Tai Chi 40 Forms

The Tai Chi 40 Form set of techniques was created from the "traditional" Tai Chi 108 Form, by removing repetitions and some minor adjustments of the technique. The idea was to create a straightforward form, that is shorter, but still includes all the essential movements.

Therefore, we now have 3 "major" forms (there are many other forms, and they are important, too. The fact that I do not call them "major" should not misgiude you). The first is Tai Chi 24 Form, that by all means should be learned first. It is easier to learn, and some skills that are assumed present in 40 or 108 forms students, are emphasized in 24 forms.

The second one is Tai Chi 40 Form. It is a "fully functional" one, and people that prefer to skip it and jump right to Tai Chi 108 Form, probably make a mistake.

The Tai Chi 108 Form is the third, the longest one. If you are already familiar with the Tai Chi 40 Form, learning Tai Chi 108 Form is just the matter of remembering the order of already familiar techniques.

In this tutorial, we will focus on the Tai Chi 40 Form of Yang family Tai Chi, called after the master Yang Lu Chan.