(added on 5/30/2026)
Now the whole series of the 8-Movement Taijiquan is completed and available in the elementary classes.
Elementary Classes – Tai Chi Club
In-person guidance is also offered at no cost to participants at 4:30 p.m. every Tuesday at the South Branch Library.
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Dear Tai Chi Friends,
This Sunday, 5/17, is a very special day for my family — my elder daughter is graduating from college. Because of this, I’m sorry that I will not be able to make it back to Baton Rouge before our regular class time. So I prepared some basic Taijiquan knowledge for for a video-led class this week. And my club enthusiasts will help to manage the class.
Thank you all for your understanding and support. I truly appreciate this community and everyone who joins the practice each session. Please feel free to share feedback about how the practice goes next time I see you, or you can also write me an email anytime. I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.
About The 8 movements Taijiquan
The 8 Movement Taijiquan is my new favorite and I would try every effort to make a show out of it for next year’s library event. It is a short and beginner-friendly routine created to introduce the fundamental tai chi principles and movements. The entire form takes only about 3 minutes to complete, making it easy to practice regularly even with a busy schedule.
For those who already practice 24 Movement Taijiquan, this routine may feel especially approachable, since many of the movement concepts and body coordination principles are familiar. The shorter structure just help you to focus more deeply on posture, weight shifting, relaxation, and movement quality.
This routine is commonly used for the 1st Duan ranking exam and also serves as an excellent daily practice routine since it is short and is practiced mostly in place.
Note:
To make an hour long session from the 8 movement tai chi routine, we have 2 options.
- Warm up + Commencing + Reverse Reeling of the Arms + Brushing Knee and Push + Parting the Wild Horse’s Mane = 12+15+9+12+9 = 57 min
- Warm Up + Reverse Reeling of the Arms + Brushing Knee and Push + Parting the Wild Horse’s Mane + 5 times follow along practice with the full routine demo video =12+9+12+9+ 5x 3= 60 min
Either way, we will still start with warm up as usual to make the Tai Chi practice safe and effective.
Warm-up (12 min)
Step-by-Step Instructions
4 step-by-step instruction videos were made available in the past weekend.
Commencing (15 min)
Lets move to the commencing of this routine. It is exactly the same as the 24 movements taijiquan. Feel free to skip or learn in depth with this video. If you skipped the commencing, you can follow along with the full routine demonstration at the end. That will be totally doable since you all have those movements from 24 movements tai chi routine.
Reverse Reeling of the Arms (9 min)
The first core movement is a little different from the Repulse Monkeys so I named it more specifically to make it clear that this movement does not involve any foot work:) Its arm only.
Brushing Knee and Push (12 min)
The 2nd core movement is brush knee and push. Basically the movement is the same as that one in the 24 movement tai chi. Instead of waking straight forward, we turn to step to the left and then, turn and step to the right. The video has been mirrored. So if you see “her” step to the left (in your view), just step to the left. Let me know how the mirror view works. If I am filming this video in back view, then all hand movement will be totally blocked by my torso.
Parting the Wild Horse’ Mane (9 min)
The 3rd core movement is Parting the wild horse’s mane. Similarly, the video was in mirrored view now with the hope that will make it easy for you to follow along.
If the above videos does not work too well, or it confused you, try the full demonstration video, which combines a front view and a back view (no mirrored view)
Full Routine Demon with Front view and Back view (3 min)
If you skipped the commencing movement, follow along with the full routine for 5 times.
If you did not skip the commencing movement, you’ve reached an hour long session. Now pat your joints and chop your muscles.
I hope you learned something from these videos and practice hard in this session.
See you soon!
Thank you!
Jie Gu
5.12.2026