Cheng Tin Hung or Zheng Tianxiong (1930–2005) was an influential tai chi master and the founder of "

Wudang tai chi Wudang tai chi ( zh, c=武當太極拳) is the name of a system of tai chi that was developed by a Hong Kong-based tai chi master Cheng Tin Hung. While Cheng never claimed to be teaching any particular school of tai chi, his uncle was a disciple ...

". He was based in Hong Kong, China, and sometimes attracted controversy for his attitude and approach to the teaching and practice of his martial art. Also known as the "Tai Chi Bodyguard" for his enthusiastic defence of tai chi as a martial art, he took part in full contact competitions as a young man and also trained some of his students to do the same during the 1960s, '70s and '80s. Though closely associated with the Wu school of tai chi, he founded a separate organisation called the Hong Kong Tai Chi Association (香港太極總會) which is now run by his wife Chan Lai Ping (陳麗平). Cheng Tin Hung produced a series of books and VCDs on the subject of tai chi and was also involved in the production of the 1974 Hong Kong movie called ''The Shadow Boxer'' (

Shaw Brothers Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. () was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, and operated from 1925 to 2011. In 1925, three Shaw brothers— Runje, Runme, and Runde—founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shangh ...

). He appears in the opening scenes and some of his techniques were also used within the fight scenes of the movie proper. During the 1980s, Cheng Tin Hung travelled to the UK to promote tai chi with three of his students, Ian Cameron, Tong Chi Kin and Dan Docherty, who also produced a joint publication with him called ''Wutan Tai Chi Chuan''. During the 1990s Cheng Tin Hung's tai chi career slowly drew to a close with the onset of

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

and its debilitating effects. Chen died in 2005.

Some career highlights of note

*1950: Established the Cheng Tin Hung Tai Chi Academy in Hong Kong *1957: Won the Hong Kong

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

boxing competition held in Taiwan *1972: Established the Hong Kong Tai Chi Association *1975: In conjunction with the Hong Kong government, established Taijiquan classes throughout Hong Kong *1980s: started construction of Tai Chi Heights, part retirement home and part Taijiquan resource centre in his hometown in

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

, China.

Tai chi lineage tree with Wu-style focus

Notes

References

Profile reference in Chinese
* 1930 births 2005 deaths Chinese tai chi practitioners Hong Kong martial artists {{HongKong-martialart-bio-stub