Judging Points of Tai Chi

TCUGB JUDGING SEMINARS.

Recommended SCORE SYSTEMS & POINTERS for Judges.

The same scoring for each level, ie, Beginners, Intermediate, Senior and Advanced.

  • Olympic Level- 9-10, average= 9.4.
  • International World Championships – 8-9, 8.5 = average.
  • National/International- 6- 8, 6.8 = average.
  • British Open ie,
  • Each of the ten criteria is marked up or down accordingly from the average.
  • Average Beginners, 6.8 =Good balance, relaxation, co-ordination and looseness.
  • Below average, 6.7, = faulty balance, 6.6= not really relaxed, 6.5 = separation of upper & lower, co-ordination inconsistent, 6.4 = a little stiff and 6.3 forgot form and stops.
  • Above average, 6.9 = Very good balance, 7.00 = very relaxed, 7.1 = unity of upper & lower, very smooth co-ordinations, 7.2 = very loose.

Then pluses on remaining criteria, ie, 7.3= turns, 7.4 = martial spirit, 7.5 = roundness and substance, 7.6-8.00 = excellent differentiation of yin and yang, full and empty, open and closed, stillness and movement, propelled movements showing internal maturity, and depth of all criteria at a very high level.

Footnote;
Sometimes excellence isn't just technical accuracy, because it is human to make mistakes, but some contestants override faults with a unique quality of presence and individual ability, and can gain marks accordingly.

Gary Wragg,
12/10/07.

Chen Style judging criteria.

  • Body balanced (both in upright and slanted postures)
  • Body soft and loose
    • head floating up
    • relaxed lower back (bottom hanging down)
    • chest empty
    • (lower) abdomen full
  • Coordinating upper and lower (Three External Harmonies)
  • Legs relaxed, stepping
    • controlled
    • lively
  • Absence of 'double weighting'
  • Eyes lead and the body follows
  • Body leads and the feet follow
  • Opening and closing of the kuas
  • Uninterrupted spirals winding through the body (shun and ni)
  • Use of the back of the waist (yao) in movement
  • Manifesting horizontal and vertical 'strength'
  • Manifesting each of the following Yin Yang qualities
    • active and passive
    • soft and hard
    • solid and empty
    • slow and fast
    • open and close
    • store and release (root to extremities)
  • 'Release' sudden and crisp with no residual tension or shaking
  • Linking store and release (esp. in Paochui)
  • Integration and internalisation of the above points

Judging Points for Cheng Man Ching style Tai Chi

  1. Beautiful or fair lady's hand - Hand is relaxed and (reaches from) the wrist. No bends or kinks
  2. Shoulders and elbows should be lowered with hand rising
  3. Body upright - spine hangs vertical from (Bai Hui) Pai Hui (crown of head) point to Wei Lu (tailbone)
  4. Hands do not pass feet
  5. (Sōng)Sung - the body and mind appear relaxed and balanced
  6. the 'empty' foot rotating on the heel, to finish the posture rather than before the posture - weight is transferred from rear to front leg and toe of the rear leg is rotated (not heal) to bring the hips to 90 degrees.
  7. In repulse Monkey, feet are parallel and forward facing
  8. Maintain cross connection (cross-pumping) with opposite hand and foot.
  9. All movements controlled from the (Kua)Yao (Hips/Waist) and powered by the legs
  10. stances are 1 shoulder width wide by 1 ½ to 2 long.
  11. hips are square to the weighted leg not open as in Yang style
  12. steps can be big, but hips always horizontal.
  13. during movements, stepping, head lways stays at the same hight
  14. All movement are steady, calm without any acceleration.

Judging Points for Sun Style Tai Chi

  1. Moving Steps - advance steps are followed by a half a step up of the back foot, and retreat steps are followed by half a step back from the front foot.
  2. Small frame movements with arms are closer to the body and stances are less extended.
  3. Most of the foot work is based on T stance (one foot is solid with body weight, the other resting closely at front, side or behind) has a constant shifting in body weight, without apparent pause.
  4. Opening stance -heels together with toes pointing at corners forming a 90 degree angle.
  5. Correct use of body weight in 'san ti posture' (three body stance) is 60% weight at back and 40% body weight to front.
  6. Hands are naturally open with fingers slightly separate.
  7. Open and close hands are frequently used in connecting movements, particularly when body turns.
  8. In open and close hands, hands open to shoulder width and close to the width of own head.
  9. Co-ordination between hands and toes, elbows to knees, shoulders to hips.
  10. Relax the Kuao (hips/waist) and let Qi to sink into Dantian; while crown of the head should be suspended from the ceiling.

