In addition to rigorous physical training aimed at mastering a variety of set routines (tao lu) needed for the Asian Games, he also began reading a wide range of taijiquan classics dating back to the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). The qigong exercises that make up part of taijiquan are rooted in Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian philosophy, and Chan collected anything at all that had to do with taijiquan.
變成培訓選手之後的詹明樹，「每天二十四小時，行住坐臥都是太極拳」，不僅在肢體上勤練亞運的套路，也開始認真閱讀整理自清代的各種太極拳經拳論。由於太極拳練氣涉及道佛儒家等哲理，只要有關的書籍，他也僅可能搜羅來看。