The first instructional material on 32-Step Taiji Sword was published by China's State Physical Culture and Sports Commission under editor-in-chief Li Tianji in 1957 in the form of a wall chart. This was followed by book editions that now have reached a circulation of over one million -- an indication of how much this sword form has contributed to promoting the popularity of Taiji Sword. With basic material, a clear routine, precise sword techniques and traditional movements, 32-Step Taiji Sword is simple to learn and to remember. It is suitable for practice by individuals or in a group, and it takes about three minutes to complete which makes it convenient to practice on a regular basis.
Adapted from the Yang-style Yaiji Sword, 32-Step Taiji Sword preserves the style and features of traditional Taiji Sword, but also provides a breakthrough in the routine by eliminating complications to provide an easy method for group instruction and for beginners who want to learn the basic form and techniques of Taiji Sword.
The 32-Step Taiji Sword includes 32 representative movements divided into four parts, with eight movements in each part. From start to finish, the entire routine goes back and forth on its axis (or line of movement) just twice. The 32-Step Taiji Sword includes 13 sword techniques: point (dian 点), stab (ci 刺), sweep (sao 扫), draw (dai 带), chop (pi 劈), pull back (chou 抽), slice upward (liao 撩), block (lan 拦), hook (gua 挂), intercept (jie 截), lift (tuo 托), strike (ji击), and smear (mo 抹).
The 32-Step Taiji Sword also includes seven stances (buxing 步型): Front bow stance, empty stance, crouch stance, one-leg stance, feet-together stance, T-stance, and side-bow stance; and over 10 footwork techniques (bufa 步法): Step in, step back, forward step, draw-in step, follow-up step, jumping step, stabbing step, standing upright with feet together step, toes-out step, toes-in step, and step with the pivot on the ball or heel of the foot; and self-defense techniques of moving the body (shenfa 身法) such as shift (zhuan 转), rotate (xuan 旋), contract or draw back (suo 缩), and turn around (fan 反).
[PDF]Introduction
