The 13 posture staff, or spear, routine (shisan gun) consists of thirteen movements.

The routine is short: Each posture has an obvious combat application. It lacks the "flowery" movements found in many staff forms. Among the techniques found in the routine are nian (stick to), chan (entwine), jiao (wind up), lan (waist turning block), pi (cover), beng (burst off), tuo (drag), gua (hang up), heng (hit), zha (jab), dou (shake), jia (hold up), and tiao (raise).

In order to practice the 13 posture staff, it is necessary to have established a solid foundation in the barehand routines and techniques of Chenstyle Taijiquan. Among the requirements are solid stances, strong root, whole body movement, and the ability to issue energy (fa jing).

The 13 action staff is practiced as a method for increasing the practitioners' internal energy, ability in fa jing, and strength.