Customer Reviews

Master Cheng's New Method of Taichi Ch'uan Self-Cultivation

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A great book, with superb introduction and CMC Tai Chi Chuan form content. Form is discussed in a non-martial context (as opposed to Man-Ching's 13 Treatises), and there are foot diagrams as well. This is *the* book to learn the Simplified 37 Posture form from!

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.

The material contained in this text, like all of Cheng Man-ch'ing's writings, is wonderful. It is a clear discussion of the process of learning Tai Chi, and gives many new ideas to practice. My complaint with this book is with the translator, not the original material. After reading it, I'm left wondering what the translator added to this text. His preface brings up the interesting issue of how the content of the 37 posture form changed while the number of postures did not. However, he doesn't take a position on the argument, and offers no insight as to why the change in content is important to the reader. Also, in the discussion of the form, there are two sets of pictures. One set is of the final posture, and a second step shows the intermediary steps. It is slightly confusing because the two sets of pictures are from obviously different times as Cheng is wearing different cloths in each set. It is unclear from the text if the pictures were like this in the original text, or if the translator pieced them together. Overall, the material in the book is wonderful, but the translator could have done a better job in bringing it forth.

This is the book my teacher used for reference. It is a great little book which I still use it every once in a while to refresh my memory. It has something for both the advanced student, and a complete beginner.

It gives a clear overall definition of the postures and stances. However, some of the transitions are not clearly defined, and are therefore hard to follow for someone unfamiliar with this particular form. Weight distribution and foot placement diagrams are a big help when it comes to shifting the body from posture to posture. This is a big plus, since Cheng M'an Ching placed more emphasis on straight back and equilibrium.

If you don't have access to an instructor and want to learn the CMC form, this is the book I would recommend.

This book allows you to learn the Simplified Yang Style 37 Posture form. I haven't learned the form from this book, so i can't argue whether it is really helpful, although some photos in the book are present neither in "Tai Chi, The Supreme Ultimate" by Cheng Man Ching & Robert Smith, nor the 13 Treatises by Cheng Man Ching.
Other notable features are the Introduction and the Discources on 3 Fearlessness, and 3 Perseverences. Those have become "classics" since probably no one else could talk about these principles like Cheng Man Ching did. The Epilogue is quite interesting too. Even without the form, a book could be made an interesting and useful brochure.

This is one of the most important books about yang style Taijiquan. You find it in a lineage with the books "The Essence and Applications of Taijiquan by Yang Chengfu", followed by "Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan by Fu Zhongwen", and it is succeeded by "Body mechanics of Tai chi chuan by William C. C Chen". To get better insides and a close understanding of Master Cheng's New Method it is strongly recommended to read his book "Cheng-Tzu's Thirteen Treatises on T'ai Chi Ch'uan" first. The New Method often cites the Thirteen Treatises.

This book is not for absolute beginers. You still should have some basics in theory and practice. The form is understandable, the foot diagrams are strange in some cases. The hints by the translator are helpfull and theory becomes clear when read the third time.

Excellent reference book. You can't properly learn the form from this book but you can use it to improve your Tai Chi. Current instructors can't help but put some of themselves into their training. This book helps you get to the source of the simplified form. A great training aid. Only the low quality of the pictures kept this from being a 5 star rating. The text is excellent.

This soft-cover book is not as good as the original hard-cover, which was (by the way) one of the two books I used to accompany the initial phases of my own T'ai-Chi journey (of 28 years). The photos lack the clarity of the hard cover and the printed instructions are not as clear as in some of the more modern illustrated instruction books. By the way, this latter comment(regarding the printed instructions) also applies to the hard-cover edition as well.

I practiced this method of T'ai Chi for 2 years, until my teacher became ill. Then I found the Hennessey translation, which I find to be excellent. The best I have found for Master Cheng's method. I have no reputable teacher in my area, but can continue to practice with this book. Even if you don't practice, Master Cheng is enjoyable reading.

This book was recommended to me by my Taichi teacher, Garrett Chin, of the San Francisco Community College. It may be early for me to give a book review in the traditional sense. But what I have to offer may be helpful to others. I am a beginner in an outreach class away from the college. Currently the posture we are working on is the eleventh out of thirty-seven. I haven't read the book cover to cover. What I am using it for is a resource for me for where I am in the postures right now and for where I hope to be as I go along in the classes. Master Cheng was my teacher's master, so I am confident that this book provides the kind of resource I need as I progress.