The Chinese saber, or Dao, is a single-edged long knife used for chopping and slashing. It is the weapon of the infantry, the foot soldier. For the Yang saber form, we use a saber with a rigid blade (for Chen saber, we use a flexible blade).

Master Gohring, Yang Saber (walk-through pace)

The form we learn at Master Gohring’s school is not the most common version; it’s a little faster, more martial and more dramatic than most other Yang saber forms I find on the Web.

Saber is one of the three forms required for the first degree black sash, so of course it will be part of the second degree test as well. The full playlist of demonstration and instructional videos can be found here:

• Master Gohring YouTube Yang Saber

The list of the movements below is somewhat sketchy. While some of the names seem to be real Chinese names, others are improvised descriptions. Also, the original form has been modified to accommodate space and timing issues.

• Step Up Seven Stars Left
• Step Up Seven Stars Right
• White Crane Spreads Wings
• Turn Around Hidden Knife
• White Crane Stands on One Leg
• Diagonal Push-Knife
• Lift Knife Left
• Lift Knife Right
• Straightforward Push-Knife
• Fair Lady Works the Shuttle
• Center Lift
• Middle Pull
• Horizontal Push-Knife
• Straightforward Push-Knife
• Turn Around Over the Head Hidden Knife
• Slice Up Left
• Slice Down Right
• Straightforward Push-Knife
• Turn Around Over the Head Hidden Knife
• Slice Up
• Slice Down
• Slice Up
• Golden Rooster Stands on Left Leg
• Double Jump Kick Hit the Tiger Form
• Turn Around White Crane Spreads Wings
• Heel Kick
• White Crane Spreads Wings
• Toe Kick
• Brush Knee Push
• Straightforward Push-Knife
• Turn Around Over the Head Hidden Knife
• Push Boat with Current (L, R, L)
• Turn Around Hidden Knife
• Slice Up
• Slice Down
• Slice Up
• Heel Kick Jump Step
• Use Strength to Axe Mountain
• Embrace Knife Stab and Kick
• Flip Over Change Step
• Use Strength to Axe Mountain
• Close Form

I haven’t found any one dominant Yang saber form. Here’s one interesting alternative, not too unlike ours:

Sifu Peter Tam Hoy Yang Saber Demo

The Yang 108 is the traditional Yang-style empty-hand long form and the major component of our first degree black sash curriculum for Tai Chi at Master Gohring’s Tai Chi and Kung Fu. The form originated with Yang Luchan and was widely promulgated by his grandson, Yang Chengfu, in the first half of the 20th century.

Here’s a cool video–not exactly a video; rather a succession of stills of Yang Cheng Fu performing the 108 moves:

Yang Chengfu Taijiquan 108 Movements

You can see that the names of the movements are provided in Chinese and German. I’d like to study the stills and the Chinese names to see how this compares to the list I have arrived at. And I wonder if I can find a list of the names from Yang Cheng Fu himself? I wonder what the source for this video was?

The Yang family today lists 103 moves in basically the same form; here’s the Yang Family long form, which does not include a shoulder strike after Lift Hands. There are other variants of this form, some of which differ only in how the moves are counted, others making a difference in how the form is actually done. All this makes me appreciate the modern Chinese campaign to standardize.

Quibbling over the most authentic way to count the moves, or what exactly to call them, doesn’t seem very important to the practice of Tai Chi, but I am hung up on it anyway! My list below is based on the names mostly as we learn them at Master Gohring’s (but not exactly) and the Chinese as best I can gather from sources such as this list of the movements, which is close to ours but differs in a few details.

