24-Form Simplified Tai Chi

Quick Facts

About the kata

The simplified 24-form was created in Beijing in 1956 by a group of masters convened by China's state committee for physical culture and sport. It was led by Li Tianji, coach of the Chinese national wushu team, and the group also included Chu Guiting, Cai Longyun, Fu Zhongwen and Zhang Yu. It is sometimes called the Beijing form, after its place of origin. The name counts 24 postures, though some consist of two to four parts: Grasp the Bird's Tail contains ward-off, roll-back, press and push, and Step Back and Stand on One Leg links the Crawling Snake with the Golden Rooster. It opens with Parting the Wild Horse's Mane and White Crane Spreads Its Wings, and in the middle comes Waving Hands Like Clouds between two instances of Single Whip – the only name that repeats. The postures alternate left and right so both sides train equally, and according to Michael Garofalo the choreography follows straight lines. According to the magazine Qi, a beginner learns the basic steps in about two months. The English Wikipedia gives a duration of around six minutes, Garofalo four to eight. The Chinese government actively promoted it after completion, and today it is among the most practised taijiquan forms in the world.

The kata in different styles

Creator and history

According to the Chinese Wikipedia, the state committee for physical culture wanted the form to erase the character individual schools and families gave taijiquan and to play down its combat side, so it would suit the whole population. The magazine Qi describes it more gently: the form was meant to introduce taijiquan's essential elements while keeping the character of the traditional long forms. According to the English Wikipedia, besides coaching the national wushu team, Li Tianji was also on the leadership of China's national institute of physical education and sport; Michael Garofalo calls him chairman of the taijiquan commission, under which other standardised simplified forms were also created in 1956.

Differences between styles

Compared with the traditional long Yang form, it omits the hardest movements and the repetitions, per the English Wikipedia. For comparison, totaltaichi.com gives the long Yang form as 108 movements and 20 to 40 minutes, versus five to eight minutes for the 24-posture form. According to a book by Liang Shou-Yu and Wu Wen-Ching (cited by Wikipedia), it is usually followed by the 48-posture form or the competition 42-posture form, combining movements from four taijiquan styles.

In competition

The IWUF competition rules (Wushu Taolu Competition Rules and Judging Methods, 2024) list the form among the compulsory taijiquan sets and, in Article 11, set its duration at four to five minutes, shorter than the time Wikipedia gives for ordinary practice. At the 4th World Taijiquan Championships in Singapore in 2024, the championship competition reserved it for the 14–17 age category; adults aged 18 to 65 performed it in the demonstration competition.

Competition status

• IWUF (International Wushu Federation) – Tai Chi — Compulsory routine ↗

Techniques in the kata

Related katas

• Derived from: Yang Traditional Long Form
• Gave rise to: 48-Form Tai Chi