From: ptcaps@tennyson.lbl.gov (Peter Chan)
Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts
Subject: Re: Is chi/ ki real?
Date: 28 Jan 1993 19:31:55 GMT
Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Berkeley CA
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.12.117

In article <YfNMJxX0Bwx28TISh=@transarc.com> Stephen_Y._Chan@transarc.com writes:

>	Well, if we go by the "qi is the animating force of life"
>definition that gets thrown out every now and then, then by
>definition, everyone uses qi. Just like you don't have to believe in
>hemoglobin for your body to use it.
>	In any case, I get the tinglies, hands drifting in invisible
>currents, and other people have (on occasion) told me they can feel my qi
>projection, blah blah blah...
>	But is it real, or virtual? I don't have an answer, but I have
>a different question: Does it really make a difference?
>

What difference does it make? 
That's a good question and it provides a clue as to why some 
people would swear by chi while others would not. Since chi is
kind of connected to breathing, let's take a look at breathing.
I am sure everyone understands the importance of breathing in your
training. It is as important to coordinate your breathing with your
movements in soft styles like Tai Chi as in hard styles like Karate.
With proper breathing control or technique, you can relax better and
strike harder, or take a blow without withstanding much damage.
You can say that you know everything about breathing (since any animal
can breath) and disregard it as trivial, or you can use it to improve
your skill. 

The same can be said of chi. The tingling feeling and hands drifting are
only one form of chi manifestation amongst many. It can help you to know that 
it is there. If you cannot apply it in your training, it becomes irrelevant.
But, what you would apply is not the tingling feeling, etc. 
What you would apply is the principle behind chi e.g.:-
 Move chi around your body (I am not talking about doing so in meditative chi
 kung, but in real martial arts like Hung Gar or Tai Chi), 
 To generate more power with abundance of chi,
 To integrate chi with 'sheng' and 'yi' (remember in chi kung, chi and the mind
 are always connected, whether it is visualization or being in a state of 
 no-mindedness).
 .... (maybe someone can help to add to the list)

All I what to say is that one needs to integrate chi with one's training.
If you isolate chi and study it by itself, it loses all its significance.
There is a very popular chi kung practised in China in the recent year,
call the 'aromatic kung' (Don't ask me why it is called that!). The literature
says it is enough to practise it for 15 minutes a day (a surprisely short
period when compared to the time it takes in other chi kung practice). The 
rationale being that the principle behind the chi kung should be integrated with
and practised in your daily life and everyday activities. If you can
do that, you will be practising hours a day, not only the 15 minutes that you
are doing the movements. (An interesting counter-example is when someone who claims
to be practising a soft style that stresses yielding and deflecting in the
fighting application came out blunt and rude in their attacks during a
flame war :) )

Peter Chan 

Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts