Hi Earl Grey, That is a pretty good and extensive minimum FP regimen that you've been practicing!  that that is your minimum practice is impressive!   Good emphasis on the intermediate and advanced standing meditations. Also a very good sampling of the seated MSW meditations.    ** I would suggest adding one FP Meditation to anchor that entire practice:  Bending the Bows.  It's one of the pillars of the system and after 25 years of practicing it, it still teaches me things and continues to transform.  You don't have to do it every day or even every practice session...but try doing it a couple of times a week.  Hint:  right before you do Moonbeam and Vol.4 FPHHCM.   Here are answers to your questions (in blue):   1) For the very first Skype session, what are the common corrections people typically find themselves going over? I'm guessing it's mainly the long form that needs corrections, or even Moonbeam and some of the seated MSW forms?    Every student is different when it comes to the types of corrections to their FP Qigong practice because of a myriad of factors:  age, athletic ability, mind-body coordination, level of Tai Chi experience, extent of other Chinese martial arts experience, meditation experience, yoga experience, medical condition and injuries, mental health, how people have dealt with stress all their lives, natural talent, ability to work hard and persevere, ability to take instruction literally and easily (called "physical suggestibility" in my school of hypnotherapy).  But to give general answers, I would say the most common corrections for FP practitioners are the same corrections given to my Tai Chi students:    (A)  Foot placement, (B) Orientation of the hips/waist--the "gua",  (C)  proper roundness of the chest and arms (Wuchi is everywhere, almost, when it comes to FP and Tai Chi), (D)  total relaxation of all muscles with sinking of the joints, etc.   2) What is your bare minimum expectation in terms of how much practice we should have before contacting you for a Skype session? I ask in the sense that I have no problem with adding more time to my practice or waiting a few more months to even another year before contacting you for a Skype session...but if there's anything else you would hope for or expect from someone who wants to not just go the distance of an A+ student, but to go beyond and be an S student (108% instead of 100%).    I don't have any bare minimum expectation in terms of practice under one's belt before contacting me for private lessons.  Since I started teaching FP in the mid 90's, I've taught absolute beginners with no background in any Chinese martial or yogic art.  But I will answer your question in terms of what gets the student the biggest bang for the buck:  one should have done all the Meditations on Volume 1 of the CKFH DVD series and also all teh seated meditations on Vol.2.  I have had many students come in from far out of town to get their first instruction on Vol.3 meditations Moonbeam and Vol.4 the Long Form Standing. I have had one Skype student in Wisconsin, who is very private, lives like a hermit, and won't participate on this thread (although he had subscribed and posted about 2.5 years ago), who has been taking Skype  lessons from me every other week for the past 2.5 years.  And he is more advanced in the FP system than any of my local Los Angeles students.   I like the degree of "studenthood" and mastery that you say you're intent on attaining:  108%. Remember, as my classmate Sifu Hearfield posted many years ago:  slow and even is the Way. The "Gong" in Qigong is the same "Gong" in Gong Fu:  it means a fine diligent effort, day in and day out, without strain or obsession.  ("obsession" defined operatively as:   trying too hard because one is too attached to desired outcomes or driven to mania by an unhealthy motivation.  SEE THE THIRD MOVING LINE IN I CHING HEXAGRAM 52 - MEDITATION "KEEPING STILL" FOR A GOOD GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE ERROR OF TRYING TO FORCE RESULTS FROM ANY HIGH LEVEL MEDITATION ART [SUCH AS FP QIGONG].)   3) How else would you advise us to better advance not just in Flying Phoenix, but other forms we may be potentially interested in?  (There are a couple others you know that I am drawn to). I know you mention in our ongoing thread here that there is a required reading list, which I have purchased almost everything listed there and already read cover to cover those titles.  Regarding other forms and arts that you're interested in, make sure you get to the source of the art as close as possible.  A bona fide master or a senior student very close to a bona fide master. Excellent that you've read the entire recommended reading list.  One book series that is a wonderful roadmap for learning Taoist arts is the one written by Carlos Castaneda (The teachings of Don Juan:  A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, A Separate Reality, Journey to Ixtlan, Tales of Power, etc.).  The most important bookd on the required reading list for all my Qigong students is 2 primary books:  "Secret of the Golden Flower" and "Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines" by W.Y. Evans-Wentz.  If you've thoroughly read the both and understand them, then you can start teaching right away.  I'm not joking!   In short--how can I make your role as Sifu easier and more enjoyable as I aspire to climb to the top of the allegorical mountain with the intention of continuing to climb even after I reach the peak? How can I be what constitutes an overachiever student by the standards that you hold?  You don't have to make my role as a teacher easier.  If you are the overachieving student that you say you want to be, once I see that, I'm sure that I will be pleasantly thrilled. A student doesn't need to think that far ahead--i.e., to make the job of the teacher easier. What I ask is that a student be a "good" student, as defined by Gasan:              The poor student uses his teacher's influence.            The mediocre student admires his teacher's kindness.            The good student grows strong under his teacher's instruction.   My standards are very simple:  refine your practice of the FP Qigong art and progress through all the natural steps, learning the basic level of material on the DVD series...to the extent that one is fully self-healed, has cultivated a tangible reserve of FP Healing Energy, which can be seen and felt by me and advanced practitioners, and express (or not express) a predilection for healing with the FP Healing Energy.  (The latter is totally up to you and your nature and won't affect the next couple of levels of instruction.)  If one develops naturally along those lines, then, when one is ready, the next level of Knowledge will be made available.  There are 9 advanced FP Qigong standing moving meditations that come next.   Thanks for your post and your enthusiasm and intensity!   Sifu Terry Dunn   www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html