Insights into Cheng Man Ching’s Art by Nigel Sutton
“Nigel Sutton is a pioneer in the re-discovering of Taiji as more than moving meditation. He has researched the legendary masters of Cheng Man Ching’s famous art and assembled for us a deep recounting of Cheng’s Taijiquan in all its dimensions. A must read.” Dr Mark Wiley, martial arts historian and publisher.
Cheng Man Ching was a Tai Chi master. He was renowned for being a lead in bringing it to the western world. He simplified Yang Style Tai Chi into a shorter version of 37 moves and formed his own style of movement.
Buy the Book…
The book is directly available from Amazon on the below link
I purchased this book as I am interested in Cheng Man Ching’s Tai Chi (also spelt as Taiji) having practiced a similar style. My experiences I have discussed in a previous article. This book is an excellent insight into his art both from a martial art and health aspect. Nigel Sutton writes on the experiences of eight Tai Chi masters from Malaysia and Singapore describing weapons, push hands, sparring and spiritual development. I particularly find the discussions on Nei Gong (internal strength training) particularly interesting.
Each Master’s story is set out in a separate chapter where they recall their experiences with thoughts, principles and secrets, applications and historical photos of their training and training partners.
I would say this is an essential read for anyone interested in Tai Chi (Taiji) from any perspective as a martial art or a form of healthy exercise. Of course it is much more than this and the deeper aspects should always be considered and explored. It is particularly enlightening as it goes into the depths of the practice as originally taught in the far east.
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