The Thirty Seven Essential Forms of the Yang-style Taijiquan (1081)

三十七式楊式太極拳(一百八) Translated and interpreted by Sam Masich (馬希奇)

The 37 Essential Forms 2 listed in the order they first appear in the traditional long form3 :
1) Ward-off péng 掤
2) Roll-back lǚ 扌履
3) Press jǐ 擠
4) Push àn 按
5) Single Whip dān biān 單鞭
6) Raise Hands, Step-up tí shǒu shàng shì 提手上式
7) White Crane Spreads its Wings bái hè liàng chì 白鶴亮翅
8) Brush Knee, Twist-step lǒu xī ǎo bù 摟膝拗步
9) Hand Plays the Guitar shǒu huī pí pá 手揮琵琶
10) Step-up, Deflect Downward, Parry & Punch jìn bù bān lán chuí 進步搬攔捶
11) Apparent Closure (& Counter with Push) rú fēng sì bì 如封似閉
12) Cross Hands shízì shǒu 十子手
13) Fist Under Elbow zhǒu dǐ chuí 肘底捶
14) Step Back, Repulse like Monkey dǎo niǎn hóu 倒攆猴
15) Diagonal Flying xié fēi shì 斜飛式
16) Needle at Sea Bottom hǎi dǐ zhēn 海底針
17) Fan Through the Back shàn tōng bèi 扇通背
18) Turn & Chop Opponent with Fist zhuǎn shēn piě shēn chuí 轉身撇身捶
19) Cloud Hands yún shǒu 雲手
20) High Pat on Horse gāo tàn mǎ 高探馬
21) Parting Kick fēn jiǎo 分腳
22) Kick with Sole dēng jiǎo 登腳
23) Step-up, Punch Down jìn bù zāi chuí 進步栽捶
24) Rising Kick tī jiǎo 踢腳
25) Hit Tiger dǎ hǔ 打虎
26) Double Winds Pierce Ears shuāng fēng guàn ěr 雙風貫耳
27) Part the Wild Horse’s Mane yě mǎ fēn zōng 野馬分鬃
28) Fair Maiden Weaves at Shuttles yù nǚ chuān suō 女穿梭
29) Snake Creeps Down shé shēn xià shì 蛇身下勢
30) Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg jīn jī dú lì 金雞獨立
31) White Snake Puts-out Tongue bái shé tǔ xìn 白蛇吐信
32) Palm Thrust shí zǐ zhǎng 十子掌
33) Step-up, Punch to Groin jìn bù zhǐ dāng chuí 進步指襠捶
34) Step-up, Form Seven Stars shàng bù qī xīng 上步七星
35) Retreat to Ride the Tiger tuì bù kuà hǔ 退步跨虎
36) Turn body, Sweep the Lotus zhuǎn shēn bǎi lián tuǐ 轉身擺蓮腿
37) Bend Bow, Shoot Tiger wān gōng shè hǔ 彎弓射虎
The Thirteen Families of the Thirty Seven Essential Forms
一三家 三十七式 楊式太極拳
1) Peng family: péng jiā 掤家
1) Ward-off péng
3) Press jǐ
27) Part the Wild Horse’s Mane yě mǎ fēn zōng
15) Diagonal Flying xié fēi shì
19) Cloud Hands yún shǒu
2) Lü family: lǚ jiā 扌履家
2) Roll-back lǚ
16) Needle at Sea Bottom hǎi dǐ zhēn
14) Step Back, Repulse like Monkey dǎo niǎn hóu
19) Cloud Hands yún shǒu
(Roll Back into Press Variations) lǚ, jǐ
3) An family: àn jiā 擠家
4) Push àn
3) Press jǐ
8) Brush Knee, Twist-step lǒu xī ǎo bù
28) Fair Maiden Weaves at Shuttles yù nǚ chuān suō
11) Apparent Closure (& Counter with Push) rú fēng sì bì
4) Single Whip family: dān biān jiā 單鞭家
5) Single Whip dān biān
17) Fan Through the Back shàn tōng bèi
29) Snake Creeps Down shé shēn xià shì
5) Raise Hands family: tí shǒu jiā 提手家
6) Raise Hands, Step-up tí shǒu shàng shì
9) Hand Plays the Guitar shǒu huī pí pá
13) Fist Under Elbow zhǒu dǐ chuí
6) White Crane family: bái hè jiā 白鶴家
7) White Crane Spreads Its Wings bái hè liàng chì
20) High Pat on Horse gāo tàn mǎ
35) Retreat to Ride the Tiger tuì bù kuà hǔ
7) Step-up, Hit family: jìn bù chuí jiā 進步捶家
10) Step-up, Deflect Downward, Parry & Punch jìn bù bān lán chuí
23) Step-up, Punch Down jìn bù zāi chuí
33) Step-up, Punch to Groin jìn bù zhǐ dāng chuí
8) Cross Hands family: shízì shǒu jiā 十字手家
11) Apparent Closure (& Counter with Push) rú fēng sì bì
12) Cross Hands (Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain) shízì shǒu (bào hǔ guī shān)
34) Step-up, Form Seven Stars shàng bù qī xīng
9) Kick family: jiǎo jiā 腳家
21) Parting Kick fēn jiǎo
22) Kick with Sole dēng jiǎo
24) Rising Kick tī jiǎo
30) Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg jīn jī dú lì
36) Turn to Sweep the Lotus zhuǎn shēn bǎi lián tuǐ
10) Turn Body family: zhuǎn shēn jiā 轉身家
28) Fair Maiden Weaves at Shuttles yù nǚ chuān suō
12) Cross Hands (Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain) shízì shǒu (bào hǔ guī shān)
18) Turn & Chop Opponent with Fist zhuǎn shēn piě chuí
36) Turn to Sweep the Lotus zhuǎn shēn bǎi lián tuǐ
11) Hit Tiger family: dǎ hǔ jiā 打虎家
25) Hit Tiger dǎ hǔ
26) Double Winds Pierce Ears shuāng fēng guàn ěr
37) Bend Bow, Shoot Tiger wān gōng shè hǔ
34) Step-up, Form Seven Stars shàng bù qī xīng
12) White Snake family: bái shé jiā 白蛇家
31) White Snake Puts Out Tongue bái shé tǔ xìn
30) Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg jīn jī dú lì
32) Palm Thrust shí zǐ zhǎng
16) Needle at Sea Bottom hǎi dǐ zhēn
13) Seven Stars family: qī xīng jiā 七星家
34) Step-up, Form Seven Stars shàng bù qī xīng
6) Raise Hands, Step-up (Hand Plays Guitar; Fist Under Elbow) tí shǒu shàng shì (shǒu huī pípá; zhǒu dǐ chuí)
7) White Crane Spreads Wings (High Pat Horse; Ride Tiger) bái hè liàng chì (gāo tàn mǎ; tuì bù kuà hǔ)
1 The Yang Style Taijiquan barehand routine is often described as comprising one hundred and eight move-
ment forms. This number—considered sacred in Buddhism—likely reflects the legacy of the formʼs partial
Buddhist Shaolin style martial art roots which predate Chen family origins. The 108 count however, is only one
of many ways of tallying the movements of this form. Reckoning depends on such factors as: individual
teachersʼ preferences for number of repetitions in grouped movements (i.e. ʻWave Hands Like Cloudsʼ, three
repetitions or five); whether or not such grouped movements are counted individually (i.e. ʻWave Hands Like
Cloudsʼ five times as a single count or as five counts); whether or not grouped movements are counted the
same way in subsequent repetitions (i.e. ʻCloud Handsʼ three times, as three counts the first time it appears
but as only a single count thereafter); etc. There are various counting permutations in the ʻCommencingʼ and
ʻClosingʼ parts of the form. Some enumerate ʻOpening Stanceʼ as well as ʻOpening Formʼ or ʻClosing Formʼ as
well as ʻReturn to Originʼ. Criteria for making tallying decisions are vague, therefore the count is subject to
interpretation. While there is not much consistency in this matter from school to school, neither is there much
discord as to which way is correct or ideal.

