Product Description

Cheng Man-ch'ing, the famed master of t'ai chi, is regarded as an enormously influential figure in codifying the most widely practiced form of the ancient martial art. This volume, developed by the martial arts master and scholar, details the way that students arrive at a posture -- from beginning movements to the end pose. Master Cheng provides practitioners with a complete and concise guide to the Short Form, enabling them to make rapid progress.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #87474 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06
• Original language: Mandarin Chinese
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Customer Reviews

Indispensable....
Cheng Manching could be credited with bringing taijiquan to the West through his school in New York during the 1970s. This is one of several books he wrote (including as ghost writer for his Master's own work) and one of the most practical. There are clear foot diagrams and a description of the moves. The photos are good enough, if somewhat grainy. They are also taken from more than one source and put together to show the whole sequence, hence Cheng looks older or dressed differently in alternate photos! There are several essays by Cheng about his own experiences and teaching guidelines. He also acknowledges that it is possible to learn on ones own, from a book (something, of course, hotly disputed by the many 'experts' around today.) We have the benefit of videos as well these days, including of Cheng himself (check Google video.)

The only drawback to the book is the rather pompous and humourless introduction by the translator. That is a minor point, however, and I would recommend every practitioner of Cheng's Short Form to look at this work.

Also recommended are Louis Swain's translation of Yang Cheng Fu's 'The Essence and Applications of Taijiquan', ghost written by Cheng Manching and with original photos of his Master, and Wolf Lowenthal's firsthand accounts of his years as a student of Cheng in New York 'There Are No Secrets' and 'Gateway to the Miraculous'.

I would also mention Robert W Smith, who did much to get Cheng over to America. In particular 'Chinese Boxing: Masters and Methods', an account of martial arts in Taiwan in the 1950s, in which he meets Cheng for the first time.

Great book for personal training!
Firstly, please remember this is Cheng Man-ch'ing's form and is different from Yang and Chen forms. Though it seems simpler, most of it's qualities are the internal energies it generates!
The book is GREAT! If you are studying his form, this is the perfect book for you. It's shows perfectly where your hands and feet should be and how to transfer from on posture to another. Cheng Man-ch'ing also has a book called, "there are no secrets" which is what he holds true to in this one.
You learn all you can from solo practise out of this book!
Lots of pictures to help you along, which are of the master himself doing the form.
Great buy!
Hope I helped.

Master Cheng at his best
This is the last of Cheng Man-Ching's Chinese books, untranslated until now. Any Short Yang Form practitioner will find this text invaluable, and will find its detailed instructions very helpful for polishing their form practice. Also, Master Cheng provides a number of essays on martial virtue and the avoidance of mistakes in ones practice, as well as exerpts from the classics of Chinese philosophy. Mark Hennessy's translation skills are known to be excellent, so one can trust the veracity of the text.