Filmed in the early 1970s, at the hall of happiness, chengs shr jung tai chi school in new york city. The material has never been released commercially, until now. Ken van sickle on cheng man ching tai chi chuan part i duration. He left china for new york to spread eastern philosophy. The professor is a documentary about tai chi and one of its great masters, cheng manching, a man who brought tai chi and chinese culture to the west during the swinging, turbulent 60s.
Grandmaster chen man chings 19011975 37 movement tai chi chuan form in the yang style. Cheng man ching, by making his arms and hands completely neutral, soft, empty, etc, forces the impulse to respond top an attackor to make ones own offensive moveto be distributed neurologically to the rest of the bodyie, the legs and trunk, producing movement that is, yes, integrated, rooted, and relatively effortless. Man ching chong is an actress, known for yi tian tu long ji 1978, ma hou pao 1984 and dangerous encounters of the first kind 1980. I interviewed barry strugatz, the director of the cheng manching film the professor. This documentary film tells his remarkable story and features tai chi as a martial art and a spiritual practice. As chengs senior students aged i realized that an incredible legacy of timeless teachings was in danger of being lost. Tai chis journey west is a feature documentary about tai chi and one of its great masters, cheng manching, a man who brought tai chi and chinese culture to the west during the swinging, turbulent 60s.
After yang chengfus death and before coming to the united states, cheng man ching created a shortened version of the traditional form taught him by yang chengfu. Tai chis journey west is a feature documentary about tai chi and one of its greatest masters, cheng manching, a man who brought tai chi and chinese culture to the west during the. An interview with peter wayne of the harvard medical school about research into the health benefits of tai chi. The only film we know of that shows him doing the entire form without any cuts. He was a pioneer, instrumental in bringing tai chi and chinese philosophy to the west. Cheng as she transliterated the wen yen of professor chengs funerary book into pai hua so that i could understand it. Fu zhong wen disciple of yang cheng fu yang tai chi 85 form duration. Cheng man ching on the dao of taijiquan a poem cheng man ching is portrayed by his students as an example of total dedication and commitment to the chinese arts, especially concerning taijiquan.
Biography of cheng man ching from his memorial book the professor cheng man ching documentary film. Cheng man ching was an archetypal tai chi master that was a master of all the internal arts, to the chinese he would be considered a perfect man completely at peace with himself. Professor cheng manching was part of a centuries old lineage. A single ingredient in the formula he designed for my treatment wasnt available outside mainland china. More than four hours of neverbeforeseen footage of cheng in action. New documentary about cheng man ching slanted flying. The dvd programme contains front and back views of the cheng manching form with audio instructions. Biography of cheng manching from his memorial book the professor cheng manching documentary film. Cheng was unique not only a remarkable martial artist but also an accomplished painter, poet, scholar and doctor of chinese medicine. It also contains front and back views of the sword form as taught by cheng manching. Ken van sickle, new york showed some massages from his teacher cheng man ching during his tai chi sword workshop in hannover, germany. Tam gibbs corrected and added to by katy cheng, april 2000 in preparation for this event. He was a student of the famous tai chi master yang cheng fu. Professor cheng manching lived and taught in new york city for the last 10 years of his life.
Well that was the secret tam told to me many months later. The speed is the same as when performed by colin hamilton in our dvd tai chi chuan. A new documentary about cheng man ching called the professor. Site for the shr chung tai chi chuan association founded by cheng. Professor cheng manching yang style short form tai chi chuan. Its cost was substantial, over a thousand 1960s dollars.