Tai Chi Ruler

The Tai Chi Ruler is a wooden stick about 12 inches long used in Qigong exercises. There is some theory involved which is related to Hand Reflexology and hand acupressure and massage.  The Taiji Ruler exercises also involve gentle movements, stretching, and breathing coordination. 

You can check my research on the subject of the Tai Chi Ruler.

Aging and Humor

 Old Age . . .

 

"To get back to my youth I would do anything in the world, except exercise, get up early, or be respectable." - Oscar Wilde 

 

"The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for." - Will Rogers 

 

"We must recognize that, as we grow older, we become like old cars – more and more repairs and replacements are necessary." - C.S. Lewis 

 

"Old age comes at a bad time." – Sam Banducci “

 

"Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened." - Jennifer Yay

 

"Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you are aboard there is nothing you can do about it." - Golda Meir 

 

"The older I get, the more clearly I remember things that never happened. - Mark Twain 

 

"Wisdom doesn’t necessarily come with age. Sometimes, age just shows up all by itself." - Tom Wilson 

 

"I’m at that age where my back goes out more than I do." - Phyllis Diller 

 

"Nice to be here? At my age it’s nice to be anywhere." – George Burns 

 

"Don't let aging get you down. It's too hard to get back up." - John Wagner 

 

"First you forget names, then you forget faces, then you forget to pull your zipper up, then you forget to pull your zipper down." 

Leo Rosenberg

 

"At my age, flowers scare me." - George Burns  

 

"At age 20, we worry about what others think of us…at age 40, we don’t care what they think of us… at age 60, we discover they haven’t been thinking of us at all." - Ann Landers 

 

"As you get older three things happen. The first is your memory goes, and I can't remember the other two." - Sir Norman Wisdom 

 

“The older I get, the better I used to be.” – Lee Trevino 

 

"I don’t feel old. I don’t feel anything until noon. Then it’s time for my nap." - Bob Hope 

 

"Getting older. I used to be able to run a 4-minute mile, bench press 380 pounds, and tell the truth." -Conan O’Brien

 

"When your friends begin to flatter you on how young you look, it’s a sure sign you’re getting old." - Mark Twain 

 

"The idea is to die young as late as possible." - Ashley Montagu

Taoist Immortals

Chronicles of Tao: The Secret Life of a Taoist Master. By Deng Ming-Dao. Harper One, 1993, 476 pages. VSCL. Biography of Kwan Sai Hung.  (1920-...)  A fictional Taoist Master/Immortal.  

"Some of the Masters of Mount Huashan were already addressed as "Immortal."  These were highly regarded individuals, agless in appearance.  Their titles meant "realized persons," signifying that the Masters has fulfilled, as a minimum requirement, the completion of internal alchemy for the sake of longevity, liberation from the cycle of transmigration, enlightened perception of the nature of life, astral travel, and the total memorization of the hundreds of volumes comprising the Taoist Canon." - Chronicles of Tao, p. 69  

Bat Immortal, Yin-Yan Immortals, Frog Immortal ...

Eight Immortals - Wikipedia

Xian - Wikipedia

Xian (Chinese: 仙/仚/僊; pinyin: xiān; Wade–Giles: hsien) refers to a person or similar entity having a long life or being immortal. The concept of xian has different implications dependent upon the specific context: philosophical, religious, mythological, or other symbolic or cultural occurrence. The Chinese word xian is translatable into English as:

• (in Daoist philosophy and cosmology) spiritually immortal; transcendent human; celestial being
• (in Daoist religion and pantheon) physically immortal; immortal person; an immortal; saint
• (in Chinese alchemy) alchemist; one who seeks the elixir of life; one who practices longevity techniques
  • (or by extension) alchemical, dietary, or qigong methods for attaining immortality
• (in Chinese mythology) wizard; magician; shaman; sorcerer
• (in popular Chinese literature) genie; elf, fairy; nymph; 仙境 (xian jing is fairyland, faery)
• (based on the folk etymology for the character 仙, a compound of the characters for person and mountain) sage living high in the mountains; mountain-man; hermit; recluse
• (as a metaphorical modifier) immortal [talent]; accomplished person; celestial [beauty]; marvelous; extraordinary
• (In new-age conception) seeker who takes refuge in immortality (longevity for the realization of divinity); transcended person [self] recoded by the "higher self"; divine soul; fully established being

