About R.W. Smith
Mr. R. W. Smith was one of the pioneers of the practice and scholarship of Asian fighting arts in the West. Corcoran and Farkas, in their encyclopedic Martial Arts: Traditions, History, People referred to him as, "the dean of martial arts scholars." Mr. Smith co-authored the seminal text, Asian Fighting Arts with his friend and fellow Marine, Donn Draeger.. He also co-authored the first thorough book on t'ai chi ch'uan with Cheng Man-ch'ing. His works on various facets of Chinese boxing were among the first in the West.
Already highly proficient in judo and experienced in Western boxing, he studied and practiced White Crane, Monkey boxing, hsing-i ch'uan, pa kua chang, and t'ai chi ch'uan while stationed in Taiwan. Upon his return to the U.S., he taught the three internal arts in Bethesda, MD until his retirement, when he moved to Flat Rock, N.C. In his retirement, he wrote many articles for the Journal of Asian Martial Arts.
For a more detailed biography see Warren Conner's tribute here: https://taichicenter.com/taichicenter-lineage/r-w-smith/
For a bibliography of his writings, see: https://ejmas.com/jcs/jcssmith_bibliog.htm
As noted on the above site, Mr. Smith was interviewed for the Tenth Anniversary edition of the Journal of Asian Martial Arts by Russ Mason: "Fifty Years in the Fighting Arts: An Interview with Robert W. Smith," Journal of Asian Martial Arts, 10:1 (2001), 36-73. As the Journal is out of print, you can now find that interview in a compilation from the publisher here: https://www.viamediapublishing.com/product-page/some-western-pioneers-in-asian-martial-arts.
Mr. Smith was also interviewed along with his friend, Dutch judo and karate great Jon Bluming, for a TV show, Martial Arts: The Real Story, on The Learning Channel on July 7, 2000. Here is a brief excerpt from that show where he is talking about Professor Cheng: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6e01Gb-2h4.
Mr. Smith passed away in 2011. His obituary is here:
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/citizen-times/name/robert-smith-obituary?id=11457416
Sadly, his wife Mrs. Alice Smith passed away in 2022:
https://www.citizen-times.com/obituaries/act102280
Mrs. Smith taught beginners taiji and as a Master Gardener was in charge of students' duties in her azalea and flower gardens. She loved dancing, her Aussie terriers, and had a quick wit, practicality, and insight to match Mr. Smith's. She had a tremendous sense of social justice. She was a beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.
After Mr. Smith's passing, his daughter Anne and his longtime student Russ Mason arranged for his library, papers, notes, and other materials to be donated as a special collection to the Cushing Library at Texas A&M University, where they are curated and preserved, with controlled access for serious scholars. https://archon.library.tamu.edu/?p=collections/findingaid&id=1137
Mr. Smith never had a commercial school. He eschewed commercialism in the fighting arts and did not suffer students to call him "master" or "sifu." Instead, he gave instruction generously, often free; knowing that the real price to be paid was in the drudgery of each student's private practice!
Mr. Smith memorial plaques at fleming park, bethesda, Md, 2013.
Mr. Smith's neijia boxing curriculum
A distillation
Mr. Smith studied with multiple teachers in Taiwan from 1959 into the early 1960s, all while he was also preparing for his 3rd dan exam at the judo kodokan. He started with external Shaolin styles and moved quickly to the internal. In Professor Cheng's unparalleled skill, he soon learned that taiji was the queen of the three internal arts.
Mr. Smith's curriculum is an amalgam and forging of the disparate arts and teachers from whom he learned. In that they all share the same principles, he found no inconsistency in taking the best from each art as he viewed it, through the lens of his judo and boxing experience. He tested the teachers and their students to find those whose technique was sure and functional.
Below is the curriculum as I understand it. Other students may have additional forms or practices.
(Adjacent photo courtesy of Dr. Paul Cote)
Tai chi chuan
Professor Cheng Man Ching's 37 posture form, with tui-shou and ta-lu.
Pa kua chang
Circle changes from Paul Kuo
64 linear forms and 24 ancillary exercises from Hung I Hsiang
Circle changes from Wang Shu Chin
Hsing i chuan
Five fists from Yuan Tao, Paul Kuo, Hung I Hsiang, and Chen Pan Ling
Twelve animals from Chen Pan Ling
Yuan Tao's five fist linking form and two-man set
other ancillary forms
Chin na
Various chin-na, but especially from Han Ching Tan
Miscellaneous self-defence
Mr. Smith would recommend and teach some basic judo in occasional self-defence classes, and he especially liked Kawaishi's old book, My Method of Self Defense as a resource with effective techniques for novices. Before Brazilian jiujitsu took over the newaza world, several of Mr. Smith's students attended instruction with his friend, the old Irish wrestler, boxer, and strongman Tim Geoghegan, and learned various locks and holds they termed, "Combative Wrestling."
A note about T'ai chi ch'uan
My elder boxing brother Gerald Moose recently quoted Prof. Cheng: “The best way to extend your chi is with a smile.” We agreed this should be the "Sixth Principle" of taiji, following Mr. Lo's five principles. I once told Mr. Smith that I thought, "If you're not smiling, it ain't taiji." We had a chuckle and he agreed -- somewhat: you can't gloss over the "eating bitter" part. In the end, though, a smile should be the natural result of the relaxation, wellness, and joy we feel and obtain in our practice.
Seeing all the charlatans and mountebanks peddling poor-form inapplicable taiji, I also bemoaned to him that those of us who endeavored to practice the principles studiously and who hoped to someday recover the functional component of taiji, should perhaps distance ourselves from current "TIE CHEE" culture, and go back to Yang Lu-chan's original name for his combative form, mian chuan (cotton fist). On this he sadly disagreed, saying it was too late. That's ok though: the extant books we have by Professors Cheng and Qu and others of their generation document and remind us of the combative possibilities of the art.
Photo Gallery
From L to R: Harry Johnston, Kent Smith, Paul Summey, Mr. Smith, Paul Cote. Breakfast after Saturday morning taiji.
Bart Ingram, Mr. Smith, Paul Cote
Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Ms. Tana Farnsworth, Mr. Lo, unknown, Gerald Moose. Photo outside Prof. Cheng Man Ching's son Patrick's restaurant.
Mr. Smith and Mr Chen Yun Ching (son of Chen Pan Ling)
Mr. Smith with Shorin-ryu karateka: (L to R) Jerry Taylor, Doug Perry, Bill Hayes, and Kevin Roberts.
Aaron Thompson & Mr. Smith