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| Qi power? | ||
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A convenient catch-all
Some tai chi people use the
word 'qi' a lot.
It is a catch-all employed to explain pretty much
everything they don't really
understand.
Virtually anything can be attributed to qi.
This makes genuine knowledge,
skill and real
understanding less important to such exponents since qi explains
everything. But does it?
Breath is breath
A lot of people interpret qi to mean 'energy'. Usually in The Tai Chi
Classics it just means breath.
Nothing fancy. Nothing magical.
Invisible forces
Einstein was fascinated by invisible forces: gravity, magnetism,
radio waves, X-Rays, wind etc. They cannot be seen, but the effects are evident and
scientifically
reproducible.
Ethereal?
Is breath an invisible force? The problem with the subject of
qi is that is an awful lot of hokey stuff
out there, and very little science.
Breathing is commonplace, ordinary, normal.
It is the process of taking air into the lungs and exhaling it again. Yes,
you cannot see air, but that doesn't make it magical.
Acupuncture
There is an age-old tradition of acupuncture in China. This involves working
with qi within the body.
Tai chi students often get confused and start applying acupuncture ideas to
their training.
It seldom produces concrete results.
Emotional
energy
In a concert, a church, a group of enthusiasts, a
sporting event or a movie premiere there is often a tangible emotion that can
be felt but not seen.
Similarly, when a place has a bad 'vibe'... what is causing it?
People.
Shen
(spirit)
In the Wu treatise, the tai chi student is
told to focus upon intention and shen, not upon breath.
Shen is about loss of self, ego, self-consciousness,
vanity, pride.
It is not macho, fearful,
angry, frustrated, aggressive
or
competitive.
A student must be at one with the moment/immersed.
Emotional energy is channelled into the
Art and this is part of what we call 'shen'.
Wasting energy
People can feel energised or drained relative to rest,
diet, situation
or activity.
Bad poise/posture putting the body under duress, failure to rest, relax,
stop, time management/commitments,
personal life,
work -
can all make you feel drained.
So can
tension,
stiffness, compressed cavities, closed
joints, collapsed muscles, pushing (physically
& mentally), hands too
close to the body or too far away,
thinking, over-stretching,
exaggeration, over-commitment,
disconnected
movement and exertion.
They are all physically
taxing; wasting energy.
Saving energy
Tai chi addresses energy wastage by advocating rest, relaxation, good
body use.
It is no more magical than switching off
the light to save on your electricity bill.
Confusing qi &
Tao
It is common for tai chi exponents to get confused between qi and
Tao.
In practice, they are totally different concerns. Qi is breath.
Tao refers to the
principles of
nature and how they operate.
Since the Taoist concepts are rooted in the most
distant past with the most
ancient beliefs of the
Chinese, it is difficult for the
Western mind to
understand them. Therefore, before you can investigate the
internal martial arts, you must first
back to the very origins of thought in ancient
China.
(Howard Reid)
Talk is cheap
A lot of tai chi people talk an awful about qi when they could better spend
their efforts researching Taoism, The Tai Chi
Classics, The Art of War and The Book of Five Rings.
Doing some serious, long-term study is much harder than filling in the
blanks with the word "qi".
Tao
Taoism is deeply rooted in
science.
It addresses the natural world, human psychology and the contradictions
evident in human relationships.
Putting the Taoist insights into tangible practice
is hard enough without dreaming about qi power.
Confusing qi &
biomechanics
Often so-called feats of qi
power are purely biomechanical 'tricks'.
Alignment, ergonomics,
balance, positioning,
sensitivity, yielding, whole-body
strength/movement/power...
Not magic, nor qi.
There is no reason to instantly conclude that qi
is responsible.
Martial arts are dangerous
The British Medical Association Guide To Sports Injuries states:
Combat sports such as boxing, judo, karate or kung fu make tough demands on the body; training is intense, and participation requires all-round fitness. Regardless of the fitness of the participants, however, the aggressive blows traded between opponents means that these sports always carry a serious risk of injury.
Worth reading
•
Myths & magic
•
Qi myths
•
The Tao/Dao
Page created
18 April 2006
Last updated
15 March 2018
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