Here are some examples of the different counts (from lesser to greater) for the Yang-style Taijiquan long form
by various teachers and authors. While tabulations vary, each enumerates the exact same series of postures:
81—Tseng Ju-Pai; 82—Douglas Lee; 85—Yang Chengfu/Fu Zhongwen; 88—Li Tianji; 89—Wen-Shan
Huang—; 103—Yang Zhenduo; 105—Jou Tsung Hwa; 105—Lee Shu Pak; 108—Chen Yanlin; 108—Chung
Yun Man; 108—Dr. Yang Jwing Ming; 108—Moy Lin Shin; 124—Yang Shouzhong; 150—T.T. Liang.
In fact there are between thirty-five and forty individual forms in the Yang barehand form. But even in this mat-
ter there is some difference as to what qualifies for counting, as some schools recognize ʻOpeningʼ and ʻClos-
ingʼ as independent forms. Decisions as whether or not to list similar type movements such as; ʻKick with Soleʼ
and ʻRising Kickʼ; or, ʻTurn to Chop Opponent with Fistʼ and ʻWhite Snake Puts-out Tongueʼ; or, ʻPunch Downʼ
and ʻPunch to Groinʼ can also affect the basic tally. So can counting left and right-style variations (which could
bring the number up to between 50-55).
Older documents describe thirty-seven essential ʻformsʼ in the Yang family long-fist (chang quan 長拳) routine.
The most famous use of the number ʻ37ʼ as a counting device is in Zheng Manqingʼs (Chʼeng Man-ching)
popular 37 movement routine. Not all the actual essential postures are present in the Zheng sequence however,
and this may have been a factor in obfuscating the topic in recent generations.
2 shì 式 — literally ‘styles’, ‘forms’ or ‘patterns’. Often translated as ‘movements’ or ‘postures’

