liokault I dont think I said at any point that you can substitute Chi for hard work and training. I make it very clear to people that come to train with me that Tai Chi is hard work and constant practise. I also think that maybe you are not training with the right people. I did karate for more years than most and it took me a good few years to get my head round Tai Chi. There are many people out there who give it a bad name but there are also alot of bloody good teachers. Maybe you just have not yet met one. I dont mean that in a rude sense but I have been lucky enough to meet a teacher who can practise what he preaches.
Eh? When doing Nei Kung we are not trying to move Chi around our bodies, if we were it would be called Chi Kung, which has already been taken. Nei Gung strengthens the muscles, joints and internal organs, helps your body to withstand shock (such as a heavy blow) and teaches your body to be co-ordinated. Going through hundreds of repetitions you are programming your muscle memory to move in this way, so that your body moves in one cohesive unit – makes it a very powerful tool and very efficient. At no point are you concentrating on the placement on chi. I don’t quite agree on your scientific standpoint either. Outside of the realms of the intellectual is the spiritual – the supernatural. So Chi is some sort of supernatural energy to you? Most who talk down Chi aren’t the ones arguing that it doesn’t fit into scientific method, we are arguing the very opposite. Chi is a completely natural phenomenon, or so we believe. It is others who are trying to talk up the properties of Chi as some sort of mythical energy, as you seem to be doing yourself. The intellectually trapped scientists have been doing great so far in “seeing beyond the intellect”. Afterall, they saw beyond the Earth being flat, saw beyond thunder and lightning as the anger of the gods, even saw beyond the magic of gravity to see it as a force caused by our Planet spinning and revolving around a Sun. Forgive me if I place my ‘faith’ in science. Intellect is mankinds greatest tool, and has allowed us to survive ice ages and a host of other things. Lets not through it out of the window. I would be interested in a more detailed explanation of how the intellect is a circle.
Actually the difference between Nei Gong and Chi Gong is such. Chi Gong mainly focuses on movements along the macrocosmic meridians, normally working one specific meridian at a time. Nei Gong focuses more on microcosmic meridians and associated vessels, and works several aspect simultaneously, for example one exercise I do works all these at the same time: breath, posture, governing and conception channels, tendon lengthening, leg strength, rooting and whole body coordination, intention. I don’t mean it works these because your standing in posture, when I say this I mean you work these with your Yi/Chi. The exercise that work only on the muscles, joints and sinew are normally classed in to Ding Gong and Don Gong. I don’t really know what experience you have, what you study and where it has come form. But in the stuff that I was taught there is no room for thought during practice. When you first start off, the intellect (Taoist acronym – mind monkey) runs all over the place, but with practice this is tamed and only used when needed, and during Nei Gong sets, it only decreases effectiveness and interferes. What is outside the realms of the intellectual is not something that can be put in to words. The reason for this is that language is based in the intellect, so you can call it this, that, and the other, but it is a waste of time. During the Nei Gong that I practice, the intellect/mind monkey has to be shut off. When the “mind monkey” no longer interferes perception is pure and deep, things that are to subtle for the intellect can be perceived. These things though cannot be perceived by someone who is always thinking, and most humans are always thinking. Science and language are both based in the intellect, therefore they will not be able to perceive that which is beyond the intellect. If you are an IMA student and you practice what you should, one day you will come to notice to distinct modes of consciousness. In Taoist terms these are the primordial and the temporal. The “temporal” is our consciousness superimposing duality on to reality, thus form/phenomena is produced without end, it is the intellect, the senses, the ego, the temporal, the discriminatory. Phenomena does not arise on its own, it arises from other phenomena in an endless cycle. The creative potential of existence. The primordial is pure consciousness, all encompassing, the receptive. Most people don’t consciously know about this state, because they only know how to use discriminatory superimposition, which is the intellect. If one can stop the discrimination between forms/phenomena, one will bring on the “void” (Wu Ji), pure consciousness, formless. In this state one may perceive things as they really are, without differentiation. Now unless a scientist was aware of this, and it is doubtful that he/she would be without proper IMA experience, then all the work that they carry out will be done from one side of consciousness, i.e. the temporal. You cannot see the whole picture by looking at one half of it. This is not easy to understand and would require a whole book to fully explain, and perhaps several reads to understand. I will try and summaries the main points here, if you wish to read a book on the subject let me know and I will recommend one. Can you think of anything that is not related to anything else? The answer is no. Why? Because there is no independent origination. In other words anything that you can think of is always connected to something