liàn wǔ bù liàn gōng dào lǎo yī cháng kōng
練 武 不 練 功 到 老 一 場 空


My translation--

If while training martial arts there is no training of skill, then arriving at old age it was all in vain.

Gong (skill) 功 is hard to translate. Here it essentially means many things, mostly it means the fundamental practices of whatever martial art you train. Traditionally it is referring to 內功(nei gong), or 外功(wai gong) of the style.

For me it translates into...Sit more, stand more. Think less, talk less.

-kenny

sorry, i thought i posted this in the quotes thread...

I practice taijiquan and my teacher says this often. Gong does mean many things. For me, it means I need to develop the Jing and physical structure more. Practicing taijiquan without practicing the waigong body development and neigong to go with it... 一辈子都炼不出来！(the whole life you'll never learn it!)

Empty your mind and fill your spirit while your body is still alive.

I just made it up, lol!

nice.

Welcome Kenny! Nice post.
I have also heard this quote and interpret it to mean that not only is it important to practice, but it is important to practice properly. To me that means that one must have a competent teacher and one must make the effort to practice intelligently. For example, let's say you practice taiji and you practice the form every day for an hour for 20 years. If you never paid attention to proper posture, distinguishing full and empty, and so on, that 20 years of practice will have taken you no closer to understanding taiji.
So when you do practice, make sure you pay attention to the small details and practice very mindfully.
That's how I interpret that saying.
Best regards,

PS - I really enjoy old sayings like that, keep them coming!