Yun Shou
雲手
Literally: cloud hands
Also known as: Cloud Hands, Wave Hands Like Clouds, 云手
Yun shou (雲手) is a smooth circular hand movement in taiji forms, usually repeated in groups of two to three.
Quick Facts
Katas containing this technique
About
Yun shou (雲手), known in English as cloud hands or wave hands like clouds, is a movement of taijiquan forms. According to the description of the fast form of the Wu style, during it the hands move smoothly along circular paths. It is documented in the Chen, Yang and Wu styles. In the simplified 24-posture form, yun shou stands between two performances of the single whip movement. In the 103-posture Yang family form it appears three times, each time as three consecutive repetitions surrounded by the single whip movement, for example at positions 32 to 34. In the Guang Ping Yang form it carries the name wave hands like clouds and occurs in two variants at positions 17, 39, 50 and 56. In the fast form of the Wu style it appears in three places, among others after the Lan Que Wei movement. Unlike most movements, which are performed once in a form, yun shou is usually repeated in groups of two to three. It is also included in the 42-posture competition form, which was created in 1989 by Men Huifeng and Li Deyin by shortening an older 48-posture form from 1976; it was first performed at the 11th Asian Games in 1990.