CMC 37P TAI CHI FORM: Posture 15 (v3)
Cheng Man-ch'ing 37 Postures Tai Chi Form • 鄭子太極拳 鄭曼青 Cheng Man Ching • Video • Cheng Man Ching Posture 15: Withdraw and Push Variation 3 8 directions - 12/15/12 (Autumn) The key element of what I call "variation 3" of Posture 15 is visible in Ben Lo's instructional videotape PROFESSOR CHENG MAN CH'ING'S SIMPLIFIED T'AI CHI CH'UAN, 37 POSTURES, 1991. When I do "Withdraw & Push" this way, I start out facing West. As my weight shifts onto my back leg, my upper body turns approximately 45 degrees to my left and faces South-West. As more weight settles onto my back right leg, I turn to my right, face West momentarily, and continue turning to my right, until I am facing North-West. As I return to facing West, I advance my weight onto my forward left leg, and complete Push. ** I also frequently practice 2 other variations of this posture. Variation 1 • CMC 37P TAI CHI FORM: Posture 15 (v1) Variation 2 • CMC 37P TAI CHI FORM: Posture 15 (v2) ** I have been encouraged to post a series of videos focusing upon the basic postures and transitional movements which make up the Cheng Man-ch'ing (CMC) 37 Posture Tai Chi Form. Many people around the world wish to learn this tai chi form to improve their health but don't have access to an experienced practitioner who can show them what this form looks like in 3-dimensional space. Therefore, throughout this CMC 37P video series, I am demonstrating one basic posture per video while taking turns facing the 8 directions of the compass. This way, the interested viewer can observe each posture from many different angles - - almost like walking around a live person in 3 dimensions and seeing each posture from multiple angles and perspectives. After I have finished uploading all these new videos, the complete set will be contained in my playlist: "CMC 37P TAI CHI FORM: Individual Postures:" • CMC 37P TAI CHI FORM: Individual Postures Videos which show the continuous flow of movement of several postures in a row, from multiple angles, will be contained in this playlist: • CMC 37P TAI CHI FORM: 4 Directions Segments ** I began learning the CMC 37P Tai Chi Form in 1973 by imitating the photos in Prof. Cheng's book "TAI CHI, The Supreme Ultimate Exercise," which he co-authored with Robert W. Smith. I have been practicing this tai chi form daily ever since, 40 years now. The posture numbering system I am using comes from this book. During the first 8 years of my practice, I only had Prof. Cheng's book to refer to, and "William C.C. Chen's Tai Chi" book, which was published in 1973. The 2-dimensional photos in Prof. Cheng's books do not reveal all the details of the Form. "How do I get from this posture to that posture? What should different parts of my body be doing as I move from this posture to that posture? How wide should my stance be?" These are the types of questions I often asked myself when I was first learning the form by imitating the photos in Prof. Cheng's books. During those early years, I would have loved to watch "multi-directional" videos (like this series I am posting) which demonstrate each posture and transitional movement from multiple angles! My progress in learning the form would have been much faster. A lot of guesswork would have been eliminated. Eventually, I had the good fortune to study at Prof. Cheng's Shr Jung school in New York City (by then Prof. Cheng had already died; I never met him). I also had the good fortune to study with two of his senior students - - Benjamin Pang Jeng Lo and William C.C. Chen, and several other masters in the Cheng tradition. That's when any misconceptions I may have had about how to transition from one posture to another were cleared up. I realized during the course of my studies that senior students of Prof. Cheng moved their bodies and transitioned from one posture to another in different ways. ** My main reference materials for Cheng-style tai chi practice are: Prof. Cheng's books, films and videos, including the recently released THE MASTER TAPES (which show Prof. Cheng teaching at the Shr Jung school in New York City); Benjamin Lo's books and videos; William C.C. Chen's books, films, and videos; T.T. Liang's books and films; Master Huang's videos. Whenever I have a question about the Form, I usually check Prof. Cheng's films, videos, photos, and books. Then I look at the videos of his senior students. My current way of doing the CMC 37P Tai Chi Form is a blend of all these many influences over the last 40 years. This video series is my tribute to a wonderful exercise that has helped me stay healthy, lean, flexible and strong throughout the last 4 decades, and continues to keep me in good shape as I get older (I will turn 62 at the end of April 2013). May this CMC 37 Posture Tai Chi Form do others similar good! ChiGuy396 [email protected] **
