342. Dr. Mark Cheng on Chinese medicine and training past your comfort zone

Dr. Mark Cheng is a Chinese medicine practitioner, a lifelong martial artist, and an expert in strength and conditioning. What is guasha? Cupping? How are they beneficial for us and are these methods of medicine safe? Love talking to Dr. Mark Cheng about traditional Chinese medicine and the importance of context in a lot of these theories that I grew up hearing about but didn’t understand. We also talk about running barefoot, the benefits of backbends (bridging), and eustress. What is eustress? Glad you asked because I had to learn about it in this episode too. Eustress is the positive cognitive response to stress that is healthy or gives one a feeling of fulfillment or other positive feelings. Listen on to hear me speak with my very good friend Dr. Mark Cheng about Chinese medicine, training past your limitations, eustress, and martial arts. I’m loving these conversations and hope you are too. If you are, please rate my podcast on your platform of choice and share it with others! If you would like to support with a donation to help keep this podcast going and support the work I do, you can become a patron of the show by visiting my website or http://Patreon.com/sifumimichan For comments or suggestions reach out on social media @sifumimichan Discussed in this episode: Michael Phelps Cupping Guasha Rock Tape [embedyt]https://youtu.be/a0v6YxRl_HU[/embedyt] THE SIFU MIMI CHAN SHOW CREDITS Host: Mimi Chan Intro Music: Mike Relm Dr. Mark Cheng had the unusual privilege of training directly with StrongFirst founder & chairman, Pavel Tsatsouline, for a number of years starting in 2004. Along with legendary Bruce Lee disciple and martial arts luminary Dan Inosanto, Cheng was part of the semi-private group that Pavel taught either at the Inosanto Academy or at the old Muscle Beach quad in Santa Monica. Through an introduction from Tsatsouline, Cheng would go on to study extensively with Functional Movement Screen (FMS) founder Gray Cook. Eventually, Cheng would travel abroad to China & Korea to teach the FMS level 1 & 2 courses along with the RKC and later the SFG courses upon the establishment of the StrongFirst organization. As a medical professional with a doctorate in Chinese medicine and post-degree training almost exclusively with Western sports medical physicians and therapists, Dr.