Xian semantically developed from meaning spiritual "immortality; enlightenment", to physical "immortality; longevity" involving methods such as alchemy, breath meditation, and tai chi chuan, and eventually to legendary and figurative "immortality".

Victor H. Mair describes the xian archetype as:

They are immune to heat and cold, untouched by the elements, and can fly, mounting upward with a fluttering motion. They dwell apart from the chaotic world of man, subsist on air and dew, are not anxious like ordinary people, and have the smooth skin and innocent faces of children. The transcendents live an effortless existence that is best described as spontaneous. They recall the ancient Indian ascetics and holy men known as ṛṣi who possessed similar traits.^[1]

With Beauty Again It Is Finished

"Greeting the Dawn,
This Fruitful Day,
For Sun, Sky, Soil, Water, Plants, Animals, and Mankind
I am so grateful.

Seeing the Light without,
Feeling the Light within,
I walk on. 

Thus joyfully you accomplish your tasks,
Happily will the old men in the fields regard you,
Happily will the children regard you,
Happily will women in their homes regard you;
Happily may our trails lead us in the way of peace. 
Happily may we all return.  

With beauty before me I walk,
With wisdom above me I walk,
With good works around me I walk,
With love it is finished,
With beauty again it is finished!"

Adapted by Mike Garofalo from a Navaho prayer found in Pagan Prayers collected by Marah Ellis Ryan.  

In the summertime, I begin my walk very early, around 5:30, at daybreak.  It is cooler and quieter at this time of day.  A good time for a prayer of thanksgiving to the Great Spirit.  In the winter, as shown below, I walk around 9 am.  

      

I enjoy this painting of a Daoist Sage, an Immortal, smiling, walking in the clouds.  A bottle of magical elixir hangs from his Dragon Cane in one hand, and the Peach of Immortality in his other hand.  There is also a sacred Crane ready to show the way.  

   

"Zen Master Yunmen Wenyan and Shifu Miao Zhang were walking together in the valley behind the temple one cloudy summer morning.  It began to rain steadily on the two old friends.  Yunmen said, “My staff has changed into a dragon and is swallowing up the heaven and earth.  So, my friend, where do mountains, rainfall, rivers and the great earth come from?”
Miao Zhang was quiet for awhile, stopped on the trail, and then held his cane in his hand with the tip pointing to the sky.  He said, “Yunmen, as for the source of their coming, the tip of my cane points to the fecund depths of vast emptiness, the crook end to the endless inter-marriages of ten thousand realities, and my hand grasps the heartwood of the ordinary mind.  So, my friend, Yunmen, where are they all going?” "

-  Shifu Miao Zhang's Koan Collection
   By Mike Garofalo, in Way of the Staff

A repost from 9/2020.  

Yurt Camping and Travel Preparations

I will be Yurt Camping at Dosewallips State Park on the Hood Canal near the village of Brinnon, Washington.  I will arrive Monday, May 6th and leave for home on May 9th, 2024.

I will be yurt camping at Grayland Beach State Park, near Westport, Washington, from June 3rd to June 6.  Karen and I will also be staying at resorts in Shelton, Port Townsend, and Forks in 2024. We stayed in Port Angeles, Bemerton, Lake Quinault, and Ocean Shores in 2023.  Exploring along Highway 101 from Ilwaco to Olympia, Washington. the Olympic Peninsula, the Olympic Highway, Olympic National Park and the Olympic National Forest.  

Karen and I drove south from Port Townsend down 101 via the Hood Canal in 2019 and in 2010.  Strickly a driving tour back then in this area.  

