The 26-Section Extraordinary Foundation Routine is based on the traditional Yang style long form. I spent about 10 years developing this routine, and created it based on the eight different versions of Yang style that I learned during the preceding three decades.

I designed this routine to meet the needs of my school and my students, and to correct problems that I discovered with applying the standard curriculum in the cultural and geographic context in which my students and I find ourselves. The interesting thing is that the modifications I have made turned out to be similar to traditional training methods of which I had been unaware. A couple of masters have told me that this was how they used to train. I thought I was inventing something new, when I was actually inventing something very old.

The routine is progressive and comprehensive. It is not simplified, although you can teach it in a simplified manner. My goal was to improve teachability without sacrificing depth.

The routine is symmetrical and predominantly forward-facing. This makes it easier to teach to large groups and is more suitable for live online lessons.

The routine arranged so that important elements are practised more, and difficult elements are not grouped together. The core elements are repeated, like a chorus or refrain, facilitating a gradual progression through levels of difficulty and degrees of flexibility.

Each section can be practised on its own, and taught separately from the rest of the routine. This allows for, among other things, a phased curriculum. This will allow new students to join a course already in progress. It also allows for the fact that students progress at different rates and makes sure that those who do not practice or who miss classes, can continue without embarrassment and without disrupting the class.

Because the routine progresses in difficulty, it can be separated into three larger segments when assigning levels of difficulty. The second third is more complex than the first third, and the final third is more physically demanding than the first two.

These videos demonstrate the basic choreography of the routine. More in-depth instruction, and more breadth will be included in the course, “Tai chi from First Principles.”

Important:

This is a non-dogmatic method.
I have a few versions of this routine that I teach to different students depending certain variables such as individual needs, abilities, goals, and available training space. Teaching is different in a stadium or a shoebox.
This is a standard routine only within my school, although others are known to adopt my approach.
This routine is subject to change.