I read a Tai Chi practitioner saying that they want to teach at a community center but weren’t quite sure what to teach, as the 24 form is too simple, that it feels like just “waving the arms”.

First of all, it’s true that the Simplified 24 form was created in China in the 80s by some sports committee to make Yang Tai Chi easier to learn – a bit of precursor to the “Wushu Tai Chi” if you will.

However, Tai Chi is about the Principles. It’s an Internal Martial Arts for a reason (and yes, I know Sun Lutang and others coined the terms only relatively recent, in the late 1800s and early 1900s). That is, it doesn’t matter you are doing one move, 24 form, 37 form, 108 form, or even just a static Standing Meditation – all the internals must be there.

Tai Chi is not about the external moves, it’s not about application, it’s about making a Tai Chi body that makes manifesting the applications possible.

This is the Taoist principle of wu wei (無為) of accomplishing by aligning with the natural flow, the path of least resistance.