Memory Keys to TCC

The Art of Teaching

Della Alberson, Bullhead City, AZ

I make it an assignment for students to create a poem, story, or whatever, using the basic 20 movements. The purpose of this is to create a ‘memory key’ so if a student loses track of which movement is next, he/she just remembers their story or poem to continue. I have had a lot of positive feedback and several use it often. I have been pleasantly surprised with the success and would like to share some of the writings with other practitioners of TCC.

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THE TREES ABOVE ARE ROCKING SOFTLY –
A BIRD FLAPS ITS WINGS CIRCLING SLOWLY.
TRACING A PLATTER FOR ALL TO SEE –
THAT IS – IF YOUR DOING TAI CHI.

A BALL, LIKE EARTH, CIRCLES THE PLATTER SLOWLY –
FIRST LEFT THEN RIGHT – PERFECT HARMONY
HEARTS QUICKEN AS A DRUM WE TRACE-
MOVING WITH SOFTNESS AND GRACE.

SOME DAUGHTERS ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP –
OTHERS IN THE VALLEY DEEP.
SOME STRIVE TO CARRY THE BALL –
OTHERS CAUGHT IN A DAILY “PUSH/PULL” WEEP.

REACH OUT FOR ENERGY –
FEEL THE POTENCY.
STRENGTH TO PULL TAFFY –
ANCHOR, CIRCLES, CONTINUOUS IN PERFECT SYMMETRY.

WORK THE PULLEY –
BUT DO IT GRACEFULLY.
THEN ENJOY THE LIGHT ATOP THE HEAD –
FOLLOW WITH THE TEMPLES – GO AHEAD !

REACH WITHIN, TAKE A JOYOUS BREATH NOW –
DRAW IT IN – LESS IT OUT – FEED THE “TAO”.
FEEL THE CALM OF PASSING CLOUDS –
THEN THE PLEASURE OF THE HEALING SOUNDS.

PAUSE IN THE COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS POSE –
THEN A FERVENT “NAMASTE” – THATS HOW IT GOES !

– Frank Vance

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T’ai Chi Chih

Nikki Price

The Tao is like a child
Growing and adapting as it experiences life.
A baby is born with a Breath
It is soothed by its mothers gentle Rocking Motion
At the same moment
A Fledgling Bird Flaps its Wings for the first time
The child grows
Soon she is toddling Around the Platter of the table top
She learns the Variation of letting go
Her first independent steps
Time moves on effortlessly
The child and bird grow together as if marching to a silent Bass Drum
Bird becomes The Daughter on the Mountaintop
Soaring through the skies
Unaware of The Daughter in the Valley pausing in her play
to observe its flight with wonder
The child tires of her play and Carries the Ball inside
She exchanges the toys of childhood for the Push/Pull of more complicated games
The young lady goes to school, Pulling in the Energy, perceptions of her society
She notices the charms of a young man, and he notices her
A relationship forms
While they are Pulling the Taffy of their personalities
into the sweet candy it will one day become
Commitment is Anchored with an engagement ring
The Circular Motion of courtship is almost over
Yet their love is Continuous
By the end of the year
The newlyweds are Working the Pulley of marriage
Balancing career, family, and the need for privacy
She is with child
Serenity show, as a Light at the Top of the Head
Knowledge grows, as a Light at the Temples
Their child takes its first Joyous Breath
The child grows and is soon off to travel his own path
The woman and her lover retire and watch the Passing Clouds
As the years pass by, even the Six Healing Sounds have lost their potency
The cycle has completed its turn
She is
At one
Cosmic Consciousness