The essence of Cheng Style Baguazhang 64 Palms set performed by 78 year old Grandmaster Sun Zhijun
The 64 Palms set was created by Cheng Youxin (the 2nd son of Cheng Tinghua).
Although Cheng Tinghua passed away when Cheng Youxin was only 9 years old, since he was of the Cheng family, the disciples of Cheng Tinghua and friends of other martial arts styles would provide guidance to him. After 60 years of practicing and research Cheng Youxin created this 64 Palms set which was later to become the essence of Cheng Style Baguazhang.
In comparison to Yin Fu the eldest disciple of Dong Haichuan, Cheng Tinghua only studied about 4-5 years with Dong Haichuan and was shot at the hands of German soldiers during the Boxer rebellion. Thus he did not complete his teachings and it is thought that only three palms were specifically taught being Single Change, Double Change and Smooth Palms. His oldest son was skilled as were his disciples many of whom were from other styles and in fact contributed much towards expanding the system. These early disciples did much to up hold the Cheng tradition and developed the Eight Mother Palms. The result is a relatively new development where the palms are much more smoother and circular, whilst the stepping absorb the Tangni Bu (Mud walking) method which is much wider than that of the earlier Dong Haichuan generations (Yin, Song, Ma, Shi, Liu etc)
