by mfinn on Fri Sep 09, 2016 2:41 pm
My last and greatest teacher was Yu Cheng Hsiang who studied with CMC in Taiwan after his first teacher Lee Soo Chin died.`Master Yu had extensive background in hyper-tradtional MA, mostly based on Shaolin Temple teachings, before he went to Taiwan in 1949. Master Lee was a student of Yang Chen Fu's brother, Yang Shao Hao. So he got both branches of the Yang lineage one might say. I was in CMC's Shr Jng studio on Bowery and Canal in 1969-1970 aqnd then wandered in the TCC wilderness for some years before I found Master Yu. Master Yu had great respect for Master Cheng, respect that was based on CMC's knowledge of classical Chinese culture. Master Yu was, one might say, an indoor disciple who often attended special lectures and presentations at Master Cheng's house.
I asked Master Yu once what was up with the "fencing" he had his American students do with their wooden swords. He was mystified about it. For him, Master Yu, the sword was all about a form that was built on the weapon's potential lethality, not this hipster posing and prancing and "listening." It seemed clear to me and to his other long-time students, that there was a real difference between his Taiwan and his American students. Master Yu was always rigorously extolling TCC as a "fighting form" in which "soft,reaexed" had no place whatsoever. He rubbed the Americans the wrong way and vice versa, because he was adamant about the martial purpose of it all. He also incorporated "hard" style forms into our training as well, saying that the TCC form would never be enough in and of itself.
So I guess what I am saying is that CMC's teaching here in America was quite likely a good bit more "New Age" than what he put forward back in Taiwan.