The three-pass method
1. Gao: watch the silhouette and amplitude. 2. Helen: study the transition and sequence. 3. You: repeat until the movement has its own unmistakable character.
What is Yang 24?
Yang 24 is the commonly used name for the simplified 24-posture Tai Chi form standardized in China in 1956. It draws primarily from Yang-style Taijiquan and compresses characteristic movements into a shorter sequence that is practical for beginners to learn and repeat.
This site treats the 24 movements as 24 distinct characters. Wild Horse should look like Wild Horse. White Crane should create a different silhouette. Single Whip should stretch across the room. The goal is not theatrical exaggeration; it is amplitude, structure, contrast and flow.
Use this page as a self-study companion rather than a substitute for qualified hands-on instruction. Work within a comfortable range, especially with kicks, one-leg balances and low postures.
Visual models & instruction
Yang24.com does not host or reproduce the teaching videos. It links outward to public material from two exceptional practitioners because they serve different purposes in this practice method.
Gao Jiamin — visual model
Use Gao to study silhouette, amplitude, balance and the distinct visual identity of each posture. Biography/interview ↗
Helen Liang — study model
Use Helen to study sequence, transitions and beginner-friendly mechanics. Instruction preview ↗
Independent resource: Yang24.com is created and curated by Jason S. Comely. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an official publication of Gao Jiamin, Helen Liang, YMAA, Udemy, YouTube, Todoist, Google, or MyFitnessPal. All trademarks and linked media remain the property of their respective owners.
What does “practiced” mean?
The checkbox is a milestone, not a daily attendance box. Check a movement when you know it well enough to move forward and keep it in your growing sequence.
The three-in-a-row rule: if you can perform the movement three times from memory — with the basic foot placement, weight shift, arm pattern, and finishing shape — check it and begin learning the next movement.
Checked does not mean mastered forever. Keep reviewing earlier movements as you add new ones. If an old movement gets fuzzy, simply uncheck it and revisit it.
Connect your practice
Use the guide for learning, Todoist for the next action, Google Calendar for protected practice time, and MyFitnessPal/Health Connect for workout tracking.
✓ Todoist
Create a task for the first movement you have not checked off yet.
Next movement: loading…
Add next movement to Todoist
Add a daily Tai Chi task
The buttons open Todoist’s pre-filled Add Task screen; you still choose Save. If your browser does not open Todoist, use the Todoist browser extension and add this page as a task.
♥ MyFitnessPal
Best used as the workout record, not as the learning checklist. On Android, cardio exercise with duration and calorie burn can sync into MyFitnessPal through Health Connect.
Open MyFitnessPal
Health Connect setup
If Tai Chi is not available the way you want it logged, MyFitnessPal also lets you create a personal exercise and enter calories from a tracker.
About the video jumps: the public Gao and Helen uploads do not provide reliable movement chapter markers, so the time jumps below are approximate practice shortcuts. They should land near the movement; if YouTube opens a little early or late, scrub a few seconds. The page order itself follows the standard 24-form sequence.
VISUAL TARGET
Stillness → lift → sink. Make the change in vertical energy visible without becoming stiff.
What the name is showing you
The opening establishes posture, breath, attention and the habit of moving from the whole body. The arms rise and settle while the legs soften. It is less a 'pose' than the moment the form comes alive.
Martial/mechanical idea
Think of the rising and sinking hands as coordinated whole-body expansion and settling rather than isolated arm lifting.
Where it sits historically
This opening is inherited from Yang-style practice and serves as the doorway into the standardized 24 form.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Open the diagonal. Let the upper and lower hands separate decisively as the bow stance arrives.
What the name is showing you
The poetic image is a hand passing along and separating a horse’s flowing mane. Visually, the movement should read as a broad split: one arm buoyant and forward, the other sinking and back.
Martial/mechanical idea
Common interpretations include warding, entering and separating an opponent’s arms or structure while advancing.
Where it sits historically
A classic Yang-family posture carried into the 24 form, where it is repeated left-right-left.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Make the silhouette unmistakable: one wing high, one low; front foot light; body tall.
What the name is showing you
The crane image is literal and visual. One arm rises while the other settles, producing a clean asymmetric shape and a sudden contrast after Wild Horse.
Martial/mechanical idea
Often interpreted as separating, lifting or deflecting with one arm while controlling or covering low with the other.
Where it sits historically
White Crane appears across traditional Yang forms and became one of the most recognizable images retained in the simplified 24.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Big circular preparation → clear brush past the knee → committed forward palm.
What the name is showing you
One hand sweeps down and past the knee while the opposite palm advances. The beauty comes from the contrast between the circular preparation and the clean forward finish.
Martial/mechanical idea
A low parry or clearing action paired with a forward palm strike/push is the most common interpretation.
