24-step Taiji

I promised I will talk about the significance of the 24-step routine.  Taiji is an ancient martial art, and like anything ancient, people have changed it over time based on personal taste, preferences, and new needs, resulting in many styles and flavors.  I relate to that very much because the same thing has happened to music in my culture.

While having different styles and flavors is necessary in terms of authenticity and also the growth of an art form, it makes things hard when it comes to education, "common understanding", and competition.

Therefore back in 1956 a shorter version of the Yang style Taiji was developed as the "standard simplified form".  Some of the harder physical moves were taken out to make it appropriate for pretty much any age, doable in about 6 minutes.  This routine has 24 postures or "steps" and is therefore called the 24-step Taiji routine.

24-step is the most widely known and practiced form of Taiji these days.  So if you travel to a country far far away (for me Australia!) and you happen to run into some people doing Taiji in a park, if you know the 24-step form you have a good chance of being able to join them and enjoy group Taiji.

I have heard - I hope I can see it some day - that in the mornings people get together in parks in Beijing and do the 24-step Taiji to music.  The only way to achieve group practice at such levels is through having a standard, not-so-hard form.  That's why if you're into Taiji you pretty much have to learn 24-step.  Additionally, if you're doing a different style like Chen or Wu, 24-step will give you a flavor of what Yang style looks like without making you learn the really long 108-step original routine!

A detailed account of the 24-step form can be found here.