Using Tai Chi Y24 is very easy. The playback controls work in the familiar manner. There are additional controls which allow you to move the camera, select slow motion, select a mirrored mode, and choose which portions of the program you want to loop. Each are explained below.

System Requirements

Tai Chi Y24 was written to be compatible with Android devices of API 13 or higher (Android 3.2/Honeycomb or later) and requires just 3.5MB of storage space. Tai Chi Y24 is best viewed on phones or tablets with screens 5 inches or larger. Landscape mode is the preferred orientation. Your Android needs to support hardware 3D rendering (OpenGL ES 2.0) for best results. Most Androids made in the last few years will have no problem with this requirement.

Using Tai Chi Y24

Tai Chi Y24 is launched like any other Android application. Simply tap the Y24 Icon and wait for the program to load. It will take a few seconds for the program to load its data files. Once the program loads you will see the splash screen followed by the main screen. Your virtual Tai Chi master will be standing there ready to begin with the first Tai Chi form. You will also see the playback controls on the top left and along the bottom of the screen. The button on the upper right takes you to the setup screen. The bottoms on the top left are the slow motion control and the mirror mode.

Playback Controls. The playback controls on the bottom of the screen work just like the controls on your DVD player. The buttons (from left to right) are Go To Start, Fast Reverse, Reverse, Pause/Stop, Play, Fast Play, and Go To End. The slow motion control on the top left of the screen (the turtle icon) reduces the playback speed to 30% normal speed. The control next to it (the mirrored triangles) controls the mirrored mode. The mirror mode makes it easier to follow along without having to think about reversing left and right when the character is facing you. The slow motion and mirror buttons will light up when their respective modes are active. A status message is also displayed on the left side of the screen as a reminder.

Changing the Camera Angle. The program starts with the default camera angle. You can move the camera by touching near the center of the screen and dragging left or right to rotate the yaw angle and up or down to change the pitch angle. You can rotate the view a full 360 degrees and change the pitch from about 10 degrees (horizontal view) to 80 degrees (near vertical, looking down). The camera can be moved at any time. The camera also moves automatically to keep the virtual Tai Chi master centered on the screen.

The floor provides markers to keep track of which way is front. These provide a handy reference since it's easy to loose track of which way is front when the character is turning and you're turning the camera as well.

The Setup Screen. To get to the setup screen, tap on the button located at the top right of the screen (the red button with the gears on it). The screen will change and you'll be presented with screen similar to the one pictured below.

The setup screen has two images. The left image shows where the playback loop will start and the right image shows where the playback loop will end. The names of the Tai Chi forms displayed in the two images are shown near the bottom of the screen. (The 1st line is the starting form and the 2nd line is the ending form.) The application will automatically loop using these two end points. For example, the setup screen shown in the picture above has been set to start with Form 2 and end with Form 17. If you were to go back to the main screen and press 'play', the application will play everything from Form 2 through Form 17, pause for a couple of seconds, then go back and automatically repeat the playback again until you stop it. This allows you to watch a section over and over again without having to fuss with the controls. Also remember that you can move the camera around at any time.

To change the starting and ending points of the playback loop, simply touch near the center of the image you want to change and drag left or right to move the image. You'll see the image change as you drag. The names of the forms displayed near the bottom of the screen will update automatically as you drag each image. You notice that you can choose points in the middle of a form. This is helpful for breaking up some of the longer forms or if you want to review a portion of a form that's giving you trouble. To return to the main screen, tap on the red button with the '<' located on the upper left of the screen. (Please note that the application will not let you set the starting point past the ending point and vice-versa. For example, if the ending point is set for form 9 and you try to set the start to form 11, the application will move the ending point to just past form 11 to keep the end past the start.)

Forms Covered by Tai Chi Y24

The 24 forms covered by this application include:

1. Commencement
2. Part Wild Horse's Mane (Left, Right)
3. White Crane Spreads Its Wings
4. Brush Knee, Step (Left, Right)
5. Play The Lute
6. Repulse Monkey (Left, Right)
7. Grasp The Bird's Tail (Left)
8. Grasp The Bird's Tail (Right)
9. Single Whip
10. Wave Hands Like Clouds
11. Single Whip
12. High Pat On Horse
13. Cross Hands, Right Heal Kick
14. Strike To Ears With Both Fists
15. Turn, Cross Hands, Left Heal Kick
16. Left Low Whip, Golden Rooster Stand On One Leg
17. Right Low Whip, Golder Rooster Stand On One Leg
18. Jade Lady Works Shuttles
19. Needle At Sea Bottom
20. Ward Off, Push Away
21. Turn, Deflect, Parry, and Punch
22. Withdraw And Push, As If Closing Door
23. Cross Hands
24. Closing

Please note the names in Tai Chi are not completely standardized. Some of the forms have more than one name. This may cause some confusion when comparing programs from different sources.

Tai Chi Y24 User's Guide

System Requirements

Using Tai Chi Y24

Forms Covered by Tai Chi Y24