Cheng Hsin: The Principles of Effortless Power

The difficulty with understanding internal alchemy,internal power, qi, is that even in the original Chinese, the language is highly symbolic. Ideograms (Chinese characters) can have different meanings in different contexts. Combine that with the Chinese penchant for exaggerating and analogizing things, and any translation of original Chinese texts must be taken with a grain of salt. At the very least, a deep understanding of the context is required in addition to fluency in the language.For those of us with primarily Western backgrounds, Peter Ralston's book Cheng Hsin is wonderful. He relies more on personal experience, takes quotes from the classics to support his narrative, to define what he feels is the key to understanding the internal martial arts-- specifically, effortless power.Although some of his sentences are complicated, and take several readings to completely understand, this is forgivable. Finding the precise words in English to convey his meaning is a difficult task, and Ralston does so effectively-- albeit not simply with respect to grammar.What Ralston does is break down all those esoteric principles you've read and or learned from studying internal martial arts-- be it Tai Chi, Ba Gua, Hsing-I, or others-- and put them in understandable, and IMO, realistic terms. There is no actual spirit here, or internal energy, simply awareness, understanding, consciousness, and biomechanics. To me, a wonderful, realistic interpretation that makes sense from a Western standpoint.Having ongoing formal training in this area, I can tell you that unlike other reviewers, I found this book delightful. It corroborated all the teachings that I had gathered from my instructor and guest intructors and readings, and put it in another perspective, adding increased insight.In many respects, it IS a step-by-step guidebook for developing improved structure, internal awareness-- and better yet, there is no quasi-mythical/symbolic gobbledygook to confuse you! To native medieval Chinese, references to earth power and qi may have been intuitively obvious, but I have been trying to understand these terms from a Western point of view. Ralston makes a great stab at it-- right or wrong-- he strips out the spiritual per se-- and gives us something to really focus on and work on. Yes, he talks about consciousness and focus and awareness and being, but anyone who has worked in meditation or internal arts will instantly grasp what he means. Ralston does a nice job of DEFINING what he means when he uses these words.When the world-famous Chinese master says to you "Move your qi here..." and you say... "Okay, what do you mean by qi, and how exactly should I move it?" You get different answers from different masters... many high-level masters downplay qi. Ralston eliminates that all together. This is what he discovered, this is how he interprets it. Fantastic.Now, the only question is whether he's missing something or not...A must read. If I had my own scho

Ralston is hardly the first fighter to realize there is more to be gained from internal martial arts than the ability to knock people down effectively, but few if any have written as effectively or honestly about the connection between the principles that make internal martial arts work and the exploration of one's own physical and conscious being. Ralston's Cheng Hsin cannot be 'explained' by a book any more than internal martial art can be learned from a book, but Ralston offers the reader both concrete, valuable advice on training, and a way for the reader to begin his or her own study of the connection between internal martial arts and ontology. The book is dense; the dedicated student will find multiple readings rewarding. Also recommended: William C.C. Chen, _Body Mechanics of Tai Chi Chuan_. Tai Chi pugilism straight-up, from a consummate teacher and master of the art.

Every once in a while you find a high impact book. Something that awakens something deep within and lasts forever. This is the one. It is a book that you can pick up time and time again and always gets something new out of it, or something deeper than you ever did before. It is written by a man who is one of the most courageous I have ever met, some one who dared to venture into experiences we might dream about and others that we might never have considered possible. It is about fundamental ways of being, of connecting with principles - a source - that somehow we find ourselves disconnected from, and to the degree that we are disconnected, disempowereed, distressed, even suffering (though we may not acknowledge it). This book is about the effortless joy and freedom and power in our humanity that is available to us all, right here, right now, in every moment. Peter Ralston has made a huge diffence in my life. Allow him into yours.

As an American with an interest in internal martial arts, I am often frustrated trying to understand, both conceptually and bodily, the meaning of the traditional Chinese terms for the principles that are the foundation of these arts. This book communicates these ideas in a refreshingly accessible way for English speakers without diluting their power. However, this book demands repeated readings. The concepts that are discussed are not easily communicated by language but are best understood through direct bodily experience. With perseverance and dilligent training these principles can transform the skill of any martial artist. This is an indispensable resource and the most enlightening book I have ever read on this subject. I highly recommend it.

As a practicing martial artist of many years with tastes running to the ecclectic, there are only two books that I have read that show what I would call BRILLIANCE! One is "The Tao of Jeet Kune Do", by Bruce Lee, and the other is this book! Ralstons insights into the deep nature of martial arts movement are astounding! I couldn't help but be amazed! This is a book that one can go back to repeatedly over the years, and each time find something new, and indeed, I have! It is very gratifying to see this volume back in print, as I,ve already gone through two copies. It will always have a place on my bokshelf. Ralston's book does what few do, to literally go to the heart and soul of martial arts, and to make the secrets of expession of power in those arts intellible to the reader.