Cheng Hsin

Cheng Hsin is a pursuit of increasing consciousness using internal martial arts, body-being practice, ontology and Zen-like contemplation. Cheng Hsin was founded by Peter Ralston in 1975 [Cheng Hsin, The Art of Effortless Power, Tai Chi Chuan, No. 10, Autumn/Winter 1998] , The name Cheng Hsin (pronounced cheng shin) comprises two Chinese characters:
Cheng, which translates as true, genuine, real, and
Hsin, which translates as Being, Heart, Mind. Cheng Hsin has been translated as the "true nature of Being". [Chapter 1, The Principles of Effortless Power, Peter Ralston, North Atlantic Books (1999)]

Cheng Hsin emphasizes ontological inquiry and contemplation as much as the martial arts training. All of the Cheng Hsin endeavor could be called consciousness work. In Cheng Hsin internal martial arts and Body-Being practice, students train to become conscious of and align with certain principles of body design and effective interaction. The ontology and contemplation practice within Cheng Hsin is devoted to becoming conscious of and transforming one’s experience of being human and questioning into the nature of self and reality.

Cheng Hsin is also known as “the art of effortless power”. [The Art of Effortless Power, Peter Ralston, North Atlantic Books (1991)]

History

At the age of nine, Peter Ralston, the founder of Cheng Hsin, first started his martial arts training by practicing Judo in Singapore. By the age of 19 he had black belts in Judo (Nidan), Jujitsu (Nidan), and Karate (Shodan), and had been Sumo champion at his high school in Japan, as well as Judo and fencing champion at UC Berkeley. [Principles of Effortless Power, Peter Ralston, North Atlantic Books (1999), back cover (or AEP - about the founder)] Peter’s investigations and questioning about effectiveness in real situations, led him to intensively study Kung Fu, Muay Thai, western boxing, Aikido and the internal martial arts of T'ai Chi, Hsing I and Pa Kua.

Over the decades, Ralston exposed himself to many teachers of martial arts, ontology and personal growth. His most influential teachers were: [Acknowledgements, The Art of Effortless Power, Peter Ralston, North Atlantic Books (1991)]
*Bruce Mackin (Judo and JuJitsu (goshin jitsu no kata))
*Grandmaster Wong Jack Man (Lohan, Northern Sil Lum Kung Fu, T'ai Chi, Hsing I and Pa Kua)
*Grandmaster William Chen Chi Chen (T'ai Chi)
*Robert Nadeau (Aikido)
*Stewart Emery (Ontology)Along with his martial training, Peter was spending periods of intense contemplation that resulted in having many enlightenment experiences regarding the nature of self and reality. Ralston asserts that these enlightenment experiences greatly influenced his study and ability in martial arts. [“Consciousness and the martial arts” Lifestyle, Sept. 1980] In the early 1970s, the foundations of what would later be called Cheng Hsin were starting to formulate. Peter was teaching internal martial arts but continued his own studies and investigations. In 1975, he traveled to Asia to seek out an art or a teacher, so that he could deepen his understanding of martial arts. [Interview with Peter Ralston, Taiji-Vizier, May 2006] He traveled to Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore. Unable to find an art or a teacher that he considered had the skill, breadth and depth of his insights, he returned to the California and continued with his own investigations and training. He switched from teaching the technical forms that he learned and instead started to teach the principles and skills that made him masterful. He named his teaching Cheng Hsin. In trying to teach Cheng Hsin to his students, Ralston discovered that a whole new communication was necessary. Cheng Hsin Ontology was created to facilitate others to discover for themselves about mastery, effective interaction, mind, empowerment and transformationof relationship.In March 1977, "The Cheng Hsin School of Internal Martial Arts and Center for Ontological Research" was opened on 6601Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, California. [ [http://www.chenghsin.com/chbooksarchiveida.htm The Cheng Hsin IDA] ]

Although there are several international Cheng Hsin branches in Europe and Asia, in January 1996, Ralston relocated to the island of Hawaii to live a hermitic lifestyle. His two top students at the time, Clint Boerner and Leslie Fisher, started a Cheng Hsin school in Berkeley (The Conscious Body, Awakening Mind School). This school closed down in 1997 after Clint and Leslie (now married) moved to Hayward, California.

In March 2002, Ralston opened the newly built Cheng Hsin center in Pipe Creek, Texas. The Center is open for residential workshops in the Art of Effortless Power, boxing, ontology, personal growth, contemplation, and 7 month-long ApprenticePrograms. There are a number of Cheng Hsin trainers worldwide and Cheng Hsin workshops and summer camps are regularly taught throughout the U.S., Asia, New Zealand and Europe. Cheng Hsin ontology is available to a wider audience through email courses that Ralston facilitates for a year and there is also a quarterly Cheng Hsin email newsletter.

