Memorizing the form is essential if you want your tai chi to improve. Simply following your teacher in class once a week can be fulfilling enough for some students, but if you want to understand tai chi and progress up though the many levels of the art you have to practice alone. In order to practice alone you have to memorize the form. For some people this can be really difficult. Especially if you are one of the types that can follow in class easily. When following, especially if you follow well, your body is in charge. You move your body along without really thinking about it. In the very beginning this is fine. After the initial stages however, you must to switch over to your mind being in charge.
Because tai chi movements are so slow it is easy for your mind to race away and become distracted. Slowing down your mind can be amazingly challenging. Once you realize how many things there are to think about, which is the the whole reason tai chi movements are done so slowly, it becomes easier to focus and stay in the moment. Mindfulness is key.
There are memorization strategies that can help you remember the posture sequence.
One way is to re-type, or even better hand copy, the list of posture names in the sequence as they appear in the form. Print it out so that you can refer to it easily. Read through this list often.
I had a student that printed out and laminated sections of the form and hung them from a lanyard that he wore around his neck. If he ever got stuck while practicing he could quickly refer to one of the cards.
Some people remember better by hearing the posture names while they are doing them. If you are one of these people say the names of the postures out loud as you do them when practicing alone, and say them in your head if you are practicing with other people.
The tai chi form is usually done slowly, but for memorization purposes speed it up. For now, this is for training posture sequence memory only. Don’t worry so much about doing the postures perfectly, just concentrate on sequence. This is going to bring the speed of your body and mind together so that they can communicate. Now your mind is going to tell your body what to do. Your mind is going to be in charge. Once your body starts following your mind it will develop correct posture sequence muscle memory. Only then can you trust it to move along without having to think about it. Once your body knows the form sequence your mind can concentrate on things like proper tai chi principles. You can apply this strategy to sections at a time, or just to spots you have trouble remembering.
Another way to memorize the form is to practice the part that you have an absolute handle on and then add just the next posture or even just part of the next posture, and stop. Don’t go any further! Now go back to the beginning and do the the part you know plus the new part you just added, and stop. Do this 3, 5, ..10 times, however many it takes to incorporate the new posture into what you already know. Don’t add anything more until that last part you added becomes part of what you have an absolute handle on. The more you start to remember you won’t have to go back to the very beginning, maybe just the last three postures of what you’ve got down, and then add the next small part. Practicing memorizing this way can be done fast or slow. By practicing slowly you can also concentrate on doing the postures you know correctly while then adding the next piece.
There are three sections in the yang 108 form. Familiarize yourself with each section on its own. The first section is short, kind of a warming up section. The second section is longer and introduces kicks. The third section is the longest section and is much more dynamic. Each of the sections can be broken down into more manageable chunks (I broke the following list into the chunks that worked for me). Patterns appear that can be more easily remembered. For instance you find out that after every Grasp the Sparrows Tail there is a Single Whip. After Every Cloud Hands there is a Single Whip. The last posture in both section one and section two is Cross Hands… and so on.
Traditional Yang 108 Form Postures~
First section
Opening
Ward off, Right
Ward Off, Left
Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail (Ward Off, Right; Roll Back; Press; Push)
Single Whip
Lift Hands, Shoulder Strike
White Crane Spreads its Wings
Brush Knee, Left
Play the Guitar
Brush Knee, Left
Brush Knee, Right
Brush Knee, Left
Play the Guitar
Brush Knee, Left
Deflect, Parry and Punch
Apparent Close
Cross Hands
Second section
Carry Tiger to Mountain
Fist Under Elbow
Repulse Monkey, Right
Repulse Monkey, Left
Repulse Monkey – Right
Diagonal Flying
Lift Hands
White Crane Spreads its Wings
Brush Knee, Left
Needle at Sea Bottom
Fan through Back
Turn, Back Fist, Parry, Side Punch
Deflect, Parry and Punch
Ward Off, Left
Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail (Ward Off, Right; Roll Back; Press; Push)
Single Whip
Cloud Hands
Single Whip
High Pat on Horse
Right Toe Kick
Left Toe Kick
Turn, Left Heel Kick
Brush Knee, Left
Brush Knee, Right
Right Punch Downward
Turn, Back Fist, Parry, Side Punch
Deflect , Parry and Punch
Right Heal Kick
Taming the Tiger, Left
Taming the Tiger, Right
Right Heal Kick
Box Ears with Fists
Left Heal Kick
Pivot Around, Right Heal Kick
Deflect, Parry and Punch
Apparent Close
Cross Hands
Third section
Carry Tiger to Mountain
Single Whip (to the front)
Part the Wild Horse’s Mane, Right
Part the Wild Horse’s Mane, Left
Part the Wild Horses Mane, Right
Ward-Off, Left
Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail (Ward Off, Right; Roll Back; Press; Push)
Single Whip
Fair Lady Works the Shuttles, Left
Fair Lady Works the Shuttles, Right
Fair Lady Works the Shuttles, Left
Fair Lady Works the Shuttles, Right
Ward-Off, Left
Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail (Ward Off, Right; Roll Back; Press; Push)
Single Whip
Cloud Hands
Single Whip
Snake Creeps Down
Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg, Left
Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg, Right
Repulse Monkey, Right
Repulse Monkey, Left
Repulse Monkey, Right
Diagonal Flying
Lift Hands
White Crane Spreads its Wings
Brush Knee, Left
Needle at Sea Bottom
Fan Through the Back
White Snake Puts Out Tongue, Parry, Side Punch
Deflect, Parry and Punch
Ward-Off, Left
Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail (Ward Off, Right; Roll Back; Press; Push)
Single Whip
Cloud Hands
Single Whip
High Pat On Horse
Palm Thrust
Turn and Cross Kick
Punch downward
Ward-Off, Left
Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail (Ward Off, Right; Roll Back; Press; Push)
Single Whip
Snake Creeps Down
Seven Stars
Ride the Tiger
Turn Body Sweep Lotus Leg
Bend Bow and Shoot Tiger
Deflect, Parry and Punch
Apparent Close
Cross Hands
Close
~Jill