WU STYLE TAI CHI CHUAN

Basic characteristics and unique features;
  1. Parallel feet.
  2. Toes pulled back on the sitting back stance, and foot flat on the floor before shifting the weight forward.
  3. Level control of stepping and turning. Stepping forward with heel then rolling the foot flat, and backwards stepping with a flat foot and not the toe first.
  4. Slant Posture, triangular vector of the two feet and head.
  5. Single Weight, 100%.
  6. 99% Turning of the hip[Shanghai Style have minimum hip turning.]
  7. Twisting spiral movements.
  8. Compact narrow, streamlined elliptical circles.
  9. Sectional joint system, bending and stretching, [Hong Kong Wu Family system].
  10. Lithe compact, ecenomic, agile, light, natural, refined and soft neutralising movements.
The Seven Basic Stances; {foot. knee and hip.}, high or low.
  1. Parallel.
  2. Sitting back empty.
  3. Horse.
  4. Bow.
  5. Slant.
  6. Treading.
  7. One leg.
Postures, {whole body}
  1. Straight spine, extended back and pelvis tucked under.
  2. Head suspended and erect, chin tucked in.
  3. Mouth closed, breathing through the nose, tongue behind the top front teeth.
  4. Eyes focused into the distance along the centre line or co-ordinated with the moving [yang] hand.
  5. Chest hollowed and relaxed.
  6. Abdomen relaxed.
  7. Shoulders and elbows down and relaxed.
  8. Hands energised with yin yang differentiation, wrists supple and relaxed.
The Ten Criteria;
  1. Correct stances. {as above}.
  2. Correct Postures. {as above}.
  3. Balanced stepping and turning with level control and 100% yin yang separation.
  4. Relaxation-Sung breath sinking to the tan-tien.
  5. Co-ordination smooth, light and continous.
  6. Loose, lively actions.
  7. 99% turning of the hip. {Shanghai Style heve minimum hip turning.}
  8. Martial intent and focus of power, rais the spirit and use mind not force.
  9. Aesthetic presence and suitable attire.
  10. Internal, natural and tranquil inside and outside. Integration of tai chi principles of stillness within movement , yin/yang, full/empty, and open/closed. propelled movements .
Weapons have additional aspects of;
  1. Harmony of weapon and body.
  2. Expression of jing through the weapon.
Constructive comments are welcome.

Wudang Style Competition Form

Basic characteristics and unique features:
  1. Stepping – heel first in forward movement. Toe first when stepping back.
  2. Back should be straight and upper body inclines forward in line with back leg in forward stances e.g. Brush Knee Twist Step
  3. 100% weighting in back and front stances.
  4. Even weight distribution in Horse stance
  5. Both feet flat on floor in front stance. Front toe raised in back stance.
  6. An awareness of Yin and Yang, martial spirit, intent and focus.
  7. Contraction and expansion at appropriate times.
  8. Form should be generally smooth but broken rhythm (also known as pulsing) is allowed where appropriate.
  9. Eyes directed towards line of force where appropriate.
  10. Agile, expansive, soft and powerful movements.
Stances:
  1. Back (7 star)
  2. forward (bow)
  3. Horse
  4. Parallel
  5. One leg

Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan Judging Points

  • ~ Show Yin and Yang in the legs
  • ~ Defined changes from upright to straight and back again in body posture
  • ~ Body is loose and soft throughout
  • ~ Co-ordinate hands and feet, elbows and knees, shoulders and hips
  • ~ Keep the hands alive
  • ~ Use the back to propel the movements
  • ~ Upper body relaxed and soft
  • ~ Show Yin and Yang in the hands
  • ~ Whole body is involved in final adjustment of toes at the end of a posture
  • ~ Refinement in transitions, soft elastic movement
  • ~ All parts of the body moving at different speeds fully integrated
  • ~ In the legs, moving and stepping is relaxed and agile
  • ~ Back foot is at approximately 45 degree angle
  • ~ Step forward in bow stance with heel first then toes
  • ~ Diagonal step (slant flying) heel down first
  • ~ Repulse Monkey; Step back with toe first then heel down – final stage with both
  • ~ Feet flat on the floor
Yang Style Principles
  1. Show high spirit with eyes alert and looking forward
  2. Shoulders and elbows lowered
  3. Chest is soft and loose, back gently rounded
  4. Waist hips and Kua loose and open. Lower back gently dropped down
  5. Power is rooted in weight changes in the legs
  6. Movement of the upper and lower body is co-ordinated
  7. Uninterrupted flow of the movements
  8. Internal intent is matched with body movement
  9. Use the mind not force when executing the movement
  10. Show stillness in motion and motion in stillness