From: landman@hal.COM (Howard Landman)
Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts
Subject: Re: qi - any simple exercises?
Date: 22 Dec 92 21:18:08 GMT
Organization: HaL Computer Systems, Inc.
NNTP-Posting-Host: bang.hal.com

In article <mcdevitt.724674635@taupe> mcdevitt@rtsg.mot.com (Aidan McDevitt) writes:
>I was wondering if there are any simple exercises by which one
>could build up qi in the body to the point of being able to feel it.

Although I'm primarily an Aikidoist, I think the best exercises for pure Ki
(Chi) development I've learned are from Ch'en-style Tai Chi.  Particularly
a set called the 10 Lines or Tan Tue (sp?).  They have a lot of full-twist
action (upper body relative to hips) and will build up the center of your
body quite nicely.  Since ki flows from the center, your center development
has a large effect on your ki flow.

To give you an example, the 1st line goes something like:

START
	Feet together
	Head facing left
	Right arm straight out to right with fist
	Left hand in front of right shoulder, fingers up, palm right
	Need room to move to your left

PUNCH LEFT
	Step out with left foot
	Punch with left hand, thumb up (no wrist turn as in karate)
		(foot should land simultaneous with punch)

NEXT
	Bring left fist back against chest (arm folds at elbow, but arm
		from elbow to shoulder doesn't move much)
	Right arm drops slightly
	Overall, weight comes back a little

STRIKE RIGHT
	From the hips, swing your right fist around and somewhat up for
	a temple strike.
	The feet do not move (left foot still forward)
	Left arm extends during swing, ends up behind you (still with fist)

BLOCK
	The right arm drops in front of you, hand to about crotch level.

KICK RIGHT
	Straight kick with right foot.  Foot stays extended (fun if
		you are doing this slow)

PUNCH RIGHT
	Same as the PUNCH LEFT above, but on the other side, and obviously
	your right foot starts in the air instead of on the ground.  Punch
	and foot landing should still be simultaneous.  Right (blocking)
	hand pulls in to waist just before the punch.

Continue by doing the remaining steps above, on the opposite side.  Eventually
(after KICK LEFT) you will be ready to go back to PUNCH LEFT.  This can cycle
indefinitely as long as you have room.  End by closing into the START position.

The key move for Chi development in this line, I think, is the STRIKE.  Similar
moves in other lines are also beneficial.  These develop real hip power and
rotation in a way that many Aikido techniques don't.  Partly, this is because
Aikido tends to do "left-hand left-foot" and "right-hand right-foot" stances
and motions.  Ch'en Tai Chi is just the opposite; almost everything is twisted
by default.  Reverse punches are the norm.  This felt a little awkward at first
but now I think I see the wisdom in it.

I'm not just hallucinating this, either.  Other Aikidoists who have known me
for years commented on the change when I restarted Aikido after a few months
of Tai Chi.  I still do some of the 10 Lines several times a week, so I don't
completely lose it.

I didn't get as much of this out of (Lee's modified) Yang-style Tai Chi,
although I liked its long form better.  But that could have been a function
of the teachers, or of my state of training at the time.

An Aikido story:
O'Sensei visited Hawaii, and of course they threw a huge luau in his honor.
At the luau, the had various demonstrations of traditional Hawaiian arts,
including hula dancing.  As O'Sensei (who had taught women's dancing for a
time in Japan) watched the hula dancers, he seemed to grow very heavy in spirit.
"Sensei, what's wrong?" asked those near him.  O'Sensei shook his head sadly
and said, "If I could only move my hips like that, you should SEE the Aikido
I could do!"

	Howard