Are you practicing 'tai chi' (taiji) or 'tai chi chuan' (taijiquan)?
Even in the Chinese language, the two descriptions are often thought to be identical. In other words, 'tai chi' is 'tai chi chuan'.
They, however, can have different implications.
Let's first find out what tai chi is, before we try to understand what it has to do with the word 'chuan'.
Tai chi is a concept derived from the Chinese cosmology.
In the Chinese cosmology, the origin of Universe is an undifferentiated void, known as 'wuji' (无极)-- which literally means 'boundless, infinite'. Wuji is nothing and everything. It, however, has no form. Tai chi, which means 'supreme ultimate force, or ultimate energy', is a creative force that turns wuji into form, creations and existence.
In this sense, everything you see in this Universe is a tai chi (太极). The Universe itself is a tai chi, so is the house you stay in, and the body in which your soul resides. Tai chi ultimately is an energy. In itself, it consists of opposite forces, known as yin and yang. When it interacts with others, it is interacting with another tai chi, and therefore, another set of yin and yang. The yin and yang energies -- either within a creation like your body, or between creations -- are opposite and yet complementary.
When you are practicing tai chi the exercise, you learn to regulate the yingyang energies within and around you, making them into and interconnected continuum. This is achieved through the fluid movements of the exercise. In the process, it balances and integrates the energies within you, taking your physical and mental capacities to a higher level.
So much about tai chi. What about 'chuan' （拳)?
'Chuan' is a much easier concept. The Chinese character it uses means 'fist, or boxing'. Tai chi chuan, therefore, means the martial arts that employs the philosophy of tai chi. Here, the implication of self-defense is obvious.
We may, therefore, distinguish between tai chi and chuan tai chi in the following manner:
- If you are practicing the martial art simply to cultivate internal strengths, rather than using it as a tool for self defense, then you are practicing tai chi.
- If you are practicing the martial art for combat, you are practicing tai chi chuan.
The purpose of knowing the minute difference is purely for you to have a better understanding of the exercise. In fact, the two concepts are highly integrated. You cannot practice the martial art effectively without an understanding how the movements are employed in self-defense. On the other hand, your grasp of the art is superficial, if you see it only as a system for combat.
