24/02/2026
Identifying and learning the various Yin-Yang differentials is crucial to understanding Tai chi chuan—there are countless layers to this.
Often, one part is active, another is passive, or one leg is substantial, the other insubstantial.
The Yang Family forms has quite a bit of one legged postures—one leg full and the other empty (toes or heel only)
Learning how to be rooted on one leg helps us to avoid the mistake of "double-weightedness" and teaches us how to maintain Zhong Ding (central equilibrium).
Similarly, when both feet are on the ground in the Bow Stance, one must know in which leg you are sinking to, and never sink in both at once in bow stance—this will result in clumsy force and "external rooting". In other words, one leg is always Yang and the other Yin. Or one is always aware of which leg she/he is transferring to. It's not always binary.
If you understand how to have Yin-Yang in the legs, it will be easier to Hua or Neutralize an opponent's force, and generate Jin (power).
Here is a quote from Yang Cheng Fu's 10 Essential points
"4. Distinguish insubstantial and substantial. The art of Taijiquan takes the distinction between insubstantial and substantial as the first principle. If the weight of the entire body is placed over the right leg, then the right leg is substantial and the left leg is empty. If the entire body’s weight is placed over the left leg, then the left leg is substantial and the right leg is empty. If one is able to distinguish empty and full, then the body’s turning motions will be light and agile, and there will be no wasted strength. If one is unable to distinguish, one’s steps will be heavy and sluggish, one’s stance will be unsteady, and one will easily be unbalanced by an opponent’s pull."
-- Book, "Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan"
written by Fu Zhongwen (translated by Louis Swaim)
Video: Large Frame as taught by Sifu Liang De Hua, founder of the Chuan Cheng Academy
-Timothée Puget
