24 Simplified Set

[brucereiter]

The entire idea is to NOT confuse people. If you refer to 24 in any manner, people will automatically think the standard routine. Simply call it Taijiquan. Those interested in the details will understand the idea of “based on 24 Posture standard set but adding back in or taking away…” Only those with a little knowledge ever ask that question. Many don’t even know the difference. They come in to a class wanting to continue Yang style…and then have to be told they are doing 24 or Cheng Manqing’s set. Or even Guang Ping (but usually they know the difference)

The rock step…no martial use…it was put in to reduce knee and ankle strain when teaching beginners. Similarly, there is a step to Ding Bu (toe of one foot by the solid other foot in a transition step) going from one side to the other in Part Horse’s mane and in Brush Knee…but in Yang, this step is NOT done. Again, the point is to encourage correct alignment, reduce the need for more leg strength, and reduce strain on the knee and ankle. The hand technique is almost the same…but the timing is different. There is a rhythm of each Taijiquan set. If you obtain the music used for group performances with 24, you will find that they are always in ¾ time….a waltz rhythm. Yang is more of an even timing – a 4/4 rhythm. Yang is hard due to trying to keep it even and large.

The signature move for Yang – Grasp Sparrow’s Tail – is way different in 24…same names, same order, but the application is reduced. The Yang circles are more compact but more important. Wave hands…totally different. More of a Sun influence in 24 for wave hands.

88 is NOT Yang style. It was created by Li Tianji…and is about as close to plagiarism as you can get – being Yang style filtered through with the rock steps and a couple of other moves added. (Yang Chengfu set is often counted as 85 sometimes as 103…sometimes as 108 but this is less common in the PRC than Taiwan. )

the "entire idea" for me is to understand how to apply the forms i practice. i do not care about forms competitions. at least you are calling what i showed as tai chi chuan lol :-) ...

reduce the need for leg strength ??? why? it is a martial art, it is not supposed to be "easy" if they made it easy for beginners are you supposed to adjust it when you become advanced?

if there is no martial use then why do it?
i think that these competitions have damaged the martial side of tai chi chuan in many ways.
i have no plans on doing the for to the "official music" ... i think that timing is unnatural since every one is shaped different if i did it at the same tempo as a 4'9" 100lbs chinese man it would be very odd. the music is for performance only i think.

having said that i do practice live and let live, so if you enjoy it and harm nobody do what you like ...

using your logic about confusing people let me ask this;
which of these do you think of as yang tai chi chuan? and why? they are all very different. in my opinion most of these are awesome. a few i dont like, which do you prefer?

Tung Ying Chieh
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ldAmH1zA7jU

Tung Huling
http://youtube.com/watch?v=rZHm-eNePI8&feature=related

Fu Zhongwen
http://youtube.com/watch?v=rRZLJVfT6h4

Yang Zhenduo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=t_hCCTTG3UY

cheng man ching
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Fl2mvyjHYS0

Master Yang Jun
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7pna9ajZHKY

Liu Gaoming
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Cq2uHsUkwA8

dont know the name (yang 48)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=IFZUIgaxlsI&feature=related

wu tunan
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0QRj4aqLsu8&feature=related

Nui Chunming
http://youtube.com/watch?v=EnxokIPLzJM&feature=related

Master Ma Ping
http://youtube.com/watch?v=verv_b7TEGQ&feature=related

[mawali]

I no longer use the 24 Form name but I do refer to it while preferring Beijing Yang short Form or Beijing shi taijiquan. In my teaching I prefer to use Yang style characteristics meaning I limit sitback and pivot and repulsing monkey with its exaggerated head/neck looking back and a few other 'small points'.

Another preference is to tell my students is to build gong because doing the form itself has limited 'health benefit'. It is good for stretching and invigorating jingluo, relaxing the arteries bit it is too short a routine buy itself.

You want to build the gong of Beijing shi taijiquan. Here are some strategies:

a. If doing the 24 form /aka Beijing shi taijiquan (reference) , increase the 3 repetitions parts to 6 or 9 repetitions i.e. yunshou, brush knee, parting horses mane.

b. Do 15+ repetitions per day or more.

c. Do more post standing (zhanzhuang), ding shi, and taijizhuang. These are the roots of gong building! With (c), you can do 5-10 repetitons as opposed to 15+.

[GLW]

Tung (Dong) Yingjie and Fu Zhongwen were with Yang Chengfu. Fu learned only from Yang Chengfu..being a nephew through marriage. He was often criticized for…strangely enough … looking TOO much like his teacher, Yang Chengfu, when doing Taijiquan. Fu was reported to have felt that he was better trying to preserve than further what Yang Chengfu created. Tung Huling is one of the next generation or is it the third from Dong Yingjie. Fong Yingjie learned some Wu and a bit of Chen as well. He claimed that he and Yang Chengfu were working on a Yang fast set but no one else in the Yang family knew of this. Dong’s lineage has the fast set and does things a little different so it is becoming its own branch.

Cheng Manqing – made enough changes that many would argue that it is a separate style from Yang Chengfu altogether. Yang Jun is Yang Zhenduo’s grandson…and therefore 2 generations removed. Yang Zhenduo is the youngest of Yang Chengfu’s children and was 9 or 10 when his father died.

