48-Form Tai Chi

Quick Facts

About the kata

The 48-movement form was created in 1976 for China's state sports commission by Men Huifeng of the Beijing Sport University and Li Deyin of Renmin University of China. According to the English Wikipedia, it was part of the effort to bring martial arts back into life as a modern sport after the Cultural Revolution. Its basis is the simplified 24-movement form. According to YMAA, the forty-eight keeps all its movements with minor adjustments and adds harder techniques from the Yang, Chen, Wu and Sun styles, while keeping its character close to the Yang style's large frame. It is also more balanced: a number of movements are practised on both sides, such as Single Whip, Play the Lute, or Wave Hands Like Clouds. Unlike the twenty-four, the opening is not followed by Wild Horse Parts Its Mane but directly by White Crane Spreads Its Wings. The movements are divided into six sections. The opening and closing are not counted in the 48, so the YMAA list numbers them up to fifty. The whole form takes about ten minutes. It served as a competition form until 1989, when the same authors shortened it into the 42-movement competition form.

The kata in different styles

Rhythm and dynamics

According to YMAA, the form is practised at an even tempo with open, expansive movements. A few faster movements are an exception; a second YMAA article calls them typical of the fajin power burst, and otherwise the same principles apply as to the Yang style.

The hardest part

The list of movements shows where the form makes the greatest demands on balance: right heel kick (24) and left heel kick (26), toe kicks right and left (30), the lotus sweep turn (45) and three one-leg stances (19, 39 and 44, the last one called Riding the Tiger). Punch Through with Lowered Body (18) and Scoop Palms with Lowered Body (42) go deep into a low position.

Prerequisites

The Gu Feng Tai Chi school describes it as a more demanding form for those who already master the standardised twenty-four. According to the book by Liang Shou-Yu and Wu Wen-Ching, cited by the English Wikipedia, the twenty-four is usually followed precisely by the 48-position form, or by the 42-position competition form. YMAA recommends learning slowly and adding only a few positions at a time; the whole form is thus traditionally practised for six to twelve months.

In competition

The list of taijiquan forms on the English Wikipedia lists it as an old combined competition form, practised in competitions until it was replaced by the 42-position form. According to Wikipedia, that one was put together in 1989 by Men Huifeng and Li Deyin by shortening the forty-eight, to match competition time limits and judging. In the 2024 IWUF competition rules we did not find the forty-eight among the compulsory taijiquan forms; Article 11 on this subject lists the 42- and 24-movement forms and the competition forms of the individual styles.

Related katas

• Derived from: 24-Form Simplified Tai Chi
• Gave rise to: 42-Form Competition Tai Chi