I will focus on local travel in four days along the Hood Canal from Shelton to Port Townsend.

Vancouver WA  110 miles north to Olympia

Olympia WA  23 miles north to Shelton

Shelton WA  41 miles north to Brinnon

Shelton WA  - Images

Shelton WA  - Information

Hood Canal, Fjord, WA

Lake Cushman, WA

Skokomish Twana Native Americans

Skokomish River, WA, Images

Potlach State Park

Hoodsport WA

Liliwalup

Hamma Hamma

Duckabuch

Brinnon WA

Dosewallips State Park WA  39 miles north to Port Townsend

Dosewallips SP Images  13 miles north to Quilcene

Dosewallips SP Campground

Dosewallips River Images

Dosewallips Oyster and Clam Harvesting

Quilcene

Dabob Bay

Port Townsend  215 miles south to Vancouver

Four Days at Grayland: Extensive Travel Guides, Yurt Camping notes, local cities and villages, reports, commentary, Yurt Camping Information, Native American Information.  Yurt camping on the coast in Oregon and Washington.  

Tai Chi Chuan at the Beach: Please join Michael P. Garofalo for a Taijiquan Meetup/Gathering/Retreat at Dosewallips State Park, 7 am, Yurt C.  I hang a kite on my Yurt that is shaped like a Salmon Fish.  Campfire chats and a little practice sharing.

The best book I used to study general travel options for the Hood Canal
for my trip in May 2024 was:
Olympic Peninsula with Olympic National Park. By Jeff Burlingame.
Moon, 5th Edition, 2024.

Planning and Preparation:

I have been busy identifying and reorganing my camping, recreation, hiking, fishing, and travel equipment.  I updated and purchased new gear for our home back porch improvements, fishing, walking, highseeing, yurt camping, travel and recreation. I updated my 10 year old Keen boots for high top Danner boots.  I organized all my outdoor clothing.  Updated my medical bag.  Purchased a small MP3 player.  Purchased many guide and history books for Olympic Peninsula travels.  Car care, maintainence, and new battery. Getting reading for more Springtime and Summer travel, yurt camping, hiking, fishing, walking, writing.  I am ready for walking in the rain; and updated my Kelty backpack and sling pack.

 

Four Days in Grayland  Camping at the Beach, Northwest Coastal Travels

Yurt Camping in the Coastal Pacific Northwest by Michael P. Garofalo.

Feeling the Touch, Touching to Feel

"There are several basic kinds of touch that you may experience:  Intimate -- Here, your pressure receptors respond to a handshake, hug or kiss. If the person giving the touch is someone you care about, you'll probably feel warm and comforted. Your pressure sensors send the feeling of how hard the embrace is, and your brain interprets the nature of the touch as soothing.  Healing or therapeutic -- This type of touch is often associated with massage or acupuncture. Sometimes, the pressure is gentle and meant to soothe sore muscles. Other times, the pressure is deep in order to work out knots. Despite differences in severity of pressure, you likely to be aware that the outcome is healing, so your body allows you to relax.  Exploratory or inquisitive -- We all learn about the world through our sense of touch. Many people test out foods, fabrics or other objects by feeling different textures. Sometimes it's possible to rely solely on the sense of touch. This is why it's easy for you to reach into your bag and find a pair of keys without looking. You know the cold feeling of the metal key and hard smooth feel of your plastic key chain.  Aggressive or painful -- Of course, we all know that touch can also equate to pain if the pressure is too much and the intent is wrong. A handshake that's too firm can be uncomfortable instead of reassuring."

