Why is Tai Chi Chuan called Tai Chi Chuan?
This is because both the philosophy and application of this form of martial art are based on the concept of Taiji with its operating principles of yin and yang. Indeed, if you fail to understand the concept of yin-yang, you would have missed the essence of Tai Chi Chuan. For example, if you think that Tai Chi Chuan is only soft and never hard — a misconception not uncommon amongst many students of Taiji, and symbolized as regarding Tai Chi Chuan as only yin and never yang — you would probably be doing a Taiji dance rather than Tai Chi Chuan. Understanding yin and yang in itself is not sufficient , it is the understanding of the changes of yin and yang as symbolised by the tai chi symbol that are fundamental to the art.
