Here I would like to introduce you to something very special and possibly forward-looking.

I have been teaching my new compact form publicly since this year.

It's not really new, I've been practicing it myself for over ten years, but have shied away from teaching it until now.

What is the compact form?

The compact form reduces the movements of the long form from 75 to 37 without sacrificing content or quality. All the principles and sequences of Laojia Yilu are retained.

• It is therefore not a short form in the conventional sense of a simplification. This is because it basically contains everything from the 1st form Laojia. However, almost all repetitions have been deleted. This reduces the time for a run-through by half and yet everything from the Laojia is practiced. The sequence of movements also remains congruent with the long form, so that 

- learning it later is only a small step. This is because all the postures and their sequence are already known and only need to be supplemented with what is already there (repetitions). Of course, the same applies to professionals who already know the long form: for them, learning the compact form is a similarly simple endeavor.

• The compact form thus reflects the essence of the long form and remains the same in its choreography. This is a big difference to the modern short forms, which are shorter and mostly simplified, but also actually different forms. Due to their completely different choreographies and mixed dialects, it is often difficult for beginners to switch from the traditional short forms to the long form. This is now much easier with the compact form. This is because students learn the Laojia form right from the start, which they only need to add the repetitions later if they are interested.

But the compact form has much more to offer:

• All old combinations remain in the same form. Classically, the long form was divided into 13 sections. Originally, some figures belonged together in their sequence, forming a self-contained combination. While modern short forms no longer take this into account, the compact form is designed in such a way that all this information and combinations are retained. So in the future, when modern society will prefer shorter forms, everything that is authentically original will be preserved for future generations, which is the main purpose of this form.

Taijiquan has been steadily slowing down for around 100 years. The classical form, i.e. today's 'long form', is becoming longer and longer. In the 1990s, we were still able to complete it in a quarter of an hour, but practitioners now take twice as long on average.

The point of the compact form is therefore not to offer another simplified short form. For all those who want to learn simplified movements and even shorter short forms, the 9 and 19-forms are of course still irreplaceable.

• On the contrary: It represents the necessary step to take into account the higher and very good slowness of Taijiquan and to provide a form for the future that can be walked again in the original time and yet loses nothing through it.

• Because the compact form can be performed slowly and softly throughout, but also completely explosively if desired, it also forms the training material for both concepts from the first and second form. 

In short, it trains both the gentle slow movements and the explosive fast movements. It is effectively two forms in one and you decide at the beginning of the form which aspect you want to train this time: consistently slow, consistently explosive or something in between.

• Of course, the 1st and 2nd forms will remain exactly as before. But we have to honestly admit to ourselves that the way our society is developing, it will slowly become something for those with a particular interest and enthusiasm. The practice duration of the 1st form Laojia is now usually 30-45 minutes. Together with the Standing Pillar and the Silk exercises, it takes about two hours for just one run. This is excellent for those who really want to know. For professionals who like to train two to three times a day.

• But for those who do not want to train simplification, but at the same time cannot make Taijiquan the main occupation of their day, it is becoming increasingly clear that they are being overtaxed.

This is also noticeable in the courses on site, where a normal clientele would like to learn Taiji.

The compact form now solves all these problems!

• The compact form is an alternative between the simplified short forms and the original exercise material, offering both:

Original exercises adapted to modern times at a consistently high level, which today's Taijiquan can offer like never before.

Because the slowdown does not diminish the ability of our system. On the contrary, it is a consistent further development of what began with Chen Wangting, was further developed by Chen Changxing and will be carried into the future with Chen Xiaowang and us.

If you are more interested in the background of these ancient contents and their combinations, please refer to my 43 webinars on Laojia Yilu, where I present them in historically unprecedented detail and accuracy (more information here).

And another advantage, albeit incidental: the form covers just 2 to 2.5 m², so it can be practiced anywhere!

Summarized:

• A short form that really prepares you for the long form.
• A compact form that contains everything and is complete in itself.
• A form that combines the concepts of 1st and 2nd form.

I am happy to answer any questions you may have and look forward to sharing the compact form with you after so many years of training and testing.