Born in the US to immigrant parents, Sifu Mark Cheng spent the first 17 years of his life in Delaware, a small state on the east coast. He began his informal study of martial arts with his father, Cheng Yu-Nien, around the age of four. The course of instruction would change to Tai-Chi six years later. From an early age, the young Cheng had a fascination with martial art training that would only grow stronger through the years.

At the age of 18, Mark Cheng left his home state to attend university at the prestigious California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California, where he initially pursued a degree in chemical engineering. It was there that he met his first southern fist master, Hong Li-Rong, who would teach him parts of the Shaolin Zhiranmen (Natural style) and Fukienese Ngor Chor Five Ancestors Fist. Through a classmate in Master Hong's class, he also got an introduction to Professor Daniel K. Lee, a well-known student of the late Bruce Lee and one of the true pioneers of Tai-Chi in the US. Cheng also took advantage of the opportunity to train directly with Shotokan Karate legend Tsutomu Ohshima at Caltech Dojo, the only place where he taught white-belt students.

Sifu Mark Cheng & Shihan Tsutomu Ohshima at his Caltech Karate retirement celebration

With his previous martial arts training from his father, Mark Cheng quickly learned the Yang style Tai-Chi long form in Professor Lee's class, much to the amazement of his peers and seniors. He also gained favor with Master Hong, often sent outside the regular training room and taught away from the eyes of his classmates, which would eventually cause problems with jealousy. By the end of a year, Master Hong gave his permission for Cheng to wear a black belt to competition, and Cheng returned with trophies in sparring and forms from the AAU Kung-Fu's Los Angeles practice tournament in the summer of 1991.

By the fall of 1991, Cheng had managed to not only learn the Yang style long form, but also set up the first accredited Tai-Chi class with the Physical Education Department at Caltech. An astonished Professor Lee commented that he'd been trying for over 15 years to get a Tai-Chi class at Caltech, and suddenly a total newcomer succeeds within a month of effort. Before leaving Pasadena that winter to pursue a different course of study at UCLA, Cheng served as the assistant instructor to Professor Lee's Caltech Tai-Chi class. Realizing that his heart and mind were better suited to a completely different field, Mark Cheng packed his bags, and gained admission to UCLA and pursued his undergraduate degree in East Asian Studies.

Sifu Mark Cheng, Prof. Daniel K. Lee, and his stepson Marty