So here is a question for everyone.

It can be taken as a given (at least to me) that without partner practice of some kind fighting skill is very unlikely to be gained.

Now let us distinguish between great martial skill/ability and skill at gungfu, especially internal gungfu.

For instance.. Fedor is (obviously) far far far better than I at administering a beat-down under virtually any reasonably fair rule-set or situation one would care to name.

That said.. Fedor (great man and martial artist that he is) is not a Taiji practitioner (as far as I know).

So martial skill =/= skill at a specific style.

Can you become good at internal gungfu while doing only partner practice?

And if not.. if solo practice is needed to develop the gungfu (I think it is).. what is the ideal ratio of solo to partner at the various stages of learning?