Yeah, definitely. Not only did I live there, I came back and studied this stuff. I even took TONS of Chinese medicine and had Qi treatments. On one occasion, a woman waved her hands up and down my body while repeatedly burping! Supposedly she was unblocking my Qi (shrug). And TCM, man, that stuff is laborious. If you've never taken some, I'll give you the run-down. The granules are tiny and they require you to take tons (like 30 tiny pills) multiple times a day; and they never expect it to heal you, its just supposed to support your body while it heals itself. Yeah, TCM is medicine; in that healthy food and moderate exercise is "medicine". When shit really goes down, they reach for "western medicine". As for those Qi demonstrations, I've seen them a million times; the "steel shirt" one is popular and easily debunked. They're all nonsense, trust me on this one.
Pharmaceuticals are the 4th leading cause of death in the US. Western medicine can save you from trauma, but has a pretty poor record in everything else, like chronic pain. In that case, the body has to heal itself -- and western medicine basically offers addictive pain relievers that have horrible side effects while the body heals itself. In that case, qigong and tai chi can relax soft tissues and bring alignment back to the body, which allows blood flow, and helps the body to heal faster. Which one sounds crazier?
Oh I agree you 100%. Like many things, they both have their place. I absolutely believe that qigong and taichi are great for recovery, flexibility, etc. I'm just saying that Qi has nothing to do with it. Those styles are beneficial for very simple and obvious reasons, none of which are magical.
OK insight, I'm bored at work so I've researched the crap out of this to try and contest my own skeptical theories. Based on everything I can find, here's is my revised theory of "Qi" (as it relates to strength):
Basically, people are crazy stronger than we realize. For example, Apes have very similar muscle mass to humans but are much stronger than use because they engage more fibers simultaneously. Humans have evolved to use less in exchange for motor control. Also we have developed small muscle coils that prevent us for overusing our muscles and ultimately hurting ourselves. That said, in difficult situations, human have been known to by-pass these natural defenses and engage more muscle fiber than our frames can handle (usually resulting in injury). It's usually referred to as "Hysterical Strength" (moms lifting cars off babies kinda thing). The recipe is simple, Adrenaline + Glycogen. So lets create a Monks scenario: - Eat a bunch of rice (tons of Glycogen) - Meditate for hours converting much of that Glycogen into Glucose (muscle fuel) but never actually burning it because you're motionless - Suddenly and violently instigate a burst of Adrenaline, by-passing your muscle coils, and engaging a huge range of muscle fibers with a flood of stored Glucose. Bam! You've punched through a wall! (you're hand and elbow is probably shattered but still).
So, for what its worth, I think its hypothetically possible to display super-human strength under a very specific set of circumstances that could apply to the kind of person that would be demonstrating it.
That's all very practical, but this world isn't exactly practical all the time, especially when you get down to the quantum level. Remember what splitting a few atoms can do -- how much energy is in a few hydrogen atoms? How many atoms of hydrogen are in your body? Or that a quantum reality can change under observation, or can exist in two places at the same time?
Aside from that, biomechanical energy is created in the cells. If you have to prove everything scientifically, then that energy is something observable. Why wouldn't it be possible to increase that energy using specific exercises that open the channels and allow that energy to flow, also increasing the amount of energy that can flow through them, similar to the way you can increase muscle mass with weights?
First of all, a single Hydrogen atom contains only a teensy-tiny amount of energy. It would take billions to match the devastating energy of... a match. Nuclear explosions are devastating because they cause a chain reaction, an individual fusion contributes very little; otherwise CERN would have nuked itself a dozen times. As for the quantum level, yes, electrons exist in a probability field; but that hardly equates to "magic is real". That just means matter exists in different states on different levels. Maybe electrons are so small that they fall in and out of boson fields, maybe all electrons are the SAME electron and its existing in a quantum state in all existing matter!? Who knows, it's fun to think about but again, not magic. As for energy, sure, its very common for people to train their bodies to process energy differently. Extreme swimmers that cover large bodies of water train their bodies to rapidly produce glucose; its a crazy thing to see, they get in the water chubby then get out razor thin. They're very efficient at using their bodies energy but there's still a very finite amount that comes from a very specific chemical reaction. Bodies can't just make glucose (energy) out of thin air. It sounds like we just have different ideas about the supernatural. I think everything can be explained, you think some things can't (shrug), it's a normal conflict. I respect your opinion on the matter but I think we're coming at it from different worlds.
Yeah. I took Whu Shu, Gracie Jiujitzu, and am currently on Krav Maga (hence the name). It is definitely my favorite fighting style. I would love to see the devs add in a Krav Maga style. This is a pretty interesting game, and does have some actual moves I’ve practiced.
Hi, alot of work gone into your research. I have been training Cheng Man Ching taiji for over 27 years and teaching it for 20. I teach weapons and the fighting side of the art. If I'm honest I wasn't to sure when started reading your posts, then found myself agreeing with almost every word. I think all martial arts have something to offer as long as they are taught and trained correctly. The teacher and the teachings are important but the student must have the correct heart and soul. I hold back nothing and teach all I have learnt. Applications are taught from the first lesson. So many only teach taiji for "health" this is not taiji. It's like learning football yet never kicking a ball.
Thank you for sharing your insights.
Comments
Based on everything I can find, here's is my revised theory of "Qi" (as it relates to strength):
Basically, people are crazy stronger than we realize. For example, Apes have very similar muscle mass to humans but are much stronger than use because they engage more fibers simultaneously. Humans have evolved to use less in exchange for motor control. Also we have developed small muscle coils that prevent us for overusing our muscles and ultimately hurting ourselves.
That said, in difficult situations, human have been known to by-pass these natural defenses and engage more muscle fiber than our frames can handle (usually resulting in injury). It's usually referred to as "Hysterical Strength" (moms lifting cars off babies kinda thing). The recipe is simple, Adrenaline + Glycogen.
So lets create a Monks scenario:
- Eat a bunch of rice (tons of Glycogen)
- Meditate for hours converting much of that Glycogen into Glucose (muscle fuel) but never actually burning it because you're motionless
- Suddenly and violently instigate a burst of Adrenaline, by-passing your muscle coils, and engaging a huge range of muscle fibers with a flood of stored Glucose.
Bam! You've punched through a wall! (you're hand and elbow is probably shattered but still).
So, for what its worth, I think its hypothetically possible to display super-human strength under a very specific set of circumstances that could apply to the kind of person that would be demonstrating it.
Aside from that, biomechanical energy is created in the cells. If you have to prove everything scientifically, then that energy is something observable. Why wouldn't it be possible to increase that energy using specific exercises that open the channels and allow that energy to flow, also increasing the amount of energy that can flow through them, similar to the way you can increase muscle mass with weights?
As for the quantum level, yes, electrons exist in a probability field; but that hardly equates to "magic is real". That just means matter exists in different states on different levels. Maybe electrons are so small that they fall in and out of boson fields, maybe all electrons are the SAME electron and its existing in a quantum state in all existing matter!? Who knows, it's fun to think about but again, not magic.
As for energy, sure, its very common for people to train their bodies to process energy differently. Extreme swimmers that cover large bodies of water train their bodies to rapidly produce glucose; its a crazy thing to see, they get in the water chubby then get out razor thin. They're very efficient at using their bodies energy but there's still a very finite amount that comes from a very specific chemical reaction. Bodies can't just make glucose (energy) out of thin air.
It sounds like we just have different ideas about the supernatural. I think everything can be explained, you think some things can't (shrug), it's a normal conflict. I respect your opinion on the matter but I think we're coming at it from different worlds.
Thank you for sharing your insights.