# Tai Chi Coach: Stand Rooted, Move Slowly

> Tai Chi Coach is a free web app that coaches tai chi and qigong basics through your camera: four stances and three slow movements checked against clear rules, one named hint per mistake, and a speed meter that only counts slow movement. On-device only, no account, not a teacher.

*Interactive tool: enter your values at https://toollantern.win/learn-tai-chi-stances/ and results update instantly in your browser.*

## Frequently asked questions
### What is Tai Chi Coach?

A free web app that coaches tai chi and qigong basics through your device's camera. It checks your stances and slow movements against explicit, published rules, shows one named hint per mistake within about a second, and tracks points, levels, and badges. Everything runs on your device. It is a home practice tool, not a teacher.

### Which stances and movements does it teach?

Four stances: standing post (hug the tree), horse stance, bow stance, and empty stance, each banked in good-form seconds. Three movements: commencement (raise the arms), cloud hands, and the ward-off, rollback, press sequence, each counted only when complete and slow. Short forms combine them into flowing practice.

### How does the speed meter work?

The app measures your hand speed over a half-second window. Move faster than 1.5 torso lengths per second and the movement does not count, with the hint "Slow down, let the movement flow". Each movement also has a minimum time: 4 seconds per commencement cycle, 1.5 seconds per cloud hands pass, 1 second per ward-off, rollback, or press change.

### What do I need to practise?

A device with a camera and enough room to stand with your arms out and take a long step. Front-view items (standing post, horse stance, commencement, cloud hands) need you facing the camera; side-view items (bow stance, empty stance, ward-off, rollback, press) need the camera to your side. Clear the space around you before you start.

### How does it tell me what I am doing wrong?

Each rule break maps to a single plain-language hint shown within about a second: "Sink a little lower", "Step your feet wider", "Shift your weight onto your front leg", "Slow down, let the movement flow". Wrong versions are rejected outright, never half-credited.

### Does my video leave my device?

No. Camera frames are measured on your device and immediately discarded. Nothing is recorded, uploaded, or shared. The page security policy blocks connections to every outside server, and the Offline proof panel shows the live request log to prove it.

### Does it work offline?

Yes, after your first visit. The app and the bundled pose tracker are saved on your device, so everything keeps working with no network. The Offline proof panel even lets you simulate a fully offline session.

### Can I delete my data?

Yes. Open Offline proof on the home page and press Delete all my data, or clear progress from the dashboard. Everything is stored only in your browser, on your device.

### What are the tests like?

Strict versions of the practice items: holds must be unbroken (a fault resets the streak), including a 30-second horse stance test and a slow-movement test where rushed or incomplete cycles do not count. Passing earns the Test Passed badge.

### Is this a substitute for a real teacher?

No. It is a home practice tool, not a teacher, therapist, or safety device. Feedback is automatic and can be wrong. For real instruction, learn from a qualified tai chi or qigong instructor, linked on the app's Resources page.

### Who is it for, and is it safe for my joints?

Anyone curious about tai chi or qigong basics who wants honest, private feedback on stances and slow movement at home. Check with a doctor first if you have knee, hip, back, or other joint problems, and come up out of a stance any time your knees complain.

### How is the app itself tested?

Every rule and every hint is proven by the built-in unit test suite, which feeds simulated bodies through the real rules: correct forms that must pass and wrong versions that must be rejected with the right named hint. A fake-camera smoke check also proves zero network requests leave the page.

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Interactive version: https://toollantern.win/learn-tai-chi-stances/