Where it sits historically
A foundational Yang-style action. In the 24 form it is repeated in alternating directions to train stepping and coordinated weight transfer.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Shrink the frame. After the big bow stances, become compact and poised, with a light front heel.
What the name is showing you
The hand position resembles holding and playing a pipa, a traditional Chinese plucked instrument. Its beauty comes from restraint: a quiet, compact shape after expansive movement.
Martial/mechanical idea
Often understood as intercepting, adhering to or controlling an incoming arm while the body sits back into an empty stance.
Where it sits historically
Another long-standing Yang posture retained in the simplified form.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Retreat without collapsing. Let each rearward step trigger a large spiral and a definite palm change.
What the name is showing you
The English name is traditional but somewhat fanciful. The actual choreography is a repeated backward stepping pattern with alternating palms and turning through the torso.
Martial/mechanical idea
A retreating deflection-and-push pattern: yield space, redirect, then issue through the advancing palm.
Where it sits historically
The movement appears repeatedly in longer Yang forms; the 24 form keeps four alternating repetitions.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Make four distinct ideas visible: Ward Off → Roll Back → Press → Push. Do not blur them together.
What the name is showing you
This sequence is one of the central pieces of Yang-style Tai Chi. Its four phases are commonly associated with peng, lü, ji and an: ward off, roll back, press and push.
Martial/mechanical idea
Rather than one technique, it is a miniature laboratory for receiving force, redirecting it, joining force and projecting force.
Where it sits historically
Grasp the Bird’s Tail is heavily repeated in traditional Yang long forms and was deliberately preserved in the 24 form.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Same four energies, opposite direction. Make the change of facing feel architectural, not hurried.
What the name is showing you
The right-side version repeats the essential four-part sequence while teaching you to organize the body symmetrically.
Martial/mechanical idea
Ward Off → Roll Back → Press → Push, now on the opposite side.
Where it sits historically
The paired left/right treatment is part of the simplified form’s effort to create a balanced, teachable sequence.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Stretch across the room. Hook hand behind; open palm forward; long horizontal reach.
What the name is showing you
Single Whip is one of Tai Chi’s most iconic silhouettes. The name likely refers to the long, extended line of the posture rather than a literal whipping motion.
Martial/mechanical idea
Applications vary widely: hooking or controlling with one hand while striking, pushing, splitting or opening with the other.
Where it sits historically
Single Whip is repeated many times in traditional Yang forms and appears twice in the 24 form.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Think wide, continuous circles carried by the waist. The hands float; the body does the steering.
What the name is showing you
The name describes the visual quality: layered, drifting circles that pass one another without collision. The side-stepping creates a calm horizontal flow.
Martial/mechanical idea
Often interpreted as repeated deflections, redirections and strikes generated by turning the body rather than swatting with the arms.
Where it sits historically
Cloud Hands is a famous repeated motif in Yang-style forms. The 24 version compresses it to a short lateral sequence.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Re-establish the long line after the circular Cloud Hands. Make the stop-image crisp.
What the name is showing you
This second Single Whip acts almost like punctuation: the circular lateral flow resolves into a broad, unmistakable posture.
Martial/mechanical idea
As before, the hook hand may control while the open hand projects or divides.
Where it sits historically
Its repetition preserves a familiar Yang-form rhythm: Cloud Hands resolves back into Single Whip.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Become narrower and lighter. One hand reaches forward while the other draws in, as though testing distance.
What the name is showing you
Translations vary: 'High Pat on Horse,' 'Stroke the Horse from Above,' or 'High Scout on Horse.' The image suggests reaching toward a horse’s neck or head.
Martial/mechanical idea
Often trained as a high parry/control with a simultaneous palm action.
Where it sits historically
A traditional named posture kept in the simplified sequence as a transition into the kicking section.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Open first, then kick. Let the arms counterbalance so the heel extension looks calm, not snatched.
What the name is showing you
A direct heel kick performed from a balanced one-leg position. The visual power is in the expansion of arms and leg away from a stable center.
Martial/mechanical idea
The heel is the striking surface; the hands may simultaneously guard, separate or control.
Where it sits historically
Kicking methods are part of traditional Yang forms. The simplified 24 retains a small but challenging kicking sequence.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Arc both fists in together like closing gates around a centerline. Keep the torso tall.
What the name is showing you
The Chinese name evokes two peaks converging on the ears. It is one of the clearest explicitly martial names in the form.
Martial/mechanical idea
A simultaneous two-fist striking action toward the sides of the head, preceded by gathering and body positioning.
Where it sits historically
Its retention reminds you that Taijiquan is a martial art expressed through slow training, not only a relaxation exercise.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Make the turn spacious. Rebuild balance before the kick rather than throwing the leg out of the spin.
What the name is showing you
The drama here is the change of direction: turn, gather, open, then extend the left heel.
