Taoist philosophy links heaven above with earth below via the upright human. Since tai chi is the embodiment of Taoism (at least in part – Professor cheng Man-Ching said that his tai chi was 30% Lao Tzu (Taoist) and 70% Confucius (Confucianism)), the principle is interpreted very literally. The spine is said to link heaven and earth, so one carries oneself as though the top of the head were suspended from above on a string, and the sacrum was attached to a thousand-pound weight. The spine itself has separation between the joints, is not kinked or bent sideways (though the natural front to back curves remain), and offers the most space in the torso for the organs to function. The image is a string of pearls suspended from above. It maintains its shape as it moves through space, the pearls do not lean on one another, and it can move freely in any direction according to any force applied to it, and returns to the straight form after the force is gone.
When we are physically straight, our limbs are free to move in any direction and manner, so we can respond in any way necessary. Our lungs have maximum capacity for best functioning, and all our organs have space to move around and get a healthful little massage as you go through the day. When I lean over with hands in pockets, I may look cool (or not!), but I have a lot of work to do to get back into position to respond to my environment. And I have lost my connection to the earth – see the post on single-weightedness.
In testing, straightness comes into play when we enter a test open to any possibility of system behavior. If I have the feeling of straightness, I can deploy resources as soon as they are needed, whether it is tools or data or asking help from my professional contacts. If I test with purpose, committing the full weight of my intellect to the test, I am straight, not leaning over and nonchalalantly testing with my psyche half-engaged.
With straightness, I can link the micro activities of testing with the macro activities of model building and contextualization: by maintaining my connection to the ground/yin (my mission and models) and heaven/yang (the details of day to day testing). This is embodied physically by using the lower body to connect to the ground and control your own body’s position in space, while using the hands and arms to connect to your partner in practice, listening to their balance and transmitting the force of your movements. They can’t work together without straightness.
The notion of straightness has a lot of connotations in English, one of which is “integrity”. Great testing requires integrity of thought and action, and also integrity of reporting. Practicing physical straightness helps me get the feeling of mental and ethical straighness as well so I can tell when I’m not really flexible, really engaged, really forthright, and stop leaning over, take my hands out of my pockets, look the app in the eye, and engage.
Jul 162008
