Has any one trained with or seen Peter Ralston?

Yes, both. Twice.

Here's his current email site

http://come.to/chenghsin

Anyone knows of his martial lineage/influences?

Wong Jack Man and William C.C. Chen.

Buddy

Hey I was kind a asking if any one has trained with him, and if they think he is as "indestructable" as every one says? thanx
ps. this question especially goes out to Tim.

Well,if you have to know,I attended one his extensive “boxing” seminars several years ago. I doubt anybody is indestructible but he is good – very good, knowledgeable, creative and unorthodox. He cross-trained long time before it was fashionable – sumo, Northern Kung-Fu styles, Judo, Karate, Aikido, trained with boxers and of course Chinese Internal styles. Fast, relaxed, difficult to move or hit, great punch.

I've never met Peter Ralston.

Tim,

Peter Ralston wrote a book called "Cheng Hsin T'ui Shou: the Art of Effortless Power" (ISBN 1-55643-094-9 -- North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California -- copyrighted in 1991 -- 290 pages -- 9-n-7/8" x 7-n-3/4" -- paperback with many Black-n-White photos -- was $18.95). I found a copy (in excellent/new condition) among the books Wendy gave me after Phil passed away. I've only read a few of the opening pages, but I think it'll be a pretty good book -- & I think you'll like it (wanna borrow it when I'm through reading it -- or before even, if you're a fast reader... 'cause I'm a slow reader & you too may pass away before I finish reading 290 pages, eh?).

Mike, you reminded me of a book i read years ago...i found Ralston's book Cheng Hsin: the Principles of Effortless Power, to be interesting and helpful. i think this was his first book, before the one you mention. for me, the writing gets cerebral at times, but he also has some sophisticated ideas; and some down to earth descriptions of "feeling processes"--i.e., judging by feeling, not exterior shape--which i found helpful. best...

Cool Internal Enthusiast...

I now look forward to reading the book all the more. Thanks.

P.S.: I'm not too good with the cerebral stuff, but I'll give it a shot nonetheless.

hi, Mike. as i remember, what i'm referring to as cerebral was ontological/philosophical stuff which Peter Ralston was connecting to the principles. stuff to do with the nature of being, etc. i liked that part, and think he's probably accurate; it's just that it's a bit like talking about zen--i at least did better when i could visualize specific interactions between people. what i found most useful was the descriptions of various kinds of "feeling", e.g., things having to do with plugging into root automatically while stepping, sinking/rising energy internally, etc. and his generally sophisticated (to me anyway) discussion of reaction versus response, and relationship in conflict. if i remember, his
description of a moment of "enlightenment" for himself included a statement something like "there never has been and never will be such a thing as a fight". i think he meant it as a certain "enlightened" description of the complementarity of action/response. while that level of perception and virtuosity is beyond me, except in isolated and "accidental" moments, it's stuck with me as a certain kind of "ideal."
anyway, i think the book i spoke of has been re-issued in a newer edition, and might be available in a good MA bookstore (or even Borders), if you wanted to take a quick look sometime. best...

Internal Enthusiast,

Thanks; I might just do that; but in the meantime I've got my hands full with this one book of his...

The table of contents are double-collumned & still it fills up 4 entire pages! I'm going to be BUSY. Oh, the back of the book states: "It encorporates the ground-breaking ontological explorations which have distinguished the teachings of Peter Ralston..." I don't even know what "ontological" means -- yet.

Well, gotta go for now.

Mike,
I've read them both. Both are good works.

Thanks Tim.

Oh, don't be surprized if I end up asking some questions about the book that I may have, as my reading progresses (as you know, I tend to develop misconceptions when martial things are left to my own interpretation).

P.S.: I was trying to find where you posted your diet (I wanted to re-read it & perhaps ask a question or two about it, but I'm having a difficult time remembering where you posted it... do you recall?).

Mike,
Click on the "Keyword Search" then type in "diet" go to no. 4 and click on the second posted "diet" reference.

Tim,

Thanks... I was wondering how the search thingamajig worked.

Internal Enthusiast,

I'm glad I started reading Peter Ralston's second book first as it's quite cerebral & he states (concerning the fundamentals): "Since I've covered some of these requirements in...'The Principles of Effortless Energy,' I will treat that material more lightly..." More lightly? My head's swimming already (uh, treading water). I don't think I could handle the 'heavy' version (the first book) cold turkey.

Of the parts that I think I understand (so far), it seems as if I'm reading a cross between Tim's instructions & my Tai-Jutsu instructor's teachings (i.e. Tim's instruction not to bring one's knee past one's ankle, my Tai-Jutsu instructor's advice to place weight in the heels of my feet, & Tim's use of imagery in teaching structural/skeletal alignment).

Well, I'm going to go check out Tim's diet now, so take care.

Tim,

You wrote: "I eat vegetables, some fruit, a lot of nuts and meat (red meat, fish , fowl) is the main staple of my diet. I'm one of those who believe protein intake should be high (I try to get between 150 and 200 grams a day), especially if you are active. I eat quite a bit of fat, and the carbs I keep low. I cheat on occasion (on my 'pizza for health' days). I also eat a lot of eggs (just like Rocky). When I'm in a hurry, I will also eat low carb, high protein bars."

Right now grain (primarily rice, corn) & potatoes are a major part of my diet (it's the "filler" part that makes me feel as if I'm getting enough to eat). Protein-rich-foods tend to cost much more than grain foods. I can now ride a bike again (& I got one just before my financial crunch); so I now ride to work (6 mi. ea. way -- on the most difficult setting) & move around quite a bit at work 5 days a week, but I'd be willing to bet that your teaching martial-arts classes all day (6-or-7 days a week) is more strenuous than my daily activities; assuming that such is the case, how little protein do you think I could get by on (if my only other daily physical activity was about an hour's worth of martial-arts practice & exercise at a slow-to-moderate pace)? I need to calculate if I could afford such a diet right now.

I've been living off of approximately 20-to-40 grams of protein a day since the start of summer... & it's a bummer.

Also, do you eat multiple items simultaneously (like meat & vegetables or meat & fruit together), or do you eat only one type of food at any given meal (like meat only at one meal, fruit only at another), or, do you just eat whatever whenever? I ask because I've heard some people discuss not eating some items together (like starches & proteins... not a problem with your low-(almost-no)-grain diet... I write "low" because I heard that there's some grain in pizza dough).

I WROTE THIS HERE BECAUSE I HAD TROUBLE STARTING A NEW TOPIC ("Diet". You just showed me how to search (thanks); now will you please explain how to start a new discussion thread? Thanks.

Mike,
I'd suggest getting three times the protein you say you eat now. I don't follow any kind of food combining.

If you want to start a new thread, click on "Topics" then click on the topic you want to start a thread under, scroll to the bottom of the list of previous threads and click on "Create New Conversation."

Tim,

Thanks for info on both diet & board usage. I CAN afford to drop the grains & go at least 65-70 grams of protein a day, with some days doubled. Hopefully this will help me from feeling so tired after just a little exertion.

If I end up with any more dietary questions, then I'll be sure to post it under a new thread -- thanks again for everything.