-  Psychology of Touching

"The hand is so widely represented in the brain, the hand's neurologic and biomechanical elements are so prone to spontaneous interaction and reorganization, and the motivations and efforts which give rise to individual use of the hand are so deeply and widely rooted, that we must admit that we are trying to explain a basic imperative of human life."
-  Frank R. Wilson, M.D., The Hand, p. 10

“If a thing can be said to be, to exist, then such is the nature of these expansive times that this thing which is must suffer to be touched. Ours is a time of connection; the private, and we must accept this, and it’s a hard thing to accept, the private is gone. All must be touched. All touch corrupts. All must be corrupted."
-  Tony Kushner, Homebody/Kabul

"Fine art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together."
-  John Ruskin 

Touching

The Five Senses 

Daodejing, Laozi, Chapter 61

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter 61


"A great nation flows down To be the world's pool,
The female under heaven In stillness
The female constantly overcomes the male,
In stillness Takes the low place.
Therefore a great nation Lowers itself
And wins over a small one.
A small nation keeps itself low
And wins over a great one.
Sometimes becoming low wins,
Sometimes staying low wins.
A great nation desires nothing more
Than to unite and protect people.
A small nation desires nothing more
Than to enter the service of people.
When both get what they wish
The great one should be low."
-  Translated by Stephen Addis, 1993, Chapter 61  

"A great state is like a great river,

Down flowing with movement and life,

Of all under heaven the union,

Of all under heaven the wife.

Consider the female, the woman

Overcomes by her quietude wholly,

Some make themselves lowly to conquer,

Some conquer because they are lowly.

And so a great state condescending

 Will win smaller states to unite,

And small states, themselves by abasement

Will conquer far more than by fight.

If the great state desire but to nourish,

And the small to preserve and extend,

Then each has secured what it sought for,

But to do this the great one must bend."
-  Translated by Isaac Winter Heysinger, 1903, Chapter 61  

"A great kingdom, lowly like running water, is the Meeting-place of the world.
It is the feminine quality of the world.
The feminine quality always overcomes the masculine by stillness.
In order to be still, we must become lowly.
Therefore, if a great kingdom is lowly towards a little kingdom it will take possession of the little kingdom.
If a little kingdom is lowly towards a great kingdom it will take possession of the great kingdom.
So one becomes lowly in order to conquer,
The other is lowly and yet it conquers.
If a great kingdom only desires to unify and nourish men,
If a small kingdom only desires to enter in and serve men,
Then the Master, in each case, shall obtain his desire.
He who is great ought to be lowly."
-  Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 61  



大國者下流.
天下之交.
天下之牝.
牝常以靜勝牡.
以靜為下, 故大國以下小國.
則取小國.
小國以下大國, 則取大國.
故或下以取.
或下而取.
大國不過欲兼畜人.
小國不過欲入事人.
夫兩者各得其所欲.
大者宜為下.
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 61 


ta kuo chê hsia liu.
t'ien hsia chih chiao.
t'ien hsia chih p'in.
p'in ch'ang yi ching shêng mu.
yi ching wei hsia, ku ta kuo yi hsia hsiao kuo.
tsê ch'ü hsiao kuo.
hsiao kuo yi hsia ta kuo, tsê ch'ü ta kuo.
ku huo hsia yi ch'ü.
huo hsia erh ch'ü.
ta kuo pu kuo yü chien hsü jên.
hsiao kuo pu kuo yü ju shih jên.
fu liang chê ko tê ch'i so yü.
ta chê yi wei hsia.
-  Wade-Giles Romanization, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 61  



"Here is the formula
for discovery
of the original self
see yourself as a great river
identify wit the fountainhead in the mountains
identify with the watercourse across the land
identify with the emptying into the great sea
this is the receptive
rest peacefully within the shape of
an empty vessel
blanketing your bodymind with stillness
tranquil sitting
balances the naturally expressive
with the naturally receptive
see the great river within you
see the great river beneath you
see the great river above you
see yourself as small within the great river
the great and the small have no meaning
on their own
because they are the same thing
they wish to serve each other
bring them together
as the river connects the mountain spring
to the vast ocean
and the original self
will appear."
-  Translated by John Bright-Fey, 2006, Chapter 61  


