The 42-posture tai chi form, also called the Taijiquan Competition Form is a series of movements standardized in 1989 for international wushu competition. It combines movements drawn from the Chen, Yang, Wu, and Sun styles of traditional tai chi, and has also become a popular exercise for the general public.
In 1976, Men Huifeng of Beijing Sport University and Li Deyin of People's University created a form combining postures from those four major styles for the official Chinese Sports Committee of China, as part of a post-Cultural Revolution initiative to rehabilitate martial arts as a modern sport. This resulted in the standardized 48-posture tai chi form.
In 1989, Men and Li shortened the combined form for the purposes of competition timing and scoring, resulting in the final 42-posture sequence. Today this is the international wushu standard tai chi competition form, and it has also become popular as an exercise to improve and maintain health.
In 1990, the 42-posture form made its debut on the world stage, when wushu was for the first time included in the 11th Asian Games.
The postures are as follows:
42-posture tai chi (42å¼Â太æÂÂæÂ³)
- Commencing form (èµ·å¿)
- Grasp the peacock's tail (right) (å³æÂ½éÂÂå°¾)
- Single whip (left) (å·¦åÂÂéÂÂ)
- Raise hands (æÂÂæÂÂ)
- White crane spreads its wings (ç½鹤亮ç¿Â
)
- Brush knee and twist step on both sides (æÂÂèÂÂæÂÂæÂÂ¥)
- Parry and punch (æÂÂ身æÂ¶)
- Deflect and press on both sides (æÂÂæÂ¤å¿)
- Parry and push (è¿ÂæÂ¥æÂ¾Â¦æÂ¶)
- Apparent close (å¦Âå°Âä¼¼éÂÂ)
- Open and close hands (å¼ÂÃ¥ÂÂæÂÂ)
- Single whip (right) (å³åÂÂéÂÂ)
- Punch under elbow (èÂÂåºÂæÂ¶)
- Turn body and push palm on both sides (转身æÂ¨æÂÂ)
- Fair lady works the shuttles on both sides (çÂÂ女穿æ¢Â)
- Kick with heel on both sides (å³左蹬èÂÂ)
- Cover hands and punch (æÂ©æÂÂè±æÂ¶)
- Part the wild horse's mane on both sides (éÂÂ马åÂÂé¬Â)
- Wave hands like clouds (äºÂæÂÂ)
- Step back and beat the tiger (ç¨ç«ÂæÂÂèÂÂ)
- Separate legs (right) (å³åÂÂèÂÂ)
- Strike opponent's ears with both fists (éÂÂå³°è´¯è³)
- Separate legs (left) (å·¦åÂÂèÂÂ)
- Turn body and slap foot (转身æÂÂèÂÂ)
- Step forward and punch downward (è¿ÂæÂ¥æ ½æÂ¶)
- Oblique flying (æÂÂé£Âå¿)
- Snake creeps to the right (Ã¥ÂÂéÂÂä¸Âå¿)
- Golden rooster stands on one leg (right and left) (éÂÂ鸡ç¨ç«Â)
- Step back and thrust palm (éÂÂæÂ¥ç©¿æÂÂ)
- Press palm in empty stance (éÂÂæÂ¥åÂÂæÂÂ)
- Hold palm up and stand on one leg (ç¨ç«ÂæÂÂæÂÂ)
- Lean with body in horse stance (马æÂ¥é )
- Turn body for large roll back (转身大æÂÂ)
- Grab and punch in resting step (æÂÂæÂ¥æÂÂæÂÂ)
- Thread palm and push down (ç©¿æÂÂä¸Âå¿)
- Step forward to seven-star posture (ä¸ÂæÂ¥ä¸ÂæÂÂ)
- Mount the tiger and stand on one leg (èÂ
¿æÂ¥è·¨èÂÂ)
- Turn body with lotus kick (转身æÂÂè²)
- Bend the bow to shoot the tiger (å½Âå¼Âå°Âå¼§)
- Grasp the peacock's tail (left) (å·¦æÂ½éÂÂå°¾)
- Cross hands (Ã¥ÂÂÃ¥ÂÂæÂÂ)
- Closing form (æÂ¶å¿)
See also
References
External links