Yang Family Tai Chi Discussion Board

I am currently living and working in China and have taken up Tai Chi. I do not speak any Chinese and my teacher does not speak any English. She gave me a list of the names of the 85 movements of what seems to be the Yang Style Tai Chi Quan (at least I have been able to figure out that much), but they are in Chinese characters.I have been looking all over the net to try to find these names in English, can anyone help?

Much obliged,
Luz

hi,
I am a new student in tai chi.I am familiar with the chinese and english commands of the yang 103 moves form,but an 85 moves one? I. dont know.Since I dont speak chinese I would like to direct you to someone who may be able to help you. In the main forum the last option leads to master Yang Jun.He speaks chinese and english ,and although the forum says chinese to chinese, he might be able to reply in english.
good luck!

Fu Zhongwen's book (translated by Louis Swaim as "Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan") numbers the moves differently from Yang Zhenduo and comes up with 85 movements. Actually it's the same form, just depends on how you count the moves.

Hi Guys,

Corresponding to Jerry's last post, the Tung/Dong Family counts the long form as 108 moves.

David J

I am presently learning the 103 moves yang zhenduo style form, and I have heard of the 49 moves shorter form.I am curious to know if there are any other barehand forms in the yang family system besides these?
THANKS.

As Jerry says, it is all in how you count the moves. The number 108 was used in the old days just because it was easy to remember. The number itself is pretty arbitrary. The Ch'an Buddhist rosary, the nien chu, had 108 beads, and people would go over the forms in their head or say the form names out loud while they counted the beads with their fingers.
This is purely hearsay, I don't have any evidence to confirm it, but I've heard the story that the PRC govt. has discouraged the use of the number 108 in Wushu training because of its former religious connotations...
The Tung family and the Wu family, who moved to Hong Kong in '48, still use 108 for their forms. The Wu family members who stayed in Shanghai use the number 89 for the same sequence.
Regards,
P.

Thank you POLARIS for that wonderful story about the nien chou, very interesting, that will stay in my mind.

Thank you all for the replies. I will check out the options. I do believe from what I have researched, that the 85 movement style is either a shorter version of the 108 movement style, or that it is the same thing but depending on how one counts the movements, one ends up with 85 instead of 108.

Thank you,

Luz