China has developed simplified Forms for the past several decades, in order to promote Tai Chi Chuan. Rationale being that many people find the traditional Tai Chi Forms too daunting, difficult, complex, or sophisticated. They would prefer to do Forms that do not require discipline and/or years to master. A few years ago, the General Administration of Sport of China requested the development of a new standardized “fitness routine” that could be practiced by the general public of all ages.
The latest Simplified Form, Tai Chi “Bafa Wubu - Eight Methods and Five Steps" ( 太极八法五步 ), was compiled by the National Sports Administration, from the Peoples Republic of China. Bafa Wubu is based on the “core commonalities of the five schools of Tai Chi” and functions as a “simple health practice” and/or an introduction to Tai Chi Forms. It can be practiced without the need to dedicate the time a complete Tai Chi Form would require. It also promotes traditional Chinese culture and may be a good starting place for one’s Tai Chi journey. Bafa Wubu was included in the “Mass Demonstration for Kung Fu Tai Chi Day 2019”.
Tai Chi is known to slow down the loss of muscle strength (especially in the lower extremities), as well as improving low extremity and joint control. All Tai Chi improves proprioception, vestibular functioning, and balance. As with most, if not all, Tai Chi Forms, including Bafa Wubu, can relieve chronic pain, provide clarity of mind, and improve relaxation, vitality, health, and quality of life.
Different actions in Bafa Wubu activate muscles to different degrees. By using exercise biomechanics and the “backward moving step training”, Bafa Wubu promotes lower extremity and ankle strength and support. Stepping backward and sideways can improve hip joint, knee, and ankle flexibility. Backward movements are also said to improve hip abduction and adduction muscles, along with knee extension and flexion muscles.
An important study in 2023 compared “professional groups” practicing Tai Chi (Bafa Wubu) for more than five years with amateurs. In Bafa Wubu, the lower extremity muscles and joints obtain a “comprehensive and balanced exercise”. Before we get too excited, let’s look a little deeper at the study and its findings. Results were quite different between “professionals” and amateurs.
The study revealed that amateurs are likely to encounter problems in Bafa Wubu training, because their capacity to control their hip abduction and rotation was inadequate. Hence, practitioners are encouraged to appropriately strengthen their control of their hip joint. They are encouraged to strengthen their iliacus because it is essential in order to stabilize lower extremity balance, particularly when performing standing knee lift motions. As expected, practitioners are also “encouraged to pursue normative and continuous technical training of Bafa Wubu”.
While the results look impressive for the professional group, are they applicable to your average person? Let’s look at the study participants. The “professional group” was made up of those males who practiced Bafa Wubu for more than 5 years and had “achieved both national level titles and placed in the top three in domestic Tai Chi competitions”. The amateur group consisted of teenagers/students from Beijing Normal University, who had been practicing Bafa Wubu for just over one year.
Other study limitations: the sample size was small, the subjects were “specialized”, only males were selected, etc. Future studies, if conducted, should be more comprehensive and inclusive.
That being said, Bafa Wubu could serve as an introduction to, or an overview of, Tai Chi, especially with its ingredients from the five major families. It is a very interesting Form which incorporates Tai Chi’s eight techniques, or eight gates (often known by different names): “Quiver, Stroke, Squeeze, Press, Picking, Sparring, Elbow and Lean”. The five steps include: “Advance, Retreat, Guarding, Looking Forward and Determination.” Different sources use different terms. See below.
According to China Services Info (Online Guide to Government Services): Bafa refers to ward off, roll back, press, push, pull down, split, elbow strike, and lean, which are considered the eight “fundamental” methods of training power in the body. These movements are considered the foundation of skills and techniques used in Tai Chi.Many experienced Tai Chi practitioners are familiar with, these methods and steps known as, “Thirteen Postures”. Basically, the “essential core” of all Tai Chi.
In English, the five steps (Wubu) are: advance, retreat, look to the right, gaze to the left, and central equilibrium. According to the Tai Chi Classics, the five steps correspond to the five elements: “metal, wood, water, fire, and earth”. A 2023 Sports Medicine Study showed that Bafa Wubu’s energy consumption is lower than the simplified Tai Chi 24 Form; which obviously, one would expect since Bafa Wubu is shorter and has less movements.
Bafa Wubu is touted as a Form where “Tai Chi athletes and enthusiasts can choose” movements according to their physical conditions or limitations. Interestingly, it is also considered a “competition event” and was also a key part of “The Belt and Road China Tai Chi Culture World Tour” in both Europe and the United States a few years ago (2019 & 2020). Unusual for a “fitness routine”.
This brings up the question as to why develop another simplified Form? The Simplified 24 (Yang) Tai Chi Form was developed in 1954 by the China Administration of Sport and is considered one of the most popular Tai Chi Forms in the world. However, many (if not most) “seasoned”, or dedicated practitioners prefer to perform the Yang Form as it was “meant to be”.
Bafa Wubu may be more successful than The Simplified 24 because it is based on a solid foundation and, unlike many martial forms, is symmetrical (bilateral). The beginning does reflect the Yang style, however, snippets of the other family styles are also represented. Will it appeal to a wide variety of practitioners? I guess we will see. Currently, in the United States, most of us have heard little to nothing, about Bafa Wubu and, in my area (the Midwest), I had difficulty finding a school or practitioner teaching it.
As one of my Tai Chi colleagues said, after watching a Bafa Wubu video, that on the surface it looks “easy and simple”. But so do most Forms of Tai Chi to the untrained eye. Tai Chi practitioners with at least some experience, realize that no Form is quite as easy as it looks. Especially when it is being performed by an experienced, very high level, practitioner.
Below are some Bafa Wubu videos for your viewing pleasure, should you so desire!
Introduction to Bafa Wubu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4da5Y_kKYfc
Master Qiu Huifang performing Bafa Wubu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9sNjew95Vo
Simplified 24 Form and Bafa Wubu: https://vimeo.com/461097067
Subscribe to receive my weekly blogs in your email.