Natural selection

Zen or tao-influenced arts - whether martial or otherwise - require the student to cultivate an eye for subtlety.
There is a deliberately obscure quality to these arts.
Much is left unsaid.

Seen in this way, tai chi is akin to an Asian joke.
Hidden within dance-like forms and playful partnered exercises, a deadly martial art lies unnoticed by most people.
To approach the art, you must let go of tension and fixity; physical, emotional and psychological.
This makes tai chi chuan especially inaccessible to people who have an aggressive or forceful character.

Some things cannot be bought with money.
They require a serious commitment and a willingness to sublimate the ego.