else. So from this we can gather that phenomena gives rise to phenomena without end. This is one of the cycles that is part of our intellect. Within this cycle “change” is endemic. Another cycle is to do with differentiation. Because of the lack of independent origination, our differentiation of things is limited by two factors. There can be no absolute truth not absolute falsity. Why? Because in order to understand any concept, we have to know its opposite. To know what is hot, we must know what is cold, to know what is soft we must know what is hard, etc. Why’s there no absolute? Because in order to know one extreme we must know its opposite, but if one extreme is absolute, then we would not know its opposite because it would not exist. However we clearly know both opposites. Let me give you an example. If I gave you a statement like “everything is real”. This statement automatically nullifies itself because if everything is real, then nothing is false. If nothing is false, our intellect would have no concept of “false”. If our intellect has no concept of “false”, then we have no concept of “real”, hence the statement I made makes little sense. This factor of our intellect makes things a bit bizarre, as it makes everything neither completely real, nor absolutely false. One aspect of reality is that it is always there, it does not change it just is. If it was not there it would not be reality. So, reality unlike phenomena is always present. Phenomena on the other hand is always changing. So can something that always changes be part of something that never changes? The answer is no, hence phenomena is not reality. This would imply that phenomena is not real, but non-reality is non existent, and phenomena can be experienced hence it is not false. Now we have a broader concept of phenomena, it is not real, yet it is not false. It is like a dream. A dream is real and not real, because it is not the same as that when we are awake which is real, and yet it is something that we can experience, which is not false. If you understand the concepts that I told you here, you will see why the intellect is not capable of perceiving anything to its full extent, not even mentioning things like existence, reality, life and death. In other words the intellect is severely constrained by certain principles, that cannot be escaped in the intellect. These principles are circular in structure, which leads one to traverse in circles. In order to truly understand one must first understand how the intellect works, part of the explanation I told you above, the other parts need certain experiences to understand. Once one has a grasp of the working of the intellect and can stop the intellect at will, then one can start to perceive reality. Until this time, one is going around in circles. The Tao The Ching says: Our knowledge is ignorance, yet ignorance is not knowledge. If you want to know the relevance of all this to IMA, do let me know.
There is a difference between the creative intellect that sees beyond the accepted view of the world and one that refuses to accept anything that cannot be proved 'scientifically'. The Chinese have been practicing acupuncture for centuries, and western science is only now able to measure the subtle electrical resistivity along the acupuncture meridians. Was acupuncture rubbish before western science 'proved' it could work? We must trust in our intellectual and non rational senses to get a more complete picture of the world. At my school, the first aim of practicing is to quieten the surface mind and get deeper into a more tranquil state, where both logical 'straight line' thinking and emotional reliance disappear. NB I wrote this before reading the above post, which knocks my poor explanation into a cocked hat! Respect!!
I have to disagree with you. I am getting fantastic results with the method I have been taught, so I will stick to that. Define “The Intellect”, as I can’t understand the context to which you are applying it. How can you have no room for thought, are you not mindfull on your form during practise? I certainly am, I think about what I am doing, what I want to achieve and what may improve it. I think on my form when doing form. Sorry but that reads as hocus pocus ****e. Seems convenient that it cannot be described in words, because words is an aspect of “The Intellect”. Even in meditation you are using your thoughts, be it the white light or breathing in the good and exhaling the bad. Sorry, but I have to put that down as the biggest load of pish I have ever read, I also find it amusing that you start off saying that it cannot be put into words, yet at the end you are recommending me good books on the subject? I take back the above, that is the biggest load of pish I have ever read! Not even mentioning reality you say? I count five times you mentioned reality in your second last paragraph. I don’t think you even know what you are on about. Seems like you half understood, if even that, something you have read, and have subscribed to it fully. Context helps us understand things, to know one helps us understand the other. You talk about hot and cold and soft and hard, then try to prove your point by talking about what’s real and what isn’t. Do you have problems describing in coherent terms? Guess my lack of experience is to blame… What an honour! I have came across the first man to understand the workings of the human mind!! Give me a break dude… I think you should take special note of the second part of that. “The more I know, the more I realise what I don’t know”. If you truly have delved into the workings of the mind and intellect, you should have come to realise that we know **** all about it, although you seem to believe that you have it all sussed.
