Mark Cheng
Since his youth, Dr. Mark Cheng developed quite a fascination with traditional martial arts. As a child, he began his foray into Chinese martial arts by learning the rudiments of self-defense and Tai-Chi with his father. The artistry, athleticism, character building, cultural pride and self-confidence aspects he saw portrayed in East Asian cinema won him over. Dr. Cheng sought the top instructors in many different disciplines to study with and learn from.
During his undergraduate career, spanning from the California Institute of Technology to the University of California at Los Angeles (where he graduated with his baccalaureate in East Asian Studies), Dr. Cheng was exposed to a wide variety of martial arts styles and systems from around the world. As he researched more deeply into the Chinese martial arts, he noticed that all of the most respected masters were also well versed in Chinese traumatological medicine (“Dit Da”, sometimes referred to as “Chinese osteopathy”) at a minimum while some even became practicing licensed acupuncturists and herbalists. In dealing with the various injuries, including muscle strains, sprains, fractures and joint injuries, these skilled masters demonstrated the healing potential of their different acupuncture, herbal, and Tui-Na manual treatment abilities on Dr. Cheng and many others.
The treatments and their immediate benefits left such a profound impression on Dr. Cheng that he went on to earn his Masters and Doctorate (Ph.D.) degrees in Chinese medicine and acupuncture, as well as his California State acupuncture license (L.Ac.), allowing him to practice professionally. He also taught Tui-Na (Chinese manual therapeutics) for two of the strongest Chinese medicine colleges in the Los Angeles area.
Not content to rest on the strength of his coursework, Dr. Cheng also made regular efforts to study with the top Chinese-style manual therapists, Western physical therapists and strength training experts to gain a wider understanding of the human body and the safest, most efficient ways of helping it perform at a higher level with less pain and dysfunction.
Today, Dr. Cheng owns a successful private practice in Santa Monica, California, gives speaking engagements, workshops and seminars internationally, and is constantly working on producing better instructional resources for improving athletic performance in elite athletes and more pain-free movement and strength for everybody.