One must distinguish the teacher from the taught.

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 "One must distinguish the teacher from the taught. ...And the fact that some of Zheng's students do postures one way does not mean Zheng taught them that way. Isn't it just possible that Zheng's teachings involved no changes, but instead simply reflects that he was superb at not changing Yang's system, teaching it as he had learned it? Zheng stressed accuracy first and last. When he learned the rudiments under Yang, he had to master each posture before moving to the next, there was no breezy form class followed by a corrections class. With time, his own form became less energetic and more internalized - compare his 1960 Taiwan film with his 1973 film - but his teaching remained pretty much the same."

'Zheng Manqing and Taijiquan: A Clarification of Role'

by Robert W. Smith, Journal of Asian Martial Arts, Vol. 4 No. 1 (1995).

[Image: Cheng Man-ching]



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