CMC tai chi chuan

[kevin_vt]

What are your impressions on the Cheng Man Ching style of Tai Chi Chuan?

[Chris-H]

In what respect?

[kevin_vt]

In every one you can think of. I like very much his short form and would be happy to read opinions from different Tai Chi instructors and practitioners

[TaiChiBob]

Greetings..

CMC's students and their students are among the most capable at demonstrating the 'Quan' (fist/fighting) of Taijiquan..

Be well..

[Baxian]

My interaction with them has been that they are friendly, open and very capable.

[mawali]

The Zheng (Cheng) style variant of Yang shi taijiquan is a little too limp from my own experience but they seem to have worked out well for those who follow it.
The 'quan' side is far more developed for those who do tuishou so I salute them!
!gan bai!

[kevin_vt]

Great posts! As far as I know Chen man Ching was expert in pushing hands. He developed the style for women and older people making it more natural.

[Luk Hop]

It is unfortunate that many Tai Chi practitioners view CMC's Tai Chi as "beginner" material that is all to commonly used as a prerequisite form to the 108. If anything, in my opinion, it should be the reverse.

[Baqualin]

It is unfortunate that many Tai Chi practitioners view CMC's Tai Chi as "beginner" material that is all to commonly used as a prerequisite form to the 108. If anything, in my opinion, it should be the reverse.

Nice to here this...I agree!
BQ

[Chris-H]

I have seen folks doing CMC Taiji on numerous occasions and I have not really been all that impressed by what I have seen. I see a predominant fixation on forms work and very little tui shou work.
I have had the opportunity on several different occasions to do some tui shou with CMC folks and I was not really impressed. It seemed that there was a general over emphasis on yielding without leading into any type of follow up. I don't necessarily think that these folks were a good representation of their art.
Just my thoughts...

Regards,
Chris

[kevin_vt]

It is good to see different opinions. His form on youtube looks cool anyway :)

[TCosta]

I have been doing CMC TJQ for 3 years now, and I what I have learned is this:

The CMC form is pretty useful if you want to focus on TRULY separating weight, for one. It is also good for circulation, focusing on alignment more than keeping your eye on the opponent. That said, one has to alter the form a bit to make it useful in application, but the alterations are small and the energies are the same. I think making sure to practice push hands is very important, as this is where shifting your weight to the appropriate foot comes in handy, and making the link from foot to hand becomes apparent. Obviously, while yielding, one must keep their eyes on coming back. Yielding to no end will just make you fall over. We all have challenges in learning TJQ, and this is one of them for many people. Fang Song is loose but not floppy.. We seek no hollows and no protrusions.

BTW - My school does forms, push hands, jian & swordplay, and san shou. Obviously, I am very happy about that.

-TCosta

[Mfinn]

I studied at Master Cheng's school in NYC in the 1970s and practiced that form for a number of years. I have come to believe, based on my work with a former student of Master Cheng's, Yu Cheng-Hsiang, that includes Shaolin Temple boxing forms, Staff, sword, push hands and Master Yu's 108-posture form, that the CMC form, at least as it is practiced here in the US, is deficient in many respects, especially as it applies to actual fighting.

CMC form was soft and collapsed in 1971; to see it now is to watch something void of athleticism or martial content, in my opinion. If its practitioners possess fighting skill, I believe it comes from something or somewhere else. One man's opinion based on about 35 years of experience.

[Baqualin]

I studied at Master Cheng's school in NYC in the 1970s and practiced that form for a number of years. I have come to believe, based on my work with a former student of Master Cheng's, Yu Cheng-Hsiang, that includes Shaolin Temple boxing forms, Staff, sword, push hands and Master Yu's 108-posture form, that the CMC form, at least as it is practiced here in the US, is deficient in many respects, especially as it applies to actual fighting.

CMC form was soft and collapsed in 1971; to see it now is to watch something void of athleticism or martial content, in my opinion. If its practitioners possess fighting skill, I believe it comes from something or somewhere else. One man's opinion based on about 35 years of experience.

I learned the form in 75 and still practice it mainly for meditation (Chen is my favorite Tai Chi style)
what are some of the differences you see from 71 to what is practiced today.
BQ