The Ten Essentials

March 14, 2007

Yang Cheng-fu provided us with a list of “The Ten Important Points for the Study of Tai Chi Chuan”   

When I was studying to sit for the Uniform CPA Exam I was told I needed to memorize the wording and format of the standard auditor’s opinion expressed on financial statements presented free of material misstatement. Needless to say this opinion is hardly a limerick. My partner at the time was a songwriter, so I asked her to put this three-paragraph legal-ese report to music, so I could sing it and memorize it for the test.

When I began my study of tai chi, my teacher gave me a poster of Yang Cheng-fu in the postures of the long form and the ten important points listed below them.  I decided to memorize them and found myself writing this rap:

It’s the Grand Ultimate

The end all, be all

Somethin’ from nothin’

 

What is this art?

This art that moves.

Moves me, inside my bones

Calcified, petrified, still.

Still seeking,

Stillness in movement.

 

Poetry in motion,

Truth in the balance

Precarious; it hangs

On the distinction between

Full and empty.

 

Head suspended,

Like disbelief; unclouded

Mind steers shoulders loose,

Elbows dangle and

Spirits rise, no strings attached.

 

Disruption, corruption

No interruption

Keep on movin’, don’t stop

You are who you are

Expressive eruption

 

Inside, outside

Upside, downside

United, not divided

Truly coordinated,

Arms and legs

Hopes and fears

 

Feel the softening of the heart

The sinking of the chest

Raise your back, hold your ground

Know your peace.

 

Peace of mind, supple spine

No room for force

No need of strength

Gently,

Flows this watercourse

 

As true power flows

Through the feet, the legs,

The waist relaxed

The inside out,

There can be no doubt

 

It’s the Grand Ultimate

The end all, be all

Somethin’ from nothin’

 

I am proud to say I passed the CPA exam, and singing the auditor’s opinion helped. Now, thankfully there is no Uniform Tai Chi Exam – there is only life and the challenges and joys it brings. I have found that reciting the Ten Essentials helps.

Enjoy your song –

Dorian