It's not surprising that those of us who are interested in defensive firearms might be interested in other aspects of personal defense such as martial arts. And if you think there is a lot of misinformation regarding firearms on the internet, just start reading martial arts forums. There is a reason it has been largely reduced to motivational day care for children.
So this topic is what I hope will be the first of a series to provide more credible information and more importantly help others discern signal from noise as they explore the idea of martial arts instruction.
And nowhere is there more noise then when it comes to ideas of "chi" (Chinese) or "ki" (Japanese).
The character is made from the radical meaning "breath, air" combined with the character "kome" which means "rice." The combination of the ideas of "air to breath" and "food to eat" expresses the idea of a "life force" or "essence of life."
There is also another character pronounce "ki" that looks somewhat similar and many westerners assume this is the correct meaning of the word and that character translates as "spirit, soul, etc."
So we have a word for life giving "force" that is often confused with a character for "spirit or soul" and you now have everything you need for any marginally informed westerner to complete misunderstand and abuse the idea in ways never intended. That it is often translated as "internal energy" or "internal strength" only makes it worse.
The use of the radical for "breathing" is significant because ki is controlled and regulated by special breathing exercises. It is a "life force" but so is blood circulation and we really shouldn't imply any more importance to one than the other.
Problem is when you raise the subject of ki you might as well start talking religion. On one end of the camp are people who think it is a "force" that gives them magical and mystical superhuman powers and on the other end of the camp are people at Bullshido who seem convinced that acupuncture is nonsense and only works due to a placebo effect. As with most things the answer exists between the two opinions.
So first off it exists. Everyone has it and anyone can learn to use it. Everyone also breathes and has blood circulating. So what can you do with it and why learn about it?
Well there are certain martial applications. You can use it to protect parts of the body, you can use it to make parts of the body a more effective weapon. You can also promote better health. All within reason.
You cannot learn to levitate, read minds, cure cancer, make yourself bulletproof or any of the other absurd claims master of chi / ki often suggest. It is NOT the Force from Star Wars. If you meet anyone making such claims to correct protocol is to immediately punch them in the face as hard as possible. This is how you recognize a TRUE master of ki because you know he cannot possibly be harmed.
That sad reality is probably 95% of the demonstrations of "chi / ki" that I've seen are fraudulent. The people have either fooled themselves into believing they posses something mystical, have mistaken an unrelated skill or ability for "chi" or in most cases are perpetrating a deliberate scam designed to fool people like a magician. There is almost a complete art devoted to faking demonstrations of "internal power" and I have seen many masters.
The supreme irony of all of this is that this "secret skill" possessed by only a "learned few" is nothing of the sort. Before you dedicate 12 years of your life to training with the guy from the local Chinese restaurant who is a master of Chi Gung and Tai Chi you might want to try here first.
The Secret of Youth: Da Mo's Muscle/Tendon Changing and Marrow/Brain Washing Classics by Jwing-Ming Yang
Dr. Yang Jwing Ming probably knows more about this subject than any other individual in North America.
For centuries this was the secret hidden manual jealously guarded by Taoist masters that men literally lived and died for. There was a time in history when the people who knew the entire contents of the book were perhaps no more than a dozen men.
It can now be had on Amazon for $18.95 with free shipping. You don't even have to shave your head or pledge your life to a monastery.
I'm not going to attempt to teach anyone chi cultivation on the internet, if you are interested pick up the book. Basically it amounts to seated breathing exercises called the Lohan forms which are designed to cultivate and circulate chi throughout the body in more efficient ways. And before that starts sounding like magic it's a lot more like concentrated will power than casting spells to make your arm hard enough to withstand lead pipe blows.
No matter how efficient a person may be at the various internal arts, the body has limits and breaking points. If anyone ever suggests otherwise immediately punch them in the face to recognize a true master.
If any of this sounds interesting you may want to explore the following styles.
Tai Chi (aka Taiji) - Generally comes in two flavors, Yang and Chen style. Yang is the style you see old people do in the park for improved health, Chen is the original that is almost never seen that can be used to win fights.
Chi Gung - Somewhat related to Tai Chi and often viewed as a pre requisite to studying Tai Chi. Once it was simply a subset of Tai Chi now it has become it's own practice. Be wary as there are far more instructors who don't understand the first thing about genuine Chi Gung than there are those who do.
There are probably dozens of other Chinese boxing styles which include Pa Kua (Bagwa), Hsing I (Xingyi) and several Wudan based systems.
On the Japanese spectrum Aikido is the most commonly encountered internal system. It comes in several schools which have dramatically different emphasis. For example Tomiki style is sport oriented, the Aikido taught by Yoshimitsu Yamada is meant for conflict. Yoshinkan style is also a combative method.
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Originally Posted by theblackknight
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