I'll have to take your word for it on that then, (tho I was sure that was the name...) ho hum I apologise, of course Nevertheless, before you describe people who practice neigung and/or qigong as "killing Tai Chi" can I suggest you do some reading up on the classics of tai Chi? If you do you will find all the sort of stuff that is being discussed here validated by the historical founders of the art. As for mysticism, I favour a straight on headbutt in a fight, but I've also had some pretty spooky experiences around Taiji as well. Just because you do not understand this aspect yourself does not make it wrong. I do 'hands-on' partner practice with my art and also practice qi development and healing techniques as well. The two are supportive, not mutually exclusive. Having to choose is dualism or extremism - neither is helpful to true Taiji practice imo Open your mind and do a bit more research - then live and let live! :Angel:
No one is refusing to believe anything that cannot be explained by science!! Of course acupuncture wasn't rubbish, it worked after all. What we do know that it isn't clearing blockages of qi, but stimulating the central nervous system. No one is taking it away from them all those thousands of years ago who developed it, it was an amazing feat to do; we now understand it though. What science hasn’t proven yet we are just having a guess at. We maybe correct in some of them, maybe close and perhaps we are way off, we are still having a guess though. Science is about what, why and how. We are where we are at today because of it, and I thank these inquisitive souls who ask why.
Er, perceiving "things as they really are" does sound a teeny, tiny bit like a claim regarding absolute truth to me. Hmm, when did we move from "True" and "False" being the polar opposites, to "real" being the opposite of "false"? How about we rewrite your statement to be:"everything is real" implies "nothing is not real". Is that inherently meaningless? I don't know... it depends on how we define 'everything' and 'nothing'? It doesn't seem too big a step to rewrite it again as: "All things that exist are real. Things which don't exist aren't real" Now this doesn't seem like something that "automatically nullifies itself" to me.... pretty near a definition I'd say! Or, if we go with your assertion that statement "automatically nullifies itself", we say "attempts to map an atomic logical value of true or false to a complex natural language structure aren't always successful". I admit your bit sounds better though! Hmm, sounds like one of them new fangled polar opposites you mentioned earlier... Can we have understanding a of a non-changing thing, without an understanding of a constantly changing thing? Nope. Doesn't work. You went: "reality is unchanging", "phenomena is changing", hence "phenomena is not reality" Then: "reality is the property of existence" "phenomena is not reality" hence "phenomena cannot have the property of existence" But we only have your word for it that being "real" and being "unchanging" are necessarily related. It's something you're meant to be arguing for, not something you're arguing from! But hang on, "if one extreme is absolute, then we would not know its opposite because it would not exist." so if reality is absolutely non-changing then we can't have any changing phenomena, and if phenomena is "always changing" then we couldn't have a concept of reality as being something that "does not change it just is". You can't go "because we have a contradiction in terms we have successfully expanded our understanding beyond real and false" - you go "because we have a contradiction in terms we must've mucked up our argument earlier!" All the best.
I don't want to get too into the philosophy and analysing as I get very tired of arguing very quickly on this one and I've been here too many times to be arsed frankly, and I really like you Brido, BUT I am going to pick on some words in your statement quoted below... (I've highlighted them in red) I would substitute "believe" for "know" personally. I would also substitute "we now believe it works this way". In both cases they are opinions not facts. There is an assumption we in the modern world make... ie Science is absolute fact and anything else is belief. This is simply not so ime. The BMA declared that acupuncture works by "manipulating the body's bio-electric energy" this is a compromise/cop-out way of saying qi without admitting to it imo, but it satisfies the scientists so they can use it without fearing it. I have said before (and been seriously shot down for it, but I'll say it again anyway lol cause I can take it ) Science is a belief system like any other I'm not trashing science btw - I just think we need to remember that it is fundamentally a belief system and that there may be viable alternatives if we can get our heads above the mass-indoctrination we all have in our society about this. Don't mistake the map for the territory! Peace :Angel:
Well the role of science is to turn opinion into fact, but I agree with you, I prefer to say believe as well. I wouldn't say science is a faith really, nor that some degree of indoctirnation (copied your spelling as I don't have a clue how to spell that one!!) is going on. I can't see nothing wrong with learning how things work. But science doesn't yet have all the answers, and is not always bang on when treading new ground. What I take exception to is that if you look for the science behind something then it means that you are a closed minded individual. That is a complete falsehood, and a total cop out if you ask me. Many many scientists are men and women of faith. They say their knowledge of science makes them closer to God and his workings. They want to know HOW God does things, not debunk God. After all, the most famous scientist in the work said "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind." The man also talked about the importance of imagination, creativity and curiosity. All the great scientists were brilliantly creative people.
I went home and did some research on this last night. B.K. Frantzis and Dr. Yang Jwing Min ascribe different meanings to the term “Nei Gong”. I think this is really a technicality, and not very relevant. If it works for you, do it. When I refer to the intellect, I am referring to your discriminating consciousness. That is what says (a) is hot, (b) is cold, (c) is you, (d) is other. It is your intellect which discriminates between all things. It separates everything around you in to individual categories, these categories are part of the basis that allows your intellect to think. If you did not have these individual phenomena, you would have nothing to think about. Mindfulness during form, yes, when I first started. Mindfulness during Nei Gong, yes, when I first started. As you progress however, you are no longer mindful in the sense that you think that this should be such and such, etc. Your mindfulness moves to feeling, feeling of connectedness, and whatever else the exercise involves. Feeling is not thought. As you progress with Nei Gong, and start implementing more internal principles in to your form, you no longer have need to think, you merely feel the flow to know if your right or wrong. It is not a matter of copying exactly what you have seen your teacher do, we are all unique to some extent, so you must adopt the internal principles and let them guide your movement. If you don’t focus on the flow of things, and instead try to copy your teacher precisely, you will be limiting yourself. Maybe you use your thought in meditation, and yes there are meditations that use thought, but this is done in order to focus on one specific thought in order to turn off others. In the stuff I practice thought has no place. If you were learning the Nei Gong that I practice, and you were thinking, then (a) it would not work, (b) it would look overtly wrong, (c) you would be wasting your time. In my experience, the whole point of any meditation is to limit or stop though completely. Your brain is like a muscle, if you train it, it gets stronger. Why don’t you try right now to stop thinking, I bet you cant for more than several seconds. If you learn to control your mind to an extent where you can switch off all thought at will, and for prolonged periods of time, then what I am referring to will be a lot more apparent. Thought uses up a lot of energy. If one controls thought, one controls more energy. If you read up on classical Taoist texts, you will see that this process is essential for IMA practice. Without it, you will be wasting your time. One of the reasons that it is so important is such. If your in a confrontation and you are using the intellect. Your decisions will be based on thought and assumption, and consequently you will make mistakes. If on the other hand you shut off thought, you will be able to perceive things as they really happen, and react according to the principles of IMA. When one reaches the stage where there is control over the intellect, the body reacts to the situation naturally and spontaneously, and with perfect precision, this is without the intellect interference. To the practitioner, such reactions feel like they are happening autonomously, and simultaneously your intellect is in a position to observe these moments and give impetus to your body as how to proceed, if need be. Though, normally there is no need. There is much to learn before on gets to such a level. It is not convenience that the intellect cannot perceive that which is beyond it, it is a fact. You think I am making this up for my own self aggrandizement? The intellect works by differentiation, when you are trying to see the whole picture, differentiation is that which prevents you from doing so, its quite a simple explanation. If your thinking well, I cant see this? Do you really expect to see everything without working for it? If you do, then good luck! No offence, but this sort of practice is very basic, it is used to turn the intention inwards, and is usually practiced for around a month at the beginning of training. The way this training works is to trick your inner eye to look inwards by visualization. This method is discarded once real feeling arises, and this happens quickle if you are taught correctly and well. The Taoist philosophy of this practice is “visualization/not-real – transforms in to – feeling/real”. I have already mentioned in this post why such cannot be put in to words. What I recommended you to read was only to do with the workings of the “intellect”. The intellect can be used to see gaps in its own workings. And I have already highlighted some of these gaps for you. Yes, your lack of intellect and experience is to blame. Like I already mentioned you cannot expect to understand something without doing any work. I have discussed this specific argument with my colleague, who is a masters graduate in philosophy from the university of Oxford, I have also discussed this with many other IMA practitioners, to all such is has been understandable and agreeable. I guess your lack of experience and intellectual capacity limits your understanding. But don’t fret, its jus a matter of practice. Furthermore, classic Taoist texts constantly mention what I am talking about here. Do you think I am making this up? The basis of such classical text is that they require the reader to have experience in related Taoist internal practices. You ignorance and absence of politeness demonstrate quite well your frame of mind. I did not say that. That is you being rude again. If you read classical Taoist texts, and combine it with proper practice, both of which you obviously lack, then perhaps you would not be so injudicious. Baseless ignorant assumptions. I think you have a major egotistical issue, you really need to find a good teacher, and learn how to use your mind a bit more. As I quoted: Our knowledge is ignorance, yet ignorance is not knowledge. Well, its funny you should mention this. Other meditative traditions refer to the process of what I was talking