Cheng Hsin was founded by Peter Ralston in 1975 and is grounded in both the practical study of martial interaction and the open-ended inquiry that contemplative disciplines offer. After making deep breakthroughs in Consciousness, Ralston entered and won the full-contact World Tournament in China, becoming the first non-Asian ever to win that tournament.
His goal was to create powerful evidence for the effectiveness of what he has been teaching and sharing ever since--the unique body of work known as Cheng Hsin, which unifies the studies of consciousness with studies of martial arts, ability, skill and mastery.
Zen Consciousness directs our focus beyond the reality that we take for granted, while Martial Disciplines offer new possibilities for developing power and skill and applying it in a diverse range of activities.
The steady background objective is to learn about ourselves and life; to observe how our minds, emotions, and bodies currently operate; and to discover new, more effective and freeing possibilities in how to think, feel, move, and interact.
When we take on this consideration as a whole, we are speaking of the entire event in which we appear and live. To approach and study such a primary and inclusive consideration, we need a purposeful and multi-dimensional investigation, grounded in what is at hand and yet open to possibilities beyond our convictions and assumptions. This is the Cheng Hsin endeavor.