3 Yang Chengfu lists thirty-seven core forms in his 1931 book, ʻTaijiquan Method and Applicationʼ (Tàijíquán

Shǐyòngfǎ 太極拳使用法)—[not to be confused with his 1934 ʻEssence and Applications of Taijiquanʼ
(tǐyòngquánshū 太極拳體用全書)]—and suggests that these are essential to the understanding of martial
application. He indicates that a more exhaustive explanation would be forthcoming in a later volume. Yang
died in 1936 and no such book is known to have been written. Yangʼs thirty-seven itemize several forms in
both left and right side variations and lump ʻpengʼ, ʻluʼ, ʻjiʼ and ʻanʼ together under the banner of ʻGrasp Spar-
rowʼs Tailʼ. As well ʻRising Kickʼ; ʻWhite Snake Puts Out Tongueʼ; and ʻTurn to Sweep the Lotusʼ are omitted. In
this sense this is not quite a true list of the ʻessential formsʼ. Here is the list of Yang Chengfuʼs ʻThirty-seven
Forms of Taijiquan Individually Namedʼ (三十七式太極拳各式名稱):
1. Grasp Sparrow's Tail (lǎn què wěi 攬雀尾); 2. Single Whip (dān biān 單鞭); 3. Raise Hands (tí shǒu 提手);
4. White Crane Spreads its Wings (bái hè liàng chì 白鶴亮翅); 5. Brush Knee, Twist-step (left style) (lǒu xī ǎo
bù (zuǒ shì) 左摟膝拗步); 6. Brush Knee, Twist-step (right style) (lǒu xī ǎo bù (yòu shì) 右摟膝拗步); 7. ʻPipaʼ
(pípá 琵琶式); 8. Deflect Downward, Parry & Punch (bān lán chuí 搬攔捶); 9. Apparent Closure (rú fēng sì bì
如封似閉); 10. Cross Hands (shízì shǒu 十字手); 11. Embrace Hands, Return to Mountain (bào shǒu guī shān
抱手歸山); 12. Fist Under Elbow (zhǒu dǐ chuí 肘底捶); 13. Step Back, Repulse like Monkey (dǎo niǎn
hóu 倒攆猴); 14. Diagonal Flying (xié fēi shì 斜飛); 15. Needle at Sea Bottom (hǎi dǐ zhēn 海底針); 16. Fan
Through the Back (shàn tōng bèi 扇通背); 17. Chop Opponent with Fist (zhuǎn shēn piě shēn chuí 撇身捶);
18. Cloud Hands (yún shǒu 雲手); 19. High Pat on Horse (gāo tàn mǎ 高探馬); 20. Parting Kick (fēn jiǎo 分腳);
21. Left Turn Body and Kick with Sole (zuǒ zhuǎnshēn dēng jiǎo 左轉身蹬腳); 22. Step-up, Punch Down (jìn
bù zāi chuí 進步載捶); 23. Turn-over Body Kick with Sole (fān shēn dēng jiǎo 翻身蹬腳); 24. Right Turn Body
Kick with Sole (yòu zhuǎnshēn dēng jiǎo 右轉身蹬腳); 25. Double Winds Pierce Ears (shuāng fēng guàn ěr 雙
峰貫耳); 26. Left & Right Hit Tiger (zuǒ yòu dǎ hǔ 左右打虎); 27. Part the Wild Horseʼs Mane (yě mǎ fēn
zōng 野馬分鬃); 28. Left Fair Maiden Weaves at Shuttles (zuǒ yù nǚ chuān suō 左玉女穿梭)
29. Right Fair Maiden Weaves at Shuttles (yòu yù nǚ chuān suō 右玉女穿梭); 30. Single Golden Rooster
Stands on One Leg (jīn jī dú lì 單下金雞獨立); 31. Right Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg (yòu jīn jī dú lì
右邊金雞獨立); 32. Facing Palm (yíng miàn zhǎng 迎面掌); 33. Brush Knee, Punch Groin (lǒu xī zhǐ dāng chuí
摟膝指襠捶); 34. Step-up, Form Seven Stars (shàng bù qī xīng 上步七); 35. Retreat to Ride the Tiger (tuì bù
kuà hǔ 退步跨虎); 36. Turn Foot to Ride the Tiger (tuì jiǎo kuà hǔ 轉腳擺蓮); 37. Bend Bow, Shoot Tiger (wān
gōng shè hǔ 彎弓射虎)