I first taught this routine in Geneva, Switzerland and it has had some revisions since then.

This routine is based on several versions of the Chen style yilu changquan. I have been influenced mostly by the lineages of Chen Zhaokui, Chen Zhaopei, Gu Luxin, Chen Zhenglei, Feng Ziqiang, and especially Liang Shouyu. I cannot blame any of them, or my more recent teachers for the quality of form or this routine.

This is not considered a beginner routine. This video is intended as a reference for student who are already learning it.

As with the 26-Section Yang Style Foundation Routine, 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 seem to be in line with previous traditional training methods of which I had been unaware. I thought I was inventing something new, when I was actually inventing something old.

The routine is progressive and comprehensive. It is not simplified or standarized, although you can teach it in a simplified manner, and the routine can be adapted to reflect modern standardizations. 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 choreography is arranged so that important elements are practised more, and the more 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 routine was developed specifically for students within my school, although others are known to adopt my approach.
This routine is subject to change.

Section 1 and 2