Learning Chinese language through the process of learning something else Chinese – like cooking, kung fu, calligraphy, etc – is a great way to do it. As you learn, take notes on words and phrases and then practice them when you can. Basically you will want to pick up at least basic language skills though especially when you’ve moved beyond the basics. At that point you will definitely need to speak Chinese to have access to the larger bodies of information, many of which are Chinese only. Also if you learn these things in Chinese as opposed to English the cost will probably be 1/5th as much and it’ll be easier to find teachers and mentors.