The 24-posture Simplified Form of t'ai chi ch'uan, (Chinese:太极拳; pinyin: Tàijíquán) sometimes called the Beijing or Peking form for its place of origin, is a short version of Yang style T'ai chi composed of twenty-four unique movements (Wikipedia).

The form was the result of an effort by the Chinese Sports Committee, which, in 1956, brought together four t'ai chi teachers - Chu Guiting, Cai Longyun, Fu Zhongwen, and Zhang Yu - to create a simplified form of t'ai chi as exercise.

The creators truncated the traditional family style t'ai chi forms to 24 postures; taking about six minutes to perform and to give the beginner an introduction to the essential elements of t'ai chi ch'uan, yet retain the traditional flavor of traditional longer hand forms (in general, 88-108 postures). Due to this official promotion, the 24-form is most likely the t'ai chi-form with the most practitioners in China and the world over (though no surveys have been performed).

You can download a very good history and description of the form by Robert Yeoh.

For full video instructions on Youtube by Peter Chen on the 24 Form , please go to the Instructions Page

For practice purposes, you can download a MP3 version with a full description and music. Right-click and select "Save as" to save the file to your PC.

1. Beginning

   Illustrations of the main movements

2. Parting the Wild Horse's Mane (3 times)
3. White Crane Spreads its Wings
4. Brush Knee and Side Step (3 times)
5. Play the Lute
6. Step Back and Repulse Monkey (4 times)
7. Grasp the Sparrow's Tail - left
8. Grasp the Sparrow's Tail - right
9. Single Whip
10. Wave Hands Like Clouds (3 times)
11. Single Whip
12. High Pat on Horse
13. Kick With Right Heel
14. Strike Ears With Fists
15. Kick With Left Heel
16. Snake Creeps Down (left) and Golden Rooster Stands on right leg
17. Snake Creeps Down (right) and Golden Rooster Standson Right Leg
18. Fair Lady Weaves the Shuttle (right and left)
19. Needle at the Bottom of the Sea
20. Fan through Back
21. Deflect Downwards, Parry and Punch
22. Apparent Close Up
23. Cross Hands
24. Closing Form