Hubby learns things in the same way that music people 'play by ear'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_music_by_ear
Peter Southwood thought that it was amazing how quickly Hubby picked up his forms and how Hubby was able to go home and return the following week with a better reproduction that what he was shown.
Not only can Hubby learn immensely quickly by ear, but he can also improve what he has learned.
I have never personally seen him do this with tai chi (he hasn't learned a new form in almost two decades) but I see him do it all the time with other things: for example 'baking'.
