of kung fu movies for sure, and some Buddhist websites and so, but what exactly does it mean?

You have to put effort into things. Even if you get so good you can excel without trying, then you still have to put effort into practice.

Didn't know where to put this, but it seems a very tao way of thinking so i put it here.

Many such sayings are intended to be contemplated by the student in order to reach a higher state of understanding.

Personally I believe it is said in regard to the feeling one puts into a skill. Effortless is a state of mind, although the body may experience effort, the mind does not have to. To me it is about developing the discipline and confidence to apply effortless effort.

Study buddhism, it is a worthwhile endeavor and will shed far more philosophical light on this point. Like most such sayings, only so much can be said about its meaning, the true essence of it's value is in experiential knowledge.

peace

IIRC it is Taoist.

The way I understand it, the goal is wu wei--doing without doing. You can have naive 'not doing,' what we in the West call 'beginner's luck.' It can also mean (and I think this is the goal here) that you know a skill so well that you can perform it by instinct and you don't have to think about it at all.

Vagrant's right, look into Buddhism too. Taoism and Buddhism have been living next to each other for so long that in many ways they're intertwined.

Its at the point where you have practiced so much your techniques are flawless and comes automatic without thinking much. Hence "effortless". (IMG:style_emoticons/default/i_triangle.gif)

I've also heard something like 10,000 kicks practiced one or one kick practiced 10,000 times. Don't dwell too deep into it.