The teacher often says: what you get from paper feels shallow - you really know it only by practicing.
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From 陆游's Southern Song poem 《冬夜读书示子聿》: 纸上得来终觉浅,绝知此事要躬行. (What is learned on paper always feels shallow; to truly know a thing you must do it yourself.) One of the most quoted lines in modern Chinese education.
usage
Usually paired with the preceding line 纸上得来终觉浅. 躬行 = to practise personally, with one's own body - the adverb 躬 is classical for 'in person.'