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Master 'Cheng's New Method of Taichi Ch'uan Self-Cultivation is the culmination an completion of Cheng Man-ch'ing's life work: the Simplified Method of Yang Style Taichi. This text is his final book, translated into English here for the first time. Now students of all taichi styles have a chance to study the methods of Cheng Man-ch'ing directly, with the aid of 180 photographs and 160 foot diagrams.

Master Cheng provides practitioners with a complete and concise guide to the Short Form, enabling them to make rapid progress. Expanding from the mechanical outline in T'ai Chi Ch'uan: A Simplified Method of Calisthenics for Health and Self-Defense, Cheng goes into great detail describing the postures, and more importantly, how to transition smoothly from one stance to another. As in his previous work, Cheng Tzu's Thirteen Teatises on T'ai Chi Ch'uan, he continues his explanation of taichi's place in the history of Chinese philosophy, drawing parallels with the I Ching, and sampling from the Yellow Emperor's Classic. For martial artists in pursuit of internal achievement, this will be an essential volume.

Mark Hennessy spent eleven years in China studying philosophy, classical language, and taichi ch'uan. He has lectured at the National college of Political Science in Taiwan and Yonsei University in Seoul. His previous translations of Cheng's writings are: Cheng Man-ch'ing: Master of Five Excellences and Cheng Man-ch'ing: Essays on Man and Culture.

Contents

Translator's Introduction
Ku Wei-Chun's Preface
Author's Introduction
Elimanating Three Faults
Three Types of Fearlessness
Speaking on My Experience
Discussions
The Important Points of Self-Cultivation
The Simplified Thirty-Seven Posture Form, with explanation and Illustrations
Afterword
Examples of Taichi Philosophy in Classical Literature
The I Ching
The Confucian I Ching (Hsi Tzu Ch'uan)
Lao Tzu's Tao Teh Ching
The Yellow Emperor's Classic on Internal Medicine