Physical Training

Martial arts

The primary commitment or goal in Cheng Hsin martial arts is to be effortlessly effective in a martial context. However, the martial work in Cheng Hsin isn’t just to learn how to fight but also to learn about oneself, interaction, body and mind. [Discovery Channel Interview with Peter Ralston, Cheng Hsin Videos [http://www.chenghsin.com/chsales.htm] ]

Along with technical training, a large percentage of Cheng Hsin training is devoted to developing fighting skill by using various interactive games and exercises designed to force the practitioner to pay attention and respond to the opponent in every moment of interaction. Cheng Hsin martial artists believe that to become skilful at fighting, one must understand and master spontaneous and competitive freeplay with an opponent. Students train to be able to put their attention on another person increasing the sensitivity of their feeling-awareness and training various feeling states that change how they experience their relationship with others. Cheng Hsin students train to adapt to changing situations by changing the context of how they experience the relationship.

Forms

The Cheng Hsin martial art has a wide foundation of techniques in throwing, projecting, uprooting, striking, grappling, weapons, and freeplay. Along with many techniques that are unique to Cheng Hsin, some of the techniques and forms of Cheng Hsin internal martial arts have similarities to techniques and forms in Judo, Aikido, Tai Chi, western boxing, fencing and Pa Kua. However, these techniques have been recreated and built up from core principles that are unique to Cheng Hsin. All techniques are designed to be executed whilst remaining completely relaxed. By studying the design and function of the body and aligning with certain feeling-mental states, Cheng Hsin practitioners train to align the body to be compressed into the ground and use the body’s intrinsic strength (inherent binding quality) and the supporting ground for power.

The art comprises the following forms:

The Art of Effortless Power--Cheng Hsin T’ui ShouT’ui Shou is the uprooting and throwing art of Cheng Hsin. The technical syllabus of T’ui Shou comprises approximately 150 techniques. [“Peter Ralston’s Cheng Hsin T’ui Shou” Taijiquan und Qigong Journal, May 2004]

Internal BoxingPractitioners wear boxing gloves and mouthpieces. Along with drills and boxing exercises, Cheng Hsin boxers develop martial skill by practicing the Cheng Hsin principles in boxing freeplay.

T’ai Chi SetsCheng Hsin T’ai Chi has two choreographed sets of solo movements designed to train the Cheng Hsin Body-Being.

GrapplingThe techniques studied in Cheng Hsin grappling are essentially a collection of techniques from Judo Newaza.

San ShouA choreographed 2 person set of movements to practice a cross section of striking and t’ui shou techniques and counters in a ritualized form.

SwordThe main weapon studied in Cheng Hsin is the T'ai Chi double-edged sword (T'ai Chi Kim). Practitioners study a solo sword set, a 2 person choreographed set, exercises and games to develop interactive skill and sword freeplay.

Games

In Cheng Hsin, interactive skills are practiced using a variety of both competitive and non-competitive games. Some of the games have roles; others are freeplay. The aim of all games is to increase skill and to be effortlessly effective.

The spirit of practice of Cheng Hsin games can be seen in the two main games, “Pressure No-Pressure” and Game B. In the game “Pressure No-Pressure,” the objective is to apply pressure to a partner using intrinsic strength while preventing the partner from applying any pressure to oneself through yielding. There is absolutely no blocking or parrying. This reveals the essence of all martial encounter: in one way or another pressure must be applied or prevented to be successful at fighting arts. Learning to apply a generic pressure and preventing any pressure to come to one’s body, teaches this basic aspect of any martial encounter. Game B, is similar to Pressure No-Pressure with the added possibility of applying techniques (either throws or uproots). As with Pressure No-Pressure, in Game B, students are attempting to be effortless, there must be no struggle or resistance of any kind. Students must remain completely relaxed and yield to the slightest pressure and at the same time join the opponent to throw or uproot them.

The Cheng Hsin games give the students feedback on how skilful they are against an opponent that is also trying to best them. A main difference between the Cheng Hsin games and other martial arts freeplay is the emphasis on total non-resistance and no struggle. Students train to want their opponent to do exactly what they are doing so that they can fully experience the encounter and handle it effectively.

Body-Being

The term “Cheng Hsin Body-Being” was named to refer to the state of consciousness and bodily presence that Cheng Hsin students train for effortless body movement, power and physical interaction. The body-being training is non-martial and concentrates on generating enhanced feeling-states through imagery to realign the body and change how the body is moved. The body-being training also involves educating students to move and interact according to the principles of the human body’s structural and functional design. Cheng Hsin students aim to change how they move and relate physically by retraining their own nervous system. Peter Ralston states that “the thrust of body-being is to be effortlessly effective, to be more balanced, more adept, to perform better at any activity – to be happier in the body” [“Conscious Fitness, how feeling more in your body can help you feel better in the soul”, Spirituality and health, Nov/Dec 2006]

Cheng Hsin Consciousness

Ontology

Ontology is defined as the study of being. [Introduction, Ancient Wisdom New Spirit, Peter Ralston, Frog Ltd. (1994)] Cheng Hsin ontology was created by Peter Ralston based on his personal enlightenment experiences, direct insights and exposure to the teaching and facilitation methods of Stewart Emery and others. Cheng Hsin ontology is completely an experiential investigation and rigorously emphasizes that the teaching material is to be experienced and not believed. The ontological material is an open investigation into the experience of being human and covers a range of topics such as the nature of self, mind, perception, language, and experience.

