Effortless Power – Cheng Hsin UK

Cheng Hsin” is an internal martial art developed by Peter Ralston sometimes called the art of effortless power.

I had the good fortune to train with Kevin Magee, (pictured below)the top UK proponent of this art last weekend in Wales and had a really good time. I was super impressed by the sophistication and effectiveness of the art – really something special. Some of Cheng Hsin’s principles were familiar from aikido (e.g listening, blending), some gave names to things I’ve discovered myself (e.g. “outreaching”) and some were completely new but obviously effective (e.g. “compression”). The non-dogmatic experiential nature of the art appealed to me, as did the psychological dimensions which we only touched upon. Zen practices and “ontology” are also part of the art’s broad curriculum.


I hope to explore Cheng Hsin in more detail and highly recommend it to any serious martial artists who are ready to move beyond stale forms and up to where’s it’s really at.

Thanks to Tom Anderson for driving from Brighton, host Mike Hawkey and the other lads like Mike Hart. Aside from being a really nice bunch, welcoming, generous and ego-free, they cooked a wonderful lunch which sure beat the soggy half-time sandwiches I’m used to! Cheers fellas.