邯郸学步

han (2) dan (1) xue (1) bu (4)

A young man of the town of Shouling heard that the people of Handan City, capital of the Zhao State, walked with a certain je ne sais pas. So he packed his bags for Handan hoping to learn the art of graceful walking.

He started off just copying their footsteps, but found this wasn't enough. He hadn't got that local mojo. So our man decided the only solution was to go completely native. To become a true Handanese meant learning a whole lot of things, not just walking. He had to remember so much all at the same time our man turned spastic. And it only got worse. Because he had by now completely abandoned his roots, the man found he couldn't even walk the old way he had before he left home. It was definitely time to go home. So off our man set - on his knees.

If somebody wants to learn something using an inappropriate method, Chinese tend to apply this idiom. It means picking up a bad, self-taught habit, which makes learning even more difficult. It's copying something that simply doesn't suit your nature.