"Un gran reino es como un cauce profundo
hacia el que todo fluye.
Es como la hembra del mundo.
La hembra,
domina al macho al mostrarse cautelosa con él.
un gran reino, mostrándose cauteloso,
adquiere un reino pequeño.
Un reino pequeño, mostrándose cauteloso,
adquiere un gran reino.
Por lo tanto, uno adquiere mostrándose cauteloso,
el otro adquiere mostrándose cauteloso.
Un gran reino, sin sobrepasar sus fronteras,
reúne a todos y los nutre.
Un reino pequeño, sin sobrepasar sus fronteras,
sirve a la gente.
Asi, ambos reciben lo que desean.
Para provecho de ambos y el logro de sus deseos,
el más grande debe mostrarse cauteloso."
-  Translation from Wikisource, 2013, Tao Te Ching, Capítulo 61


"What makes a great state is its being like a low-lying, down-flowing stream;
It becomes the centre to which tend all the small states under heaven.
To illustrate from the case of all females:
The female always overcomes the male by her stillness.
Stillness may be considered a sort of abasement.
Thus it is that a great state, by condescending to small states, gains them for itself;
And that small states, by abasing themselves to a great state, win it over to them.
In the one case the abasement leads to gaining adherents, in the other case to procuring favor. 
The great state only wishes to unite men together and nourish them;
A small state only wishes to be received by, and to serve, the other.
Each gets what it desires, but the great state must learn to abase itself."
-  Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 61  

Chapter 61 of the Tao Te Ching

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching

English Language Translators' Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List 

 

Chen Taijiquan Short Forms

Chen 18 Taijiquan form of Grandmaster Chen Zenglei.

Chen's Taichi for Health and Wellness.  By Grandmaster Chen Zenglei.  White Bench Publications, Toronto, Canada, 2010, 94 pages.  Warmup exercises, and detailed instructions with some photographs for the Chen 18 Short Form.  Jack Yan is a collaborator.  I like this book quite a bit.  $24.00 in 2/2021. VSCL.  

Chen Taijiquan Short 18 Form of Grandmaster Chen Zenglei.  By Michael P. Garofalo.  Bibliography, links, resources, notes, quotes.  

Chen Style Taijiquan Short 18 Form.  Performance by Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei.  UTube, color, 3:38 Minutes, 2007. 

The Chen Style Taijiquan for Life Enhancement.  Written by Chen Zhenglei and translated by Xu Hailing.  Zhongzhou Classic Publishing House, Zhengzhou, China, 2002.  Text in English and Chinese.  ISBN: 7534821819.  149 pages.  "Describes the principles of Chen style for life enhancement, basic training, Taiji Skills for Preserving Energy and the 18 Forms of the Chen Style. Many photos of Chen Zhenglei doing Exercises and forms. Chen Zhenglei is one of the top Chen stylists in China. Paperback, 149 pages, 5 1/2' by 8'. -  Wayfarer Publications   "It covers the content of the health exercise silk reeling video, and is a useful reference,  giving more detail, especially on theory."  This is a very expensive out of print book, not worth $150.00.  I purchased back in 2004 for $25.00.  VSCL   

Essence of Traditional Chen Style 18 Posture Short Form.  Instructional DVD by Shifu Jiang Jian-ye.  Color, 87 Minutes.  Capital District Tai Chi and Kung Fu Association of New York, 1997.  "Cheng Zheng Lei (the 19th generation of the Chen Family) created this form from the old style of Chen first and second routines.  It includes "silk reeling," fa jin (releasing energy), and balance.  This short form is a good introduction for beginners or for those with little Chen style experience."  "A good introductory Chen form that includes silk reeling and fajing movements as well as other characteristics of the Chen first and second routines. Chen Zhenglei, one of today's top Chen stylists, created the form. There is a demonstration of the entire form followed by step-by-step teaching in slow motion with 2-4 views, from the front, back and side. There are front and back demonstrations of each segment (5 to 7 moves each.)  At the end of the teaching there are demonstrations, front and back. There are also excerpts from other Chen forms." - Wayfarer Publications.  CDTKA.  VSCL.  I use a Cboy V-Zon portable DVD player and this DVD works fine because of the way it is organized.     

