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A Mnemonic of Thirteen Tai Chi Chuan Movements

Why Eternal Strength?

By | Authentic Nature, Intention Driven Action, Tai Chi Chuan, Uncategorized | One Comment

What’s in a name?

When Josefina and I were beginning to think about a name for our Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong school, we immediately turned to A Mnemonic of Thirteen Tai Chi Chuan Movements for inspiration.  The Mnemonic is an ancient poetic treatise that speaks of the profound art of Tai Chi Chuan.  From the beginning of our studies, our teachers, Masters Donald and Cheryl Lynne Rubbo, had encouraged us to make a study of the Mnemonic, impressing upon us the importance of every syllable.  Their teacher, Sifu Kuo Lien-Ying, had recited it every morning before his own practice.  The Mnemonic continues to be a daily part of our ongoing investigations, and it is something that we share with each of our own students, as well.

Near the conclusion of A Mnemonic of Thirteen Tai Chi Chuan Movements is the phrase:  “The end purpose of these exercises is to prolong life and endow it with the youth of eternal spring.”

The youth of eternal spring.  That phrase had always been pure magic for us.

Eternal Spring!  How about Eternal Spring Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong for the name of our school?

We looked the name up on Google, and learned with disappointment it was already being used by another school.

Back to the drawing board.

A few days later I was meeting with Cheryl Lynne, and she asked me how the search for a name was going.  I told her about our first thought and the outcome.  She nodded, paused for a moment, and then told me about a video memoir she had just seen created by their tai chi brother, Randy Fung.  This beautiful film is centered around Randy’s personal odyssey in the martial arts, and more specifically, his time at Portsmouth Square with their legendary teacher, Sifu Kuo Lien-Ying.

Cheryl Lynne described a particular section of the movie featuring archive footage from the 1970’s.  A local television host was interviewing Sifu Kuo and he was speaking about Tai Chi Chuan and the cultivation of internal strength.  Cheryl Lynne told me how later in this same footage Sifu Kuo describes The Universal Post Standing Practice, one of the pillars of our lineage, as the way to cultivating eternal strength.

“I think you should use the name Eternal Strength,” Cheryl Lynne said.

I thought about this conversation as I drove home from our meeting, remembering another quote from Sifu Kuo that our own beloved Sifu had often shared with us over the years:

“Before you can be of help to others, you must first be strong within yourself.”

Arriving home, I was immediately drawn to The Ancient Poem of the Universal Post that is contained in The Tai Chi Boxing Chronicle, compiled and edited by Kuo Lien-Ying, and translated by Guttman.

I had read this poem many times, but I was seeing it now with new eyes.

     “The universal post is a mystical form of martial arts
     We can never fully understand the way it is done 
     It seems like an embrace with a smiling face
     You use your strength from within
     You are relaxed and use no force
     It is like clouds floating in the wind from all directions
     You use forces from the universe to substantiate
          your strength
     Your strength comes from your breathing
     You do not hold fast, leaving a lot of room to move
     You do not bend to greater strength
     So smoothly you move and so naturally
     Your breathing and your limb movements should not
          be impeded
     It is like moving in space
     In and out of the highest peaks and clouds
     Gliding through air and clouds
     Floating along with the winds
     Graceful yet composed
     Always contain calmness and peace
     Head upheld high with pride
     You embrace the world below you
     As clear and pure as an underground brook
     Like lead turning into silver spinning to the moon
     Looking into an antique mirror to look deep into
         your soul 
     Your cup is filled to the brim
     Absolutely free of restraint and free of self
     You could fly as though you had wings
     Head towards the limitless horizon
     Like throwing a pebble into water
     The circles get larger and larger
     With your hands you push open the limits of the
          universe
     You embrace from within
     Heaven and earth and the ten thousand things
          capture your thoughts
     The eyes look outside with determination
     Up and down your strength flows
     You push and you embrace continuously
     Your thoughts should be pure
     This should clear your mind
     This should curb all illness
     You always return to the center
     You can attack or defend at will
     You must have a will of iron
     The principle of this is to strengthen
     To go for happiness and health
     Your body will benefit from this
     This has been handed down from the ancients
     This form of exercise can help you without limits” 
 
 
The words settled in my heart and condensed into my bones.
 
Josefina and I later agreed that the name Eternal Strength conveyed the very essence of what we wished to impart to our students:
 
Eternal Strength signifies for us the everlasting depth and breadth of spirit that resides in each of us–that which connects the limitless potential of our authentic nature to the Divine.  It is through cultivating the eternal strength within that we can fully awaken to the present moment and be in harmony with the matrix of the universe; it is here that we can be truly at home, comfortable, joyful and fulfilled; it is here that we can truly inhabit life.”
 
And so, with deepest gratitude to our teachers and to the lineage, the name of our school, Eternal Strength Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong, came into being.
 
And the bamboo designs that appear on both our website and weblog?  We chose bamboo because it signifies strength and resiliency.  In the storms of life, the bamboo bends, but does not break; when the storms pass, the bamboo resumes its upright posture.  Always resilient.
 

© 2010 Elizabeth Meloney—All rights reserved. Links are appreciated, but copying or distributing any portion of this article without written consent is prohibited.