The benefits of having a martial arts blog is that you can meet a lot of people who share the same interests and also in the process learn a lot of things. At the end of last year, I was contacted by Mark Wiley who runs a publishing company called Tambuli Media which publishes various books on the martial arts and is also practitioner of Five Ancestors Fist - a Fujianese martial art. Mark used to be Executive Editor of Martial Arts Books for Charles E. Tuttle Publishing Company before coming out to start his own publishing company. He was kind enough to send me a few martial arts books to review and I really enjoyed the following book - Wisdom of the Taiji Masters - Insights into Cheng Man Ching's Art.
I had the opportunity of practicing Cheng Style Taiji when I was living in Taiwan in the early 2000s and although I now only practice Yang Style Taiji (85 movement, Long Fist and Taiji sword) in the lineage of Yang Shou Chung, I give credit to the foundation I obtained in Cheng Style to how quickly I managed to pick up the Yang Style due to the inherent similarities in its internal structure.
The book - Wisdom of the Taiji Masters - is a compilation of a series of interviews with key Cheng Taiji Masters active in Peninsular Malaysia which were documented by Nigel Sutton, the founder of the Zhong Ding Association in Malaysia, in the 1980s and 1990s. They provide a valuable resource for research into the development of Taiji in a style that is usually most closely associated with Taiwan and parts of the United States but also provides a peek into one of the countries where there is a a long tradition and deep pool of CMA masters but is rarely documented or acknowledged - that of my birthplace - Malaysia.
Cheng Taiji is the style that is attributed to its founder Cheng Man Ching who studied with Yang Cheng Fu from 1930-1936 and had many influential disciples in the West such as Robert Smith, T.T. Liang, William C.C. Chen. Huang Shen Hsyan was one of his most successful disciples, establishing over 40 schools in South East Asia. Although considered to be a subset of the Yang Style, a case could be made for characterizing it as an independent style.
The following are some of the characteristics of his "Yang-style short form." (1) It eliminates most of the repetitions of certain moves of the Yang long form. (2) It takes around ten minutes to practice instead of the twenty to thirty minutes of the Yang long form (3)The hand and wrist are held open, yet relaxed, in what Cheng called the "Fair Lady's Hand" formation (as opposed to the straighter "Chinese tile" formation of the Yang style) (4) The form postures are not as expansive as Yang Chengfu's form Cheng postures are performed in "middle frame" style, which changes the movement of the feet from the Yang version. (5) Cheng's concept of "swing and return" in which the momentum from one movement initiates the next.
This book is valuable on a number of fronts, as it fleshes out the lineage and development of Cheng Taiji in Malaysia with background on the early generation of teachers such as Yue Shu Ting and Tan Ching Ngee who studied with Cheng himself, and interviews with the second generation of teachers such as Lu Tong Bao, Lee Bei Lei and Koh Ah Tee, who taught in Penang, Malacca and Kuala Lumpur. From the interviews themselves one is able to gain an insight into the curriculum taught by each of the teachers and the differences in content and emphasis of each of the teachers.
Cheng Taiji is controversial as it is often criticized as a "watered-down version" of the Yang Style and there is still an ongoing debate as to whether Cheng Man Ching had any "gongfu" or if he did whether he deliberately chose to withhold some of the key teachings from his disciples. There is a perception that those of his disciples in the USA and Taiwan lack his level of martial ability.
Hence each teacher in the book has had to address these fundamental criticisms and discuss their teaching methods relatively openly and with a close reading of their interviews there are many training secrets (or "nuggets of gold" as Nigel Sutton puts it) that are helpful to a experienced practitioner buried in the text. From the viewpoint of a martial arts historian it is fascinating to see what other training methods each teacher has added above and beyond the 37 posture set and push hands and their justification for doing so. It is an interesting study in how an art evolves in an environment of incomplete knowledge (for many of these masters were not well educated) and cross fertilization with other arts extant in Malaysia (many of these masters studied more than one style and had more than one teacher). Malaysia in the middle and even late twentieth century remained a relatively rural and traditional society and these teachers often had to demonstrate the effectiveness of Taiji in a combat setting. And many of the teachers in the book had given up other styles to focus on Taiji because of its practical efficacy.
