Have you practiced qi as a part of your training yet?
This is a short essay on a topic that deserves a few volumes of books, which would cover medicine, ecology, diet, exercise, social studies, and meditation, among many other subjects. I have oversimplified and skipped many elements to help people look at qi from a different perspective. My goal here is to change the discussion from using qi in fantastical ways (no-touch knockouts and throwing qi balls) to using it practically in daily training, in ways that are of real use. Fake masters need to be exposed because they are not helping to further the real practical understanding of qi.
Understanding Qi
Qi (chi) in Chinese—also called ki in Korean and Japanese and prana in many other cultures—is a controversial topic, especially in martial arts. Qi is not clearly understood, even by people who claim to be qi masters of some sort or another. I have practiced qi gong for most of my life, and I am still practicing every day because I understand very little. (The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.)
Qi gong practitioners rely on subjective feeling for proof rather than objective, testable proof by machines. There are many ways to view it and many ways to “use” it. Paradoxically, qi is so elusive, it is everywhere; we use it all the time, yet we can’t scientifically prove it. Qi would make sense if you were to open the definition rather than use a narrow definition.
There are hundreds of ways to describe qi. “Life force” is probably the best philosophic understanding. The problem with this explanation is that it is very vague. It isn’t clearly explained. In order to prove qi, “masters” do amazing things with qi to show off their power. Much of it is faked, and most of it doesn’t actually prove anything, except that people are easily fooled.
Qi isn’t a subtle energy; it is the movement of life. Everything is made of qi like everything is made of atoms. Energy is exchanged between atoms. This is qi on the quantum level. You take in qi when you eat (nutrient movement); it moves as you exercise (blood flow) and when you think (neuro-pathways). It is possible to do crazy feats by training your qi, but most of what you see can be explained in different terms, like the explanations in the parentheses in the previous sentence. Yet qi is much more. Though it’s a generic term for many things, after practicing with it, it can be pretty specific in feeling.
I’d like to bypass the philosophy and terminology debate to explain how the practice of “qi flow” is important to your training. You don’t have to change anything in your training, but you will change your ways after you are aware of these basic everyday things. Are you aware of your breath? Are you aware of your own awareness? And are you using your structure to its fullest potential? If you said no, incorporating qi will improve your training ways, because you are not currently using the fullest extent of your mind, body, and breath.
How can I use qi in training?
Breath
Since qi is often translated as “breath,” “breathing exercises” is a common translation for qi gong. It is important to coordinate your breath with your body movement; otherwise, your movement will be weaker. You will give yourself a hernia if you hold your breath while doing push-ups. Are you standing up or are you purposefully exercising your legs? This slight distinction will change your breathing patterns. Or a punch thrown while inhaling will not be as strong as a punch on an exhale. These are fundamental aspects of learning how to use qi.
Are you using qi or are you using body mechanics properly? That is up for debate, but my 30 years of training says it is qi training.
Mindfulness
We have a saying: “Where the mind goes, the qi follows.” Your power and ability (to do almost anything) are greatly diminished when your mind is elsewhere. Pay attention to what you are doing! Otherwise, you’ll get punched in the face too easily in a fight. Being present in what you are doing is one of the most important parts of training. Sure, you can listen to music while exercising, but you won’t learn to feel your entire body. Knowing your body inside and out is useful because it allows more mastery over your physical self. Are you fast enough or too tense, balanced right for the proper punch or kick? Are you heavy footed on the balanced foot for a powerful punch or kick or light-footed to not be caught flat-footed? You will know much more quickly if your body has something wrong (minor injury or health issue) than if you are not mindful.
Structure
Structure allows the body to be used to its fullest potential without force or brute strength. All martial arts understand the importance of structure. But many don’t emphasize it as much as they should. Learning structure takes years and is technically boring until you discover its importance. You learn to have excellent structure by training your “qi” in any stance for long periods of time. For example, your horse stance isn’t to strengthen your legs per se; it’s to discover relaxation in uncomfortable positions to improve structure. Can you relax in a horse stance and let the structure hold you up? Naturally, your hamstrings and quads are used, but you’ll burn out if they are overused. You must relax them and the other big muscles and use the muscles that feel closer to the bones, tendons, and ligaments. Again, this is basic qi training.
You don’t have to believe in qi. However, denying it and refusing to practice with qi makes you miss out on a lot of very good training. Much of the training in qi gong and tai chi isn’t supposed to be stylistic or always done slowly; they are principles of body mechanics, breathwork, and control over your emotions and mind.
As always, keep training.
Do you incorporate qi into your martial arts practice? How so, and what effect has it had on your training? Tell us in the comments below.
I recently finished writing my book on virtue. Please go to my Facebook page of Virtues Path and follow for more essays on virtue. Also, please visit my website thevirtuespath.wordpress.com
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