1. Preparing Form – Yubei Shi
2. Commencement – Qishi
3. Ward-off Left – Zuo Peng
4. Grasp the Bird’s Tail – Lan Que Wei
5. Single Whip – Dan Bian
6. Lift Hands – Ti Shou
7. Strike with Shoulder – You Kao
8. White Crane Spreads Wings – Bai He Liang Chi
9. Brush Knee Push – Lou Xi Au Bu
10. Playing the Lute – Shou Hui Pipa
11. Left Brush Knee Push – Zuo Lou Xi Au Bu
12. Right Brush Knee Push – You Lou Xi Au Bu
13. Left Brush Knee Push – Zuo Lou Xi Au Bu
14. Playing the Lute – Shou Hui Pipa
15. Left Brush Knee Push – Zuo Lou Xi Au Bu
16. Step Forward Block, Parry and Punch – Jin Bu Ban Lan Chui
17. Withdraw and Push – Ru Feng Si Bi
18. Cross Hands – Shi Zi Shou
    [Second section:]
19. Embrace Tiger Return to Mountain – Bao Hu Gui Shan
20. Grasp the Bird’s Tail – Lan Que Wei
21. Diagonal Single Whip – Xie Dan Bien
22. Fist Under Elbow – Zhou Di Chui
23. Repulse Monkeys – Dao Nian Hou
24. Repulse Monkeys – Dao Nian Hou
25. Repulse Monkeys – Dao Nian Hou
26. Slant Flying – Xie Fei Shi
27. Lift Hands – Ti Shou
28. Strike with Shoulder – You Kao
29. White Crane Spreads Wings – Bai He Liang Chi
30. Brush Knee Push – Lou Xi Ao Bu
31. Needle at Sea Bottom – Hai Di Zhen
32. Fan Through Back – Shan Tong Bei
33. Turn and Strike with Backfist – Zhuan Shen Pie Shen Chui
34. Step Forward Block, Parry and Punch – Jin Bu Ban Lan Chui
35. Grasp the Bird’s Tail – Lan Que Wei
36. Single Whip – Dan Bian
37. Cloud Hands – Yun Shou
38. Single Whip – Dan Bian
39. High Pat on Horse – Gao Tan Ma
40. Separate Right Foot – You Fen Jiao
41. Separate Left Foot – Zuo Fen Jiao
42. Turn and Strike with Heel Left – Zhuan Shen Zuo Deng Jiao
43. Brush Knee Push – Lou Xi Au Bu
44. Brush Knee Push – Lou Xi Au Bu
45. Step Up and Punch Down – Jin Bu Zai Chui
46. Turn and Strike with Backfist – Zhuan Shen Pie Shen Chui
47. Step Forward Block, Parry and Punch – Jin Bu Ban Lan Chui
48. Strike with Heel Right – You Deng Jiao
49. Hit the Tiger Left – Zuo Da Hu Shi
50. Hit the Tiger Right – You Da Hu Shi
51. Strike with Heel Right – You Deng Jiao
52. Box the Tiger’s Ears – Shuang Feng Guan Er
53. Strike with Heel Left – Zuo Deng Jiao
54. Turn and Strike with Heel Right – Zhuan Shen You Deng Jiao
55. Step Forward Block, Parry and Punch – Jin Bu Ban Lan Chui
56. Withdraw and push – Ru Feng Si Bi
57. Cross Hands – Shi Zi Shou
    [Third secton:]
58. Embrace Tiger Return to Mountain – Bao Hu Gui Shan
59. Grasp the Bird’s Tail – Lan Que Wei
60. Diagonal Single Whip – Xie Dan Bian
61. Part the Wild Horse-s Mane – Ye Ma Fen Zong
62. Part the Wild Horse-s Mane – Ye Ma Fen Zong
63. Part the Wild Horse-s Mane – Ye Ma Fen Zong
64. Ward-off Left – Zuo Peng
65. Grasp the Bird’s Tail – Lan Que Wei
66. Fair Lady Works the Shuttle – Yu Nu Chuan Shuo
67. Fair Lady Works the Shuttle – Yu Nu Chuan Shuo
68. Fair Lady Works the Shuttle – Yu Nu Chuan Shuo
69. Fair Lady Works the Shuttle – Yu Nu Chuan Shuo
70. Ward off Left – Zuo Peng
71. Grasp the Bird’s Tail – Lan Que Wei
72. Single Whip – Dan Bian
73. Cloud Hands – Yun Shou
74. Single Whip – Dan Bian
75. Snake Creeps Down – Xia Shi
76. Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg – Jin Ji Du Li
77. Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg – Jin Ji Du Li
78. Repulse Monkeys – Dao Nian Hou
79. Repulse Monkeys – Dao Nian Hou
80. Repulse Monkeys – Dao Nian Hou
81. Slant Flying – Xie Fei Shi
82. Lift Hands – Ti Shou
83. Strike with Shoulder – You Kao
84. White Crane Spreads Wings – Bai He Liang Chi
85. Brush Knee Push – Lou Xi Au Bu
86. Needle at Sea Bottom – Hai Di Zhen
87. Fan Through Back – Shan Tong Bei
88. Turn and White Snake Spits Out His Tongue – Zhuan Shen Bai She Tu Xin
89. Step Forward, Block, Parry, Punch – Jin Bu Ban Lan Chui
90. Grasp the Bird’s Tail – Lan Que Wei
91. Single Whip – Dan Bian
92. Cloud Hands – Yun Shou
93. Single Whip – Dan Bian
94. High Pat on Horse – Gao Tan Ma
95. Pierce Palm – Chuan Zhang
96. Cross Form Kick – Shi Zi Tui (?)
97. Step Forward and Punch to Groin – Jin Bu Zhi Dang Chui
98. Grasp the Bird’s Tail – Lan Que Wei
99. Single Whip – Dan Bian
100. Snake Creeps Down – Xia Shi
101. Step Up Seven Stars – Shang Bu Qi Xing
102. Step Back and Ride the Tiger – Tui Bu Kua Hu
103. Turn and Sweep the Lotus – Zhuan Shen Bai Lian
104. Bend Bow Shoot Tiger – Wan Gong She Hu
105. Step Forward Block, Parry and Punch – Jin Bu Ban Lan hui
106. Withdraw and Push – Ru Feng Si Bi
107. Cross Hands – Shi Zi Shou
108. Close Form – Shou Shi

