Welcome To Inner Harmony Tai Chi School

"When the student is ready the teacher appears"
Buddhist proverb

Cheng Man Ching (1902-1975) was a world famous Chinese Tai Chi master. Some would argue the greatest master of his era. He left China for political reasons and lived in Taiwan before moving to the USA.. He is largely responsible for bringing Tai Chi to the attention of the Western world. He was known in China as a 'Master of the five excellences' because as well as being a master of Tai Chi, he was also a renowned doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine and was famous for his skills in painting, calligraphy and poetry. As a young man he had worked as a college professor and this is why he preferred to be addressed as 'professor'.

In his books Cheng Man Ching credits his dedication and mastery of Tai Chi to the fact that he was seriously ill as a young man. He recovered through his training in Tai Chi however whenever he stopped he rapidly became ill again. This meant that he studied hard every day for most of his life.

After he had trained for several years with the famous Tai Chi master Yang Cheng-fu the professor went on to shorten the traditional Yang form with his teacher's permission to 37 postures. This form is the most popular practiced outside of China today. The original Yang Long form takes around 30 minutes to complete while the shortened Cheng form takes around 10 minutes making it easier to learn and to practice.

The professor always described his form as being Yang style but most people today now recognise his form as being its own separate style known as CMC (Cheng Man Ching) style. Although very similar to yang style there are several main differences.

Because the professor was a medical doctor, the main focus of his form is concerned with maximising the health benefits of Tai Chi. It is designed to be important for health, relaxation and martial skill in that order. The Cheng Man Ching form eliminates most of the repetitions from the original Yang long form. The CMC style postures also tend to be smaller, and less expanded making it easier to relax.Some of the postures have been dropped entirely from the original Yang form and some new ones have even been added.

In two postures namely 'Fist Under elbow' and 'Low Punch' the back of the hand brushes past each kidney. This brushing action is purely for health and has no martial application whatsoever. In postures where 'Push' is used, the hand and wrist are held straight in what is known as the "Fair Lady's Hand". Bending the wrist and pushing the palm forwards creates tension not just in the hand and wrist but the arm, shoulders and chest.

Many other subtle differences exist between the two forms and there are even several different versions of the CMC form itself. Students who trained with the professor over the years as his form changed and progressed teach different versions today. The version I teach is from his later years and so is very different from the original Yang form that he himself had learnt.