It is an advantage if you happen to understand physics as it will help you in the learning of Tai Chi. However, all is not lost if you do not really get what physics is about.
If you ask me I would say that you do not need to understand formulas or scientific models to master Tai Chi. What you really need is the ability to keep your mind open, think things through, learn to see outside the box, persistently try things out, open up to listening to what your body is feeling, learn from your mistakes, constantly improve and keep up the practice.
We can learn a lot about Tai Chi by observing natural phenomena or even things that occur in daily life. The key here is to try to catch what is going on beneath that which is observable.
From here find a way to implement it into your practice. Once you have a basic feel for what you are doing then you test it out with a partner. At this point again I should point out that you need to practice solo before you try out. Otherwise, the moment you make contact with a partner everything flies out the window.
At this point you may then reach the erroneous conclusion that what you have practiced did not work. This is not always true. Sometimes what you thought is correct really is wrong. However, there are times that it is just a matter of fixing up and adding that which is lacking and you are good to go.
A lot of what I practice do not really need special equipment. From example, take a look at the photo below. What do you see?
The above are tiles in a kitchen. Looks ordinary, right?
Does anything come to mind? It should because human minds seek patterns in things that they see. If you have been reading up on Chinese martial arts the above should trigger a glimmer of recognition in you.
See it?
If no, click here to see what I see.