Thus this book bears close reading and includes detailed discussion of many topics that are of interest to any dedicated Taiji practitioner. These include whether the Fair Land's Hand has improved Ting Jin or sensitivity as compared to the traditional Yang Style, of the need to use sandbags to condition the hands (often taught in the lineage of Lu Tong Bao), the role of dian xue, different weapons such as the sword and staff and most importantly of all, whether Cheng Man Ching taught neigong. This is an important topic and stands at heart of the discussion of whether Cheng style is an effective fighting art and whether it should be characterized independently from the Yang style, which does not teach neigong. Power in the Yang Style stems primarily from dou gan or pole shaking exercises. Indeed most of the teachers in the book teach a version of neigong (but even from a cursory reading text it seems that the nature of the neigong taught varies from teacher to teacher in the book). Cheng Man Ching's neigong practice was attributed to Zhang Qin Lin who taught Cheng Man Qing the Zuo Lai Feng system of internal stength. Many teachers in the book also emphasize zhan zhuang which is also absent from the traditional Yang Style. There are discussions on the "killer qi" in the Yang style versus its absence in Cheng Style. This is all fascinating stuff and rewards close reading and discussion.
At the same time misunderstandings also abound in the book, due to the biases of the teachers and lack of exposure to the wider martial arts community. Understanding these "mistakes" are also important for the serious practitioner, as part of one's martial development involves an understanding of the source of one's teachings and what may be later interpolation or false paths. For instance Koh Ah Tee states that Cheng Man Ching took the Taiji sword from the Yang Family and made it more natural. But in actuality, if one looks at the set one can see what Cheng Man Ching taught was Wudang Sword and not Taiji sword and his paired sword set is also traditional Wudang Sword as taught by Li Jing Lin. Lu Tong Bao also incorporated Xingyiquan and Baguazhang into his Taiji but he called the long form (108 or 85 form) Long Fist as it took longer to complete. This is a misnomer as traditional Taiji Longfist is a fast set in Yang Taiji with more explicit fajin. Dr. Wong Fu Jing incorporates the Yijing (Book of Changes) into his Taijquan but admits that he has had no teacher in the Yijing, that he taught himself and he states things like "in the jian you can even throw the weapon, as that is what the tassel is for." But all of this is what makes tracing the development of the art so fascinating.
All in all, Nigel Sutton has done us a great favor in compiling this book, for these interviews were made over twenty years ago and in the interim some of these masters have passed away. This is a valuable document as the art we know as Taiji continues to evolve on a global basis and has become a part of mankind's intangiable cultural heritage. This is a good book for any practitioner of Taiji with its numerous training tips and is heartily recommended.
The following are some of the characteristics of his "Yang-style short form." (1) It eliminates most of the repetitions of certain moves of the Yang long form. (2) It takes around ten minutes to practice instead of the twenty to thirty minutes of the Yang long form (3)The hand and wrist are held open, yet relaxed, in what Cheng called the "Fair Lady's Hand" formation (as opposed to the straighter "Chinese tile" formation of the Yang style) (4) The form postures are not as expansive as Yang Chengfu's form Cheng postures are performed in "middle frame" style, which changes the movement of the feet from the Yang version. (5) Cheng's concept of "swing and return" in which the momentum from one movement initiates the next.
This book is valuable on a number of fronts, as it fleshes out the lineage and development of Cheng Taiji in Malaysia with background on the early generation of teachers such as Yue Shu Ting and Tan Ching Ngee who studied with Cheng himself, and interviews with the second generation of teachers such as Lu Tong Bao, Lee Bei Lei and Koh Ah Tee, who taught in Penang, Malacca and Kuala Lumpur. From the interviews themselves one is able to gain an insight into the curriculum taught by each of the teachers and the differences in content and emphasis of each of the teachers.