Contemplation

Cheng Hsin students are encouraged to contemplate, i.e. to deeply consider something for the purpose of experiencing what is true in the matter. [“Peter Ralston on his inner work, part 2” T’ai Chi. Vol. 11, No. 5 (Aug, 1987)] Contemplation is by nature a solo activity but Cheng Hsin also uses the contemplation technique devised by Charles Berner based on two person dyads.

pirit of practice

The essence and spirit of Cheng Hsin work is the most important part. [Preface, Tai Chi Ch’uan - The internal tradition, Ron Sieh, North Atlantic books, (1992)] The spirit of Cheng Hsin practice is rooted in personal growth through self-discovery. Students are committed to becoming effortlessly effective and skilful. The martial arts practice and direction towards mastering spontaneous freeplay grounds the personal growth aspect of Cheng Hsin. The four cornerstones of Cheng Hsin are: grounded-openness, honesty, questioning, and direct experience. [Introduction, Ancient Wisdom New Spirit, Peter Ralston, Frog Ltd. (1994)] Students of Cheng Hsin endeavor to maintain these cornerstones within their practice and their daily lives. Students are encouraged to radically experiment and be responsible for their own learning. Anything can be questioned and students are often directed towards questioning the overlooked obvious.

Degree System

The Cheng Hsin Martial curriculum is divided into eight degrees. The first 6 degrees are each further subdivided into 5 levels named after the Japanese kyu system. In total there are 30 kyu ranks. Once a student has passed each of the 5 individual levels to a degree, they are then ready to be tested for that degree.The first degree is degree 1, successive degrees are cumulative: the material in each prior degree must be demonstrated at a higher level in the next degree. For example, to pass a degree 3 test, the student must demonstrate all the degree 1, 2 and 3 material at a degree 3 level.Degrees one and two are beginner, degrees three and 4 are intermediate, degrees 5 and 6 are advanced. Degree 7 is Cheng Hsin Mastery. Degree 8 (grandmaster) is achieved when a degree 7 master has taught a student up to the level of degree 7. To date, this has never occurred. Peter Ralston is currently the only degree 7 and there has only ever been one student (Jef Edwards) to reach degree 6. Cheng Hsin students wear different colored bars on their training uniform to display their degree ranking. The ranks are colored as follows:

*Degree 1: (green border)
*Degree 2: (solid green)
*Degree 3: (blue border)
*Degree 4: (solid blue)
*Degree 5: (brown border)
*Degree 6: (solid brown)
*Degree 7: (solid black)
*Degree 8: (solid gold)

Applied Cheng Hsin

Cheng Hsin helps students learn how to learn and so the practice and learning methods of Cheng Hsin is not restricted to martial arts but has attracted a broad range of students including dancers, actors, body-workers, musicians, artists, and various athletes seeking to better their skill by applying the principles based teaching of Cheng Hsin to their own art or sport. [Chapter 4, Zen Body-Being, Peter Ralston and Laura Ralston, Frog Ltd. (2006)]

Published Works

Books

*Cheng Hsin: The Principles of Effortless Power, Peter Ralston, North Atlantic Books (1999), ISBN 1-55643-302-6
*Cheng Hsin: The Art of Effortless Power, Peter Ralston, North Atlantic Books (1991), ISBN 1-55643-094-9
*Reflections of Being, Peter Ralston, North Atlantic Books (1991), ISBN 1-55643-119-8
*Ancient Wisdom, New Spirit, Peter Ralston, Frog, Ltd. (1994), ISBN 1-883319-21-8
*Zen Body Being, Peter Ralston and Laura Ralston, Frog Ltd. (2006), ISBN 1-58394-159-2

Videos

*Introduction to the Art of Effortless Power. Cheng Hsin Videos
*Fight, Play, Demo. Cheng Hsin Videos
*Discovery Channel Interview. Cheng Hsin Videos
*Cheng Hsin Skills. Cheng Hsin Videos
*Cheng Hsin Body-Being. Cheng Hsin Videos
*Cheng Hsin Talks. Cheng Hsin Videos

References

External links

[1] [http://www.chenghsin.com Cheng Hsin Homepage]

[2] [http://www.chenghsin.com/chbooksarchive.htm Cheng Hsin Archive]

Online Videos

[1] Cheng Hsin Martial: www.youtube.com

[2] Cheng Hsin Ontology: www.youtube.com