 

Chen Style Taijiquan
Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei's Short 18 Movements Tai Chi Hand Form, 2001
List of 18 Movements

 

1.     Beginning Posture of Taiji    (Taiji Chu Shi) 

2.     Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds the Mortar   (Jin Gang Dao Dui) 

3.     Lazily Tying One's Coat   (Lan Zha Yi)   

4.     Six Sealing and Four Closing   (Liu Feng Si Bi)    

5.     Single Whip   (Dan Bian)  

6.     White Crane Spreads Its Wings   (Bai E Liang Chi) 

7.     Walk Diagonally   (Xie Xing)    

8.     Brush Knee   (Lou Xi) 

9.     Stepping to Both Sides   (Ao Bu)    

10.   Cover Hands and Strike with Fist   (Yan Shou Gong Quan)    

11.   High Pat on the Horse   (Gao Tan Ma)   

12.   Kick with the Left Heel    (Zuo Deng Yi Gen) 

13.   Jade Maiden Working Her Loom   (Yu Nu Chuan Suo)    

14.   Cloud Hands   (Yun Shou)     

15.   Turn Body with Double Lotus Kick    (Zhuan Shen Shuang Bai Lian) 

16.   Cannon Fist Over the Head   (Dan Tou Pao)    

17.   Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds the Mortar   (Jin Gang Dao Dui)    

18.   Closing Posture of Taiji   (Taiji Shou Shi)      

 

List of Movements in Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei's Short 18 Form  (1 Page, PDF)  English Only 

Humanism

Humanism: Good Reads

The Little Book of Humanism: Universal Lessons on Finding Purpose, Meaning and Joy. By Andrew Copson and Alice Roberts. Piatkus, 2022, 256 pages. VSCL, Hardbound.

Humanly Possible: Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Inquiry and Hope. Penguin Press, 2023, 454 pages. VSCL, Paperback.

American Humanist Association

Humanists of Greater Portland, Oregon

Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe.  By Greg M. Epstein, Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University.  William Morrow, 2009, 250 pages. FVRL, Hardbound. Outstanding presentation!

I have enjoyed and benefitted from reading three books by the fine writer, humanist, and scholar: Sarah Bakewell. 

How to Live, or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer.

At the Existentialist Cafe: Freedom, Being and Apricot Cocktails.

This week, I have enjoyed reading her newest book:

Humanly Possible: Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Inquiry and Hope. Penguin Press, 2023, 454 pages. VSCL.

I have a number of webpages with my notes on Humanist philosophy:

How to Live a Good Life: Advice From Wise Persons

Pragmatism

My Views on Religion

Free Thought

"You are what you make of yourselves. Aim high, aim for the stars, and you may yet clear the rooftops. You will need courage, tenacity, motivation, and a good sense of humor on the route. Quality of character, happiness, fulfilment of potential and of human needs can be improved through changed values, through redirection of individual life, by a process of personal change, and personal evolution."
- Jeaneane Fowler

"The secret of happiness is this: let your interests be as wide as possible and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile." - Bertrand Russell

"Is it so small a thing To have enjoyed the sun, To have lived light in the spring, To have loved to have thought, to have done; To have advanced true friends, and beat down baffling foes.

That we must feign a bliss Of doubtful future date, And while we dream on this Lose all our present state, And relegate to worlds yet distant our repose? - Matthew Arnold

The Great Agnostic: Robert Ingersoll and American Freethought.  By Susan Jacoby.  Yale University Press, 2013, 246 pages. VSCL. 

 

The Longevity Plan

 The Longevity Plan: Seven Life-Transforming Lessons from Ancient China. By John D. Day, M.D., Jane Ann Day, and Matthew LaPlante. Harvard Paperbacks, 2018, 304 pages. VSCL.  

