Tai ChI Long Form - White Stork Spreads Wings

25 June 2024 White Stork Spreads Wings

  Shift your weight onto your right foot, as you do so your foot will be flat on the ground, but don’t change the direction your toes are facing (still towards 10:30). Your right hand moves up, palm faces out. It is like an upward block that ends above you’re the level of your head. Your left hand sweeps down and to the left, ends with palm down and fingers facing forward. Your left foot moves forward (to 9:00), toes down/heel up, into a cat stance. Both hands, and your left foot should complete their motions at the same time.

 From Boonchai

“This form is not old. Only about 100 years. But now there are so many styles. Especially in competition. You notice that there is Yang style, Chen style, different styles. Then around the corner where the sign is “other style tai chi” it’s supposed to be Yang but it’s not looking like Yang. It’s supposed to be Chen but it’s not looking like Chen. You guys just go there for other style competition. Which one is the most accurate one? Everybody says, “I am the most accurate”.  The history is, the first form is called “13 move tai chi”.  Not like a Chen style, Chen is the last name. The person who learned and taught to the village of Chen the last name was Jiang. He learned it when he was a soldier then he escaped from the Army to hide himself in the village of Chen. The whole village people have the same last name of Chen. Then he changed his name to Chen and he hide himself there. He taught these “13 move tai chi” to the village people. So that the village people could protect themselves. And taught only inside village he refused to teach outside.

  Then there was a young guy his last name was Yang he went to learn Chen style. After he learned it he went back home to teach it to his son and grandson. And these three generations practiced together.  They made a style called Yang style. This is called Yang style.”