Traditional Wu-style Long Form

[See my previous post introducing Wu-style Tai Chi] Each of the major styles of Tai Chi has a traditional long form, and all of the long forms follow the same deep logic. The Wu-style long form tracks the Yang 108 quite closely, so if you know the 108, the sequence of the Wu is easy to learn.

Outstanding video instruction on this form is available from Master Amin Wu. Here is a video of the whole form, demonstrated by Master Wu.

Her instructional series, very reasonably priced at just $20, consists of eighteen segments of about 12-15 minutes each. Purchase the series on Vimeo.

The instruction is in Chinese, but Master Wu’s demonstrations are so clear and detailed that you don’t need to understand what she’s saying. I have transcribed her list of the movements, totaling 93, to arrive at this list:

吴式传统93式太极拳 (Wu-shi Chuantong 93-shi Taiji – Wu-style Traditional 93-step Tai Chi) (PDF)

One note on the names: the instructional word 措 (cuò) is new to me. It’s used with 掌 (zhǎng) palm in moves 87 and 90. None of the usual definitions makes much sense–“to handle/manage/put in order/arrange/administer/execute/take action on/plan.” What you do is much like 抹 (mǒ), smear. I translated as “apply.” It’s a term of art; you just have to copy what she does. [But see George’s comment below!]

Instructional videos by Jesse Tsao are available in English from Taichihealthways.com.* I have studied these as well. Master Tsao grew up (from the age of six!) practicing Wu-style Tai Chi at the temple in Penglei. He teaches the long form in two hour-long videos priced at $24 each, also a bargain given the quality and detail of the instruction.

*At this writing, Jesse is revamping his website, but you can still get the videos here.

Here’s another demonstration of the full long form, by Master Fayi Chang:

2 thoughts on “Traditional Wu-style Long Form

  1. Thank you for the post. I don’t practice Wu style, so I can’t be sure, but I do speak Chinese and have some few decades in the martial arts, so I would venture to guess that 措掌 is meant to be the homophonous 错掌 (“grinding palm”), which makes much more sense as an alternative name for 高探马, or high pat the horse (which probably originally meant “high mounted scout”, as 探马 is an archaic metonym for a mounted scout).

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