Ha! I just typed that from memory! I’ll have to double-check.

I’ll post more (maybe much more) on this form, including links to video sources and applications. I love all the new material I’ve learned since I got my black sash, but this form remains my favorite and (as Master Gohring says) my core discipline.

This short, energetic form is required for the first degree black sash. Master Gohring’s YouTube play list includes a full walk-through (about two minutes), a full-speed demo (about half a minute), and several more clips of instruction and demonstration. It’s almost impossible to learn a form entirely from video (for me anyway), but you can certainly polish and/or resurrect your form with these video tools.

Master Gohring, full-speed demo, flute form.

The full-speed demo above is faster than most of us can manage. For me, this form takes about one minute. The movements don’t have names, so these are just my notes on the sequence:

1. Strike left, left hand only
2. Hit left with two-hands on
3. Pull in and kick right
4. Turn left, hit/stamp down
5. Shove, Row
6. Pivot left and right, hitting over, over, under under
7. Row, Shove
8. Helicopter (360 turn with ball-change to hit)
9. Block up (skip), hit under arm
10. Row, shove
11. Turn 180/hit
12. Block up (skip), hit under arm
13. Row, shove
14. Turn 180/hit
15. Step right/hit back
16. Turn 180/hit

Switch to one hand and advance, striking:

• High, high, low, low, high, high, low, low

Close form:

• Turn to left, brace wrist
• Pivot 270 on right
• Open arms, thrust with two hands
• Step back left, left hand
• Circle and bow

The pivots in step number 6 above are on the heel of the leading foot and the ball of the trailing foot, 180 degrees per step. For the striking advance before the closing, step forward left and close with the right.

Master Gohring has recorded an introduction to Chen style Tai Chi in several parts.

• Lesson 1: Preparing Form, first part of Buddha Stamp
• Lesson 2: Next part of Buddha Stamp
• Lesson 3: Rest of Buddha Stamp
• Lesson 4: Demo of opening and Buddha Stamp
• Lesson 5: First part of Lan Zha Yi
• Lesson 6: Lan Zha Yi
• Lesson 7: Review and Liu Feng Si Bi

In addition, he’s made video demonstrations of a number of movements and sections within the Chen 38.

• Single Whip
• Whirling Wind Arms
• Fist Under Elbow, Whirling Wind Arms, White Crane Spreads Wings
• White Crane #2 through Single Whip
• Flash the Back
• High Pat on Horse
• Ending from the last Single Whip

One last video: Mr. Figg leads the Chen 38 up through Fist Under Elbow.

When I Google the Chen 38, what comes up most often (apart from our own videos above) is the (or a) competition set. Here is a video of the competition set that Master Gohring teaches: American Chen Tai Chi Competition Form. Our Yang competition set is just a subset of the regular Yang moves, but the Chen competition set is quite different from the 38…and looks formidably difficult to me!

Grandmaster Cheng Jincai is a student of 18th generation Chen Master Chen Zhaokui. From Cheng Jincai, Master Gohring learned the Chen 38, which is currently one of the main requirements for the second degree black sash in either Tai Chi or Kung Fu at Master Gohring’s martial arts academy.

Grand Master Cheng Jincai – Chen 38

The Chen 38 takes between ten and fifteen minutes to perform; for the test, we should take no less than twelve minutes. The stance should be low, with thighs roughly parallel to the ground, but not everyone is able to achieve this.

Videos

Master Gohring demonstrates the Chen 38 in two parts with English names. In background audio (sometimes hard to make out) Cheng Jincai provides Chinese names and breathing.