The Seven Lessons are:
1. Eat good food.
2. Master your mind-set.
3. Build your place in a positive community.
4. Be in motion.
5. Find your rhythm.
6. Make the most of your environment.
7. Proceed with purpose. 

Dr. Day, a cardiologist and electrophysiologist from Utah, stayed and studied at the Longevity Center in Bapan, CR China.  He has thoroughly researched the topic and tells us how he applied to his own life.

Yang Style of Tai Chi Chuan, Standard 24 Form

My webpage on the Standard 24 Taijiquan Form has been a very popular webpage on the Cloud Hands Tai Chi Chuan Website since 2001.  In the sidebar of this blog, you will find a quick index to this webpage.  Here is a blog repost from April 2000.  

Standard Simplified Taijiquan 24 Form. Research by Michael P. Garofalo, M.S. This webpage includes a detailed bibliography of books, media, links, online videos, articles, and resources. It provides a list of the 24 movement names in English, Chinese, French, German and Spanish, with citations for sources of the movement names. It provides detailed descriptions of each movement with black and white line illustrations and photographs. It includes relevant quotations, notes, performance times, section breakdowns, basic Tai Chi principles, and strategies for learning the form. This hypertext document was last last updated in December of 2017.  

The Peking (Bejing) Chinese National orthodox standard simplified 24 movement T'ai Chi Ch'uan form, created in 1956, is the most popular form practiced all around the world. This form uses the Yang Style of Taijiquan.  

There is also a famous short Tai Chi Chuan form, created by Professor Cheng Man-ch'ing in the 1940's.  It has 37 movements in the Yang Style of Taijiquan.

My 24 Form webpage provides many good suggestions for a person learning this basic Tai Chi Chuan Form of 24 movements on their own if there is no Tai Chi class in their area.

I started learning Taijiquan in 1986.  I was taught the Standard 24 Movement T'ai Chi Ch'uan Form in the Yang Style of T'ai Chi Ch'uan.  I learned it from Aikido Sensei Frank McGourick in Whittier, California.  

In 1986, were no books or instructional videotapes on this popular form.  In 2019, there are dozens of books and instructional DVDs, videotapes, UTube demonstrations by women and men, streaming content, and scores of webpages on the subject of the 24 Taijiquan Form.  

Sensei McGourick also taught me the standard Long Form of the Yang Style of Tai Chi Chuan.  You hit the floor a lot in Aikido, it is vigorous, and it is very challenging for anyone, and it was too hard for me.  So, being a man in his 40's, and working 50 hours a week as a library administrator of 22 libraries in the busy and growing San Gabriel Valley, I practiced only Taijiquan and Qigong at the Aikido Ai Dojo in Whittier with Dr. Robert Moore and Sensei McGourick.

The most detailed book that I have seen on the subject of the 24 Form is:
The Yang Taiji 24 Step Short Form: A Step by Step Guide for All Levels
By James Drewe.  London, Singing Dragon Press, 2011.  382 pages, black and white photographs, charts, detailed descriptions, training tips. 

I give information on many other fine books by other good authors on the Basic 24 Tai Chi Chuan Form in my webpage.  Find books by Andrew Townsend, Cheng Zhao, Foen Tjoeng Lie, Eric Chaline, Le Deyin, etc.

Many persons have told me that their favorite instructional DVD on the 24 Form is: Tai Chi - The 24 Forms  By Dr. Paul Lam.  I attended Dr. Lam's Tai Chi for Arthritis workshop in Monterey, California; and  later workshops on Sun Tai Chi with other Bay Area teachers.  I am also quite fond of using instructional DVDs by Master Jessie Tsao from San Diego.  


I have played and practiced this form with many different persons and groups over three decades.  The many slight variations are fun to play and observe.  Taijiquan is a very pleasant and satisfying group exercise, dance, marital arts, and choreographed body-mind movements class.  Taijiquan and Qigong provide an excellent fitness class for seniors to help them with aging well.  I have practiced this Basic 24 Form with different groups in the Vancouver and Portland areas, and for many years around Red Bluff, CA.  

