What is meant by frame (jia)?
The postures a Tai Chi practitioner adopts is called his or her frame (jia). Thus different styles of Tai Chi have different postures or frames. For this reason Chen Changxing’s style is called big frame (da jia) because of its extended postures, and to distinguish it from the style of his contemporary, Chen Youbeng, who’s revised Tai Chi had smaller movements, and who’s style is thus called small frame (xiao jia). In addition to style divisions, within a style different methods of practice are also named according to their frame. Big frame practice is divided into high frame (gao jiazi), middle frame (zhong jiazi) and low frame (di jiazi) depending on how deep each stance is held. Low frame primarily trains strength, flexibility and overall physical conditioning, and is especially suited to young people. Middle frame trains mobility and practical usage. High frame does not put a strain on the body, so is practiced mainly for health.