Chen 38: Part One | Part Two

Two more videos of the whole form:

• Cheng Jincai demo: Chen 38 Part One | Part Two
• Mister Hunter and Mr. Rodriguez: Graduation demo of Chen 38

In addition, Master Gohring has made several instructional videos for the opening section and for certain specific movements later in the form. I’ll list these in a separate post: Chen 38: Additional Instruction.

Names of the movements

The following list of names was provided by Master Gohring, who teaches the Chen 38 at his black sash Academy in Austin (where I have studied since 2010). These are the names used by Grandmaster Cheng Jincai.

The form may begin as usual with Yu Bei Shi (Preparing Form) and/or Qishi (Commencement),but the first movement is the Buddha Stamp..

1. Jin Gang Dao Dui – Indra Pounds with Tilt Hammer (Buddha Stamp)
2. Lan Zha Yi – Lazy About Tying the Robe
3. Liu Feng Si Bi – Six Sealing Four Closing
4. Dan Bian – Single Whip
5. Jin Gang Dao Dui – 2nd Buddha Stamp
6. Bai He Liang Chi – White Crane Spreads Wings
7. Xie Xing – Oblique Form
8. Lou Xi Au Bu – Brush Knee Twist Step
9. Yan Shou Gong Quan – Hidden Hand Punch
10. Jin Gang Dao Dui – 3rd Buddha Stamp
11. Pie Shen Quan – Lean with Back (Draping the Fist)
12. Qing Long Chu Shui – Blue Green Dragon Emerges from the Sea
13. Shuang Tui Shou – Double Push Hands
14. Zhou Di Kan Quan – Fist Under Elbow
15. Dao Juan Gong – Whirling Wind Arms
16. Bai He Liang Chi – White Crane Spreads Wings
17. Xie Xing – Oblique Form
18. Shan Tong Bei – Flash the Back
19. Yan Shou Gong Quan – Hidden Hand Punch
20. Liu Feng Si Bi – Six Sealing Four Closing
21. Dan Bian – Single Whip
22. Yun Shou – Cloud Hands
23. Gao Tan Ma – High Pat on Horse
24. Shi Zi Bai Lian – Cross Form Kick
25. Zhi Dang Chui – Punch Downward
26. Yuan Hou Xian Guo – Ape Picks Up the Fruit
27. Dan Bian – Single Whip
28. Hu Xin Quan – Shield Heart with Fist (Protect the Heart)
29. Xie Xing – Oblique Form
30. Hui Tou Jin Gang Dao Dui – Turning Back and 3rd Buddha Stamp
31. Lan Zha Yi – Lazy About Tying the Robe
32. Liu Feng Si Bi – Six Sealing Four Closing
33. Dan Bian – Single Whip
34. Shuang Bai Lian – Sweep Leg with Both Hands
35. Shang Bu Qi Xing – Step Up Seven Stars
36. Xia Bu Kua Hu – Step Down to Ride the Tiger
37. Bai Lian Dang Tou Pao – Sweep Leg and Cannon Forward
38. Jin Gang Dao Dui – 4th Buddha Stamp

Long Feng surprised me one day by showing me Ba Shi Ba — 88 form. The surprise was that 88 turned out to be the traditional long form that I know as the Yang 108. And sure enough, if you look it up, 88 is supposedly the traditional long form.

Li Deyin Instructional Video on Youtube

What I call the Yang 108 and what Long Feng knows as the 88 are unmistakably the same form, but the differences are numerous. One movement is missing entirely–the shoulder strike–and some movements are almost unrecognizable, most notably Embrace Tiger Return to Mountain (Bao Hu Gui Shan).

In addition, nearly every single movement is styled a little (or a lot) differently, more like the modern Beijing-style forms that I’ve been learning from Long Feng. I take it that 88 is the traditional Yang long form as performed and taught in China today. Modern Tai Chi is highly standardized. It’s taught in universities in China and is a college sport.

Although it sounds like 88 would have twenty fewer movements, it’s not actually any shorter except for lacking the shoulder strike. The difference is in how the movements are counted. I haven’t studied the details, but I’ve watched (and followed) the whole 88, and it is the complete 108 (sans Kao). Lan Que Wei alone could account for the difference, depending on whether you counted each Peng, Lu, Ji and An separately.

The picture above links to an instructional video by Li Deyin, who has been an enormously influential Tai Chi Master and instructor in Beijing for many years. He created 42 and 48 forms, and is considered an authority on 88. The performer is one of his students.

I would love to learn to do the long form this way, but I am afraid of confusing myself in advance of my test. Maybe this spring.