I am in love with the double-edged sword. This is the third sword form I’ve learned, after Chen sword and 32-sword. It is NOT required for either the first or second degree black sash test at Master Gohring’s school. Like other traditional forms, this one is somewhat time-obscured.

My sword is from KungFuDirect.com

I’ve found six videos, two from Master Gohring’s school and four by other masters. (1) This video of class with names seems a little brisk in pace to me; it takes only about three minutes. That’s barely enough time to say all those long names! (2) This student demo was performed at Master Gohring’s 2013 Black Sash Graduation (4 minutes). The form runs a bit longer when performed by (3) Sifu Peter Tam Hoy, (4) Yang Jian Chao, (5) Li Guang Qi, and (6) Yang Jun.

1.   2.  3. 

4.  5.  6. 

The form looks quite different from one video to the next! I think it might be characteristic of traditional forms, which are by nature handed down from one teacher to another, that they vary this much.

Michael Garofalo lists the same movements we learn in class, along with numerous alternative translations that he has come across in his rather extensive research. Here’s the list of names.

1. Step forward moving sword and hand together
2. Divinity points the way
3. Three rings around the moon (L,R)
4. Major literary star
5. Swallow beats the water (times three)
6. Block and sweep from the left
7. Block and sweep from the right
8. Minor literary star
9. Bee enters the cave
10. Alert cat catches the mouse
11. Dragonfly strikes the water
12. Swallow returns to the nest
13. Phoenix spreads both wings (slant flying)
14. Whirling wind counterclockwise
15. Minor literary star
16. Whirling wind counterclockwise
17. The attitude of catching a fish
18. Divide the grass in search of a snake (times three)
19. Embrace the moon
20. The bird returns to the forest
21. The black dragon wags its tail
22. The wind rolls the lotus leaf
23. The lion shakes its head
24. The tiger holds its head
25. The horse leaps over the stream
26. Turn your body to stop the horse
27. The compass
28. Wave tassels against the wind
29. Push boat with current
30. Shooting star chases the moon
31. The running horse goes wild
32. Rolling up the screen
33. The wheel spins left and right
34. The swallow holds mud in its beak
35. The roc spreads its wings
36. Scooping the moon from the bottom of the sea
37. Embracing the moon, the spirit searches the sea
38. The rhino gazes at the moon
39. Shooting the flying goose
40. The dragon stretches its claws
41. The phoenix spreads both wings
42. Cross fence with left leg
43. Cross fence with right leg
44. Shooting the flying goose
45. The white ape offers fruit
46. The flowers fall left/right/left/right
47. Fair lady works shuttles
48. The white tiger wags its tail
49. The fish leaps over the dragon’s gate
50. The black dragon coils around the pillar
51. The divinity points the way
52. The wind sweeps the falling flowers
53. Holding the tablet before your bosom
54. Embrace the sword
55. Return to starting position

On my to-do list: learn the standardized 56-form and figure out how it compares to this traditional form.

The so-called simplified form was created under the auspices of the Chinese Sports Committee in 1956 by four Tai Chi masters. It contains many of the major elements of the traditional long forms without the repetition. It was intended for popular use as exercise and conditioning, and because it has been so widely taught in mainland China, it is undoubtedly the most widely known and practiced moving form in the world.

Videos are numerous. This one by taiji.de captured my imagination as I was just setting out to learn Tai Chi, and I still refer to it. By the time I learned 24-form, every movement was already familiar to me from my study of the 108, but I had to learn the sequence and then relearn all the details of the movements. 24-form is good training for the numbered forms coming out of post-war China, which I call modern standardized Tai Chi (my term), because they are all similarly styled. Almost every movement is quite different from the traditional style we practice at Master Gohring’s school.

The movements are as follows, and again the pronunciations are available from Lau Sui Taijiquan.

1. Commencement – Qishi [Q=ch]
2. Part the Wild Horses Mane – Ye ma fen zong (L, R, L) [fun]
3. White Crane Spreads Wings – Bai he liang chi
4. Brush Knee Push – Luo xi ao bu (L, R, L) [x=sh]
5. Playing the Lute- Shou Hui Pi Pa
6. Repulse Monkeys L, R, L, R – Dao Juan Hong
7. Grasp the Bird’s Tail Left – Zuo Lan Que Wei
8. Grasp the Bird’s Tail Right – You Lan Que Wei
9. Single Whip – Dan bian
10. Cloud Hands – Yun Shou
11. Single Whip – Dan bien
12. High Pat on Horse – Gao tan ma
13. Strike with Heel – Deng jiao [dung; ji=ch]
14. Box the Tiger’s ears – Shuang Feng Quan Er
15. Turn and Strike with Heel left – Zhuan Shen Zuo Deng Jiao
16. Snake Creeps Down Left (usual way)/Golden Rooster – Zuo Xia Shi Du Li
17. Snake Creeps Down RIGHT/Golden Rooster – You Xia Shi Du Li
18. Fair Lady Works the Shuttle R, L – Yu Nu Chuan Shuo
19. Needle at Sea Bottom – Hai Di Zhen
20. Fan Through Back – Shan Tong Bei
21. Turn Around Block Parry and Punch – Zhuan Shen Ban Lan Chui
22. Withdraw and Push – Ru Feng Si Bi
23. Cross Hands – Shi Zi Shou
24. Close Form – Shou Shi

I wanted to learn this form because it is the form you are most likely to have in common with other people you meet who do Tai Chi. Certainly, if you meet anyone who has recently come to the US from mainland China, they will begin with 24-form. In 2008, in celebration of the Olympics, squads of 2008 women performed 24-form in all the provinces of China! Long Feng was among them; she still has the white silks with red piping and embroidered Olympic rings with the year 2008 under them.