Preliminaries come first

In the mainstream martial arts the onus is usually upon fighting so the syllabus is designed with this in mind.
A taijiquan syllabus is a little different.
Not only must the student gain combat skills, but they must also learn how to use the body in a wholly unfamiliar way.
This means that qigong exercises, healthy body use, neigong concerns and non-combat partner drills (e.g. pushing hands) are initially more important than combat skills.