Martial/mechanical idea
A directional change followed by a heel kick, with the hands maintaining protection and balance.
Where it sits historically
Paired right/left kicks give the standardized form symmetry and increase balance demands.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
This is contrast: descend long and low, then rise into a clean one-leg statue.
What the name is showing you
Two images are joined: a snake sliding close to the ground, then a golden rooster standing upright on one leg. Compression becomes expansion.
Martial/mechanical idea
The low section can train evasive level change and sweeping/control ideas; the rise develops structure, knee lift and upward force.
Where it sits historically
The 24 form keeps these dramatic traditional movements, although beginners should use a comfortably high version rather than forcing depth.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Repeat the low-to-high transformation on the other side. Aim for the same clarity, not the same depth.
What the name is showing you
The opposite-side version turns the movement into a balance and symmetry challenge.
Martial/mechanical idea
Again, the sequence combines low evasion/control possibilities with a rising one-leg structure.
Where it sits historically
Paired left/right performance is characteristic of the simplified form’s balanced teaching design.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Travel diagonally. One hand shields high while the other palm drives forward: elegant but purposeful.
What the name is showing you
The image refers to a woman working a weaving shuttle. The hands pass and exchange positions while the body moves toward diagonal corners.
Martial/mechanical idea
A common interpretation combines an upper ward/cover with a forward palm strike or push.
Where it sits historically
Traditional Yang long forms perform the shuttle pattern to multiple corners; the 24 form uses a shortened version.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Fold without collapsing. The reaching hand threads down as though finding one precise point deep below.
What the name is showing you
The poetic name evokes searching for a tiny needle at the bottom of the sea: focused, downward, precise. The body compresses after the broad shuttle movements.
Martial/mechanical idea
Often associated with a downward pull, control or sinking action while maintaining central balance.
Where it sits historically
A classic Yang posture whose unusual name and compressed shape make it especially memorable.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Explode open—slowly. From Needle’s compression, expand into a broad front/back arm relationship.
What the name is showing you
Translations vary, including 'Fan Through Back' and 'Flash Arms Like a Fan.' The defining quality is expansion through the upper body after the folded Needle posture.
Martial/mechanical idea
Often trained as a forward palm action with the rear/high arm guarding or supporting the structure.
Where it sits historically
The Needle → Fan pairing is a classic Yang-form contrast and one of the most satisfying visual transitions.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Tell the story in four verbs. Turn. Deflect. Parry. Punch. Each action should be readable.
What the name is showing you
Unlike the poetic animal names, this one is almost an instruction manual. The sequence is explicitly combative and sequential.
Martial/mechanical idea
Clear a line, intercept/control, then deliver the fist with the body behind it.
Where it sits historically
A fundamental Yang-style striking sequence retained near the end of the 24 form.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Withdraw first, then fill the space with the push. Make the inward/outward contrast obvious.
What the name is showing you
Also translated 'Apparently Closing' or 'As If Sealing, As If Closing.' The hands withdraw and reorganize before issuing forward again.
Martial/mechanical idea
Often interpreted as escaping or neutralizing a control, then returning with a two-hand push.
Where it sits historically
The movement appears in traditional Yang forms and serves as the final major martial phrase before returning to center.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Return to the front and become centered. Let the crossed forearms feel broad, buoyant and calm.
What the name is showing you
The name is literal: the arms form a cross in front of the torso. After all the directional travel, this posture visibly gathers the form back to center.
Martial/mechanical idea
Can be understood as a protective crossing/warding structure, but in the form it also functions as a clear return-and-gather.
Where it sits historically
Cross Hands is a traditional Yang-form landmark and the penultimate posture of the 24.
Read a longer external description ↗
VISUAL TARGET
Do not simply stop. Let the energy visibly settle: separate, lower, step in, return to stillness.
What the name is showing you
The closing reverses the opening process. Movement resolves into quiet standing, giving the form a definite end rather than letting it fade out.
Martial/mechanical idea
This is primarily a training and compositional close: settle posture, breathing and attention.
Where it sits historically
The standardized 24 ends by returning to the same centered simplicity from which it began.
Read a longer external description ↗
Sources & useful references
- The 24-posture simplified form was standardized in 1956 from Yang-style material; the form keeps many characteristic Yang postures while shortening repetition and overall length. Cloud Hands / Michael Garofalo reference ↗
- Gao Jiamin is known for elite competition-level Taijiquan performance and won 32 gold medals across major competitions. Interview / biography ↗
- Helen Liang’s publicly available full 24-form performance runs about 6½ minutes, and YMAA also offers detailed beginner instruction. YMAA preview ↗
- For straightforward step-by-step wording and alignment cues, Everyday Tai Chi’s 24-form index ↗ is a useful companion.
More from Jason S. Comely
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