At age 74, I can do quite a few repetitions of the form during any day.  I warm up with Qigong and limbering up movements, if needed, before practicing the 24 Form.  I make adjustments necessitated because of my former injuries, falls, surgeries, and decreasing balance skills.  I like to play with the named movement sequences in ways outside of the 24 form choreography, e.g., HsingI type forward drills using Yang postures, changing directions to accommodate indoor practice near furniture, faster movements with intermittent fajing, etc.  I also think about the martial applications of defense or offense, following the Teacher and group members so to achieve a coordinated beauty in the performance style desired, the courtesies and comradeship of the practice team, Taijiquan principles, etc. 

I try my best to try to learn, and relearn, and unlearn.   

"At this period of wushu, the Nanking Central Kuoshu Institute in 1956 tasked the choreography of a Taijiquan routine what would be more suitable for popular dissemination among the masses, in keeping with the government's egalitarian agenda.  The traditional forms were just too long and time consuming to practice, and the traditional methods too arcane and demanding for mass propagation.  The challenge was to reduce the one hundred-odd movements of the traditional Yang Style Taijiquan, prevalent then, to its core, by removing the many repetitive movements as well as the less essential ones.  Thus, the 24-Form Taijiquan set was created.  Instrumental in this simplification effort was Li Tianji (1913-1996) who had been appointed a wushu research fellow at the Institute.  Under official auspices, the 24-Form Taijiquan quickly became the standard form, taught throughout China as part of physical education curriculum in schools and colleges.  It is perhaps the best know Taijiquan form in the world today.  As widespread as it is, the 24-Form is at best an abridged version of the traditional Yang form, a synopsis of the art."
-  C. P. Ong, Taijiquan: Cultivating Inner Strength, 2013, p. 7.  


Lift the head, stand strong and balanced, move gracefully.
Imagine resistance, water boxing, dealing with an opponent, pushing hands.
Be loose and relaxed, avoid over-exertion, use coiling energy.
Keep moving, flowing, shaping yourself in body-mind.
Shoulders down, gentle breathing, dignified bearing.
Stylish, artistic, beautiful, sensuous, dancing, formal.
Yin more than Yang, soft over hard, water over stone, gentle over muscular.
Follow the Teacher, coordinate, create unity, act as one. 

Keeping Your Balance and Avoiding Falls for Older Persons

Keeping Your Balance and Avoiding Falls 
Safety Tips for Around Your House
For Older Persons, Seniors, Elderly:

Avoid clutter. Don't leave things on the floor. Pick up after yourself.
Make sure you have good lighting for both night and day.
Keep furniture and tables to a minimum. Leave room for walking.
Keep areas beside the bed and into a toilet clear and uncluttered.
Use hand bars beside toilet and shower.
Have a strong small ladder for reaching up to higher shelves.
Wear good shoes indoors.
Make sure rugs and runners are secure on the floor.
Watch out if you have steps into your garage or rooms.
Be careful, slow down, be alert!
Use your cane or walker as needed.
Be aware if medicines you take make you feel lightheaded or dizzy.
If sitting for a long time, stand up slowly and carefully.
Move carefully on arthritic or injured limbs.
Use tips and techniques for standing up carefully and safely.
Exercise each day to improve strength, flexibility, and balance.
Make sure all chairs, seats, and tables are in good working order.
Use it, or slowly but surely loose it.
Keep all cabinet drawers or doors pushed and closed properly.
Let others help you or pay for services.
Know you own strengths, limitations, or weaknesses.
If you are obese, it will impair your balance skills. Loose weight!
Do exercises to improve the strength of your legs and hips.
See a physician for serious dizziness.
Practice Tai Chi Chuan to improve your balance skills.
- Michael P. Garofalo, Balance

Aging Well  Information, Bibliography, Quotes, Notes, Links