Wu Tunan learned other styles but was also reported to have had one leg almost 4 inches shorter than the other…which undoubtedly affects how he approached everything.

48 is NOT Yang. It is a combined routine …and has been incorrectly dated by some to 1976…but was created a few years after 24 Posture as a follow up…and definitely was created before the Cultural Revolution. It uses a substrate of 24 to hold things together and switches from style to style….but again, it is NOT Yang.

Fu Zhongwen is closer in posture to Yang Chengfu according to many…but he also suffered from gout…which affected his stepping a bit. He liked seafood and coconut milk…which didn’t help his gout any. I am a bit biased in favor of Fu – but that is due to lineage.

Currently, there are two major Yang family branches, Fu’s and Yang Zhenduos. Their sequence is the same but there are different flavorings. I will say that Yang style is the easiest style of Taijiquan I know to do – badly…and very difficult to do well…

[brucereiter]

Currently, there are two major Yang family branches, Fu’s and Yang Zhenduos. Their sequence is the same but there are different flavorings. I will say that Yang style is the easiest style of Taijiquan I know to do – badly…and very difficult to do well…

i have to agree about fu zhongwen, i like his stuff i also like the tung/dong way of doing things ...

[GLW]

Given that Dong Yingjie studied not only with Yang Chengfu, but with Yang Shao Ho (YCF's brother), with a Wu/Hao teacher, and with one of Wu Jianquan's sons - a melding of the four approaches would be understandable.

If you look at something like Guang Ping Taiji, the trace theris back to Yang Banho...and it is definitely different from Yang Chengfu's approach.

Dong has a lot more slant in his movements than people like Fu Zhongwen. He also puts a lot more back bend and twist than Fu or Yang Zhenduo. Personally, I attribute this to the influence of the other 2 styles of Taijquan in his Yang Chengfu routine. This is not a statement of good or bad...just an observation.

I personally like the cleanness of Fu Zhongwen's approach. Since Fu only studied with YCF, I would tend to think his is closer to what YCF did.

[GeneChing]

24 Posture Taiji Quan by Master Helen Liang

[CYMac]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gFaKUL1RY4

This is another video of 24 Form Yang TaiChi, sorry, but when I was performing this, my right leg was injured so bad, I have a hard time going low and doing stances.. it was filmed way back before.

[SPJ]

wow. an old thread.

it is now 2011.

[GeneChing]

The 2nd annual KUNG FU TAI CHI DAY is June 2, 2013 at Plaza de Cesar Chavez in San Jose, CA.

Come join our Group Tai Chi Demonstration!
We will be staging a Group Tai Chi demonstration of Simplified 24 Tai Chi routine. We hope to get as many participants as possible. This is open to anyone that can recite the Simplified 24 Tai Chi routine.

No matter what your skill level, please come and join us! And plan to spend the day. There will be ongoing demonstrations from noted masters and local schools, as well as introductory workshops in basic kung fu, wushu, tai chi and qigong.

If you wish to participate, be sure to arrive by 10:00 sharp!

Simplified 24 Tai Chi routine

[GeneChing]

If you have a school or club and wish to participate, there is an official T-shirt. Contact me for details.

We also just posted another version with the music: The Kung Fu Tai Chi Day Simplified 24 Routine.

[GeneChing]

Plus there's our new sweepstakes promo - Enter to win KungFuMagazine.com's contest for SIMPLIFIED TAI CHI Autographed by author Shou-Yu Liang! Contest ends 6:00 p.m. PST on 06/12/14. Good luck everyone!

[David Jamieson]

we call this the "Beijing 24".

[No_Know]

B-Rad said, "So, where am I going with this - if you choose to USE the 24 Posture routine but modify it, it is no longer 24 so call it Taijiquan but do not call it 24. Sort of like if you were to take a VW beetle and remove the engine and replace it with a front mounted engine - V8 - it would NOT be a VW beetle (I actually knew of someone who did that and won a lot of pink slips racing due to people thinking of it being a beetle."

Because to look at the vehicle it Is a VW Beetle the analogy might more be switching out the body of the beetle for a high performance sportier vehicle. In this way how it drives is the same as 24 but the look of it has been snazzied-up and is not the external form of the engine driving it.

No_Know

[bawang]

B-Rad said, "So, where am I going with this - if you choose to USE the 24 Posture routine but modify it, it is no longer 24 so call it Taijiquan but do not call it 24. Sort of like if you were to take a VW beetle and remove the engine and replace it with a front mounted engine - V8 - it would NOT be a VW beetle (I actually knew of someone who did that and won a lot of pink slips racing due to people thinking of it being a beetle."

Because to look at the vehicle it Is a VW Beetle the analogy might more be switching out the body of the beetle for a high performance sportier vehicle. In this way how it drives is the same as 24 but the look of it has been snazzied-up and is not the external form of the engine driving it.

No_Know

beijing 24 was created for ease to learn and to look good. its not for fighting. the form makes no mao-dam sense.

[GeneChing]

See our SIMPLIFIED TAI CHI Autographed by author Shou-Yu Liang winners thread.