Cheng Taiji is controversial as it is often criticized as a "watered-down version" of the Yang Style and there is still an ongoing debate as to whether Cheng Man Ching had any "gongfu" or if he did whether he deliberately chose to withhold some of the key teachings from his disciples. There is a perception that those of his disciples in the USA and Taiwan lack his level of martial ability.
Hence each teacher in the book has had to address these fundamental criticisms and discuss their teaching methods relatively openly and with a close reading of their interviews there are many training secrets (or "nuggets of gold" as Nigel Sutton puts it) that are helpful to a experienced practitioner buried in the text. From the viewpoint of a martial arts historian it is fascinating to see what other training methods each teacher has added above and beyond the 37 posture set and push hands and their justification for doing so. It is an interesting study in how an art evolves in an environment of incomplete knowledge (for many of these masters were not well educated) and cross fertilization with other arts extant in Malaysia (many of these masters studied more than one style and had more than one teacher). Malaysia in the middle and even late twentieth century remained a relatively rural and traditional society and these teachers often had to demonstrate the effectiveness of Taiji in a combat setting. And many of the teachers in the book had given up other styles to focus on Taiji because of its practical efficacy.
Thus this book bears close reading and includes detailed discussion of many topics that are of interest to any dedicated Taiji practitioner. These include whether the Fair Land's Hand has improved Ting Jin or sensitivity as compared to the traditional Yang Style, of the need to use sandbags to condition the hands (often taught in the lineage of Lu Tong Bao), the role of dian xue, different weapons such as the sword and staff and most importantly of all, whether Cheng Man Ching taught neigong. This is an important topic and stands at heart of the discussion of whether Cheng style is an effective fighting art and whether it should be characterized independently from the Yang style, which does not teach neigong. Power in the Yang Style stems primarily from dou gan or pole shaking exercises. Indeed most of the teachers in the book teach a version of neigong (but even from a cursory reading text it seems that the nature of the neigong taught varies from teacher to teacher in the book). Cheng Man Ching's neigong practice was attributed to Zhang Qin Lin who taught Cheng Man Qing the Zuo Lai Feng system of internal stength. Many teachers in the book also emphasize zhan zhuang which is also absent from the traditional Yang Style. There are discussions on the "killer qi" in the Yang style versus its absence in Cheng Style. This is all fascinating stuff and rewards close reading and discussion.
At the same time misunderstandings also abound in the book, due to the biases of the teachers and lack of exposure to the wider martial arts community. Understanding these "mistakes" are also important for the serious practitioner, as part of one's martial development involves an understanding of the source of one's teachings and what may be later interpolation or false paths. For instance Koh Ah Tee states that Cheng Man Ching took the Taiji sword from the Yang Family and made it more natural. But in actuality, if one looks at the set one can see what Cheng Man Ching taught was Wudang Sword and not Taiji sword and his paired sword set is also traditional Wudang Sword as taught by Li Jing Lin. Lu Tong Bao also incorporated Xingyiquan and Baguazhang into his Taiji but he called the long form (108 or 85 form) Long Fist as it took longer to complete. This is a misnomer as traditional Taiji Longfist is a fast set in Yang Taiji with more explicit fajin. Dr. Wong Fu Jing incorporates the Yijing (Book of Changes) into his Taijquan but admits that he has had no teacher in the Yijing, that he taught himself and he states things like "in the jian you can even throw the weapon, as that is what the tassel is for." But all of this is what makes tracing the development of the art so fascinating.
All in all, Nigel Sutton has done us a great favor in compiling this book, for these interviews were made over twenty years ago and in the interim some of these masters have passed away. This is a valuable document as the art we know as Taiji continues to evolve on a global basis and has become a part of mankind's intangiable cultural heritage. This is a good book for any practitioner of Taiji with its numerous training tips and is heartily recommended.
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