Basic Tai Chi Moves 招式

Before the first move

Two promises, so you start honest: nothing here requires flexibility, strength, or grace — those are results, not prerequisites. And research supports tai chi as generally safe, gentle exercise with real benefits for balance and wellbeing^[1], but no single move is medicine; the practice is the dose. Wear flat shoes, find floor enough for two steps in any direction, and keep a chair-back within reach if balance is a question — pride causes more falls than tai chi prevents.

The eight

1. Wuji standing (无极桩). Feet shoulder-width, knees soft, arms hanging, crown floating. One quiet minute. This is zhan zhuang, the root of everything.
2. Commencing (起势). Arms float to shoulder height as if resting on water, then sink as the knees soften. The whole art in miniature: rise light, settle heavy.
3. Weight shifting. Pour yourself slowly from one leg to the other, feet flat, hips level. Boring. Also the entire secret.
4. Empty step (虚步). Shift fully to one leg; touch the other toe forward carrying nothing. The stumble-proofing move.
5. Cloud hands (云手). Weight shifts side to side while the hands trade slow circles at chest and waist. Hypnotic once the coordination lands — give it a week.
6. Parting the wild horse's mane (野马分鬃). A step forward with arms opening on a diagonal, like gently splitting a curtain. Your first real "tai chi looking" move.
7. Brush knee (搂膝拗步). Step forward, one palm pushes ahead while the other sweeps past the knee. Teaches the twist that powers everything.
8. Closing (收势). Hands float up, press slowly down, feet together. Every practice gets a beginning and an end; the nervous system appreciates ceremony.

How to practice them

One move a day, ten unhurried minutes, in order — the list is a staircase, not a menu. After two weeks, string 2-through-8 into one slow ribbon and you are, by any honest definition, doing tai chi. A real teacher will refine what a page cannot; find one when the appetite arrives, and see the seniors' page if joints or balance need the gentler door.

Xiao Hu mastered the standing in an afternoon — asleep, but standing. The crane awarded partial credit.

Reviewed 2026-08-26