Standardized 16 Form Taiji?

[sam58]

Is there a standardized 16 form taiji? I found a site that has a video of this. Performed, it is just a cut down version of the 24.

http://www.taiji.de
Choose english and then on-line learning.

Sam

Look, and it can't be seen.
Listen, and it can't be heard.
Reach, and it can't be grasped.

[Mr. Nemo]

A cut-down 24? ****. How much more are they gonna cut the form down?

[sam58]

LOL... Yeah, that's kind of what I thought. Maybe the simplified 6??

Sam

Look, and it can't be seen.
Listen, and it can't be heard.
Reach, and it can't be grasped.

[Ma_Xu_Zha]

I saw it yesterday on that website, we are really turning into retarded gerbils with the cut up traditional forms? GW mentioned the guy ripping of the Yang Long form, I have seen this 88 form its the Yang long form with some stupid changes.

[sam58]

The one reason I thought this form was interesting is that in my school, there are a few people who are having a hard time with the 24. In fact after two months of training they still can't do it all the way through. Maybe this would be a way for them to get a few postures down and feel like they have accomplished something.

Don't get me wrong, I want to learn & teach the traditional ways (I have gotten into more than one "heated" discussion about the correct way to do the forms), but can see that some may need some extra help along the way.

The other thing I like about this form is that it makes you perform some postures on the oposite side of your body (compared to the 24). Granted, this may be the case in some of the more advanced forms, but what a better time to get used to this than in the beginning?

I was mainly wondering if this form is fully accepted and "standardized" as the 24 or 48.

Enough for now...
Sam

Look, and it can't be seen.
Listen, and it can't be heard.
Reach, and it can't be grasped.

[GLW]

About a year or two ago China started to develop a more standardized method of training Taijiquan. This included taking the 24 Posture Simplified form and breaking it down a bit further so it would be done in parts.

The 16 Posture form is one of these. It is aimed at being a training form on the way to learning 24. Personally, I have never understood the need. 24 is simple enough and 88 is a piece of...well never mind. 42 and 48 are nice routines and can give a person a taste of several different styles of Taijiquan so they can pick one to pursue....but the 16... I just don't feel I need to dumb things down that far for anyone.

[Water Dragon]

Why not 4 forms? You know, Ward-Off, Roll Back, Press, Push, step forward, Ward-Off, Roll Back, Press, Push, etc.

Or...

Brush Knee, Twist Step Left, then Right, then Left, then Right, then Left, then Right, etc.

Or

Single Whip Left, then Right, then... You get the picture. You don't need to do the whole form to get benefits. In fact, I think that it is more beneficial to cut it up. More time with less confusion if you catch my drift.

Although there are many styles, they all depend on the strong beating the weak and the slow falling to the quick. These are not related to the power that must be learned -- Taiji Classics

[RAF]

Its to me that we have worked ourselves backwards to the point that explains why traditional training started with both static and single moving postures.

When I learned Yang shi taijiquan, I started with 4 moving postures: part the wild horses mane, brush knee, heel kick, and 45 degree toe kick. We also did relaxed posture training.

So there really is a logic to single moving postures, just seems they (new forms i.e. 24) are taking a long time to get there. 24 to 16 to 8 to 4 to 2 to 1.

[GLW]

Personally I don't see the need for the 16 or other short forms.

The reason is called Jiben Gong...basics.

No matter what routine I train...be it Taijiquan, Taijijian, Northern fist, etc... I spend much more time drilling techniques than doing the routines.

For example, in a typical class I teach, we always do warm ups...then stance training with movement. Some days, I will make everyone do stance drills with sword and train sword basics....some days it will be doing Brush knee across the floor, the Part horse's mane, wave hands, etc...so by the time we have finished the basics section of class, we have done a single posture over and over...and then moved to another single posture over and over.

In my personal training or my classes with my teacher, it is either a part of the class or assumed that you are doing this type of work anyway.

My teacher's response to the new simplified stuff like 16 posture was that it was unnecessary if the teachers were doing what they were supposed to be doing in the first place.

[ddh]

Well, we started with cut down versions of Taichi to give people an easy and fast way to practice. The 24 movement takes about 7 minutes done at moderate speed. It's all going to end up with one movement Taichi someday. That's all people will have time for! :D

[Prairie]

The form I've learned has 83 bits. It takes me about 10 minutes to get through it once. I can't understand why anybody would need anything shorter than 10 minutes.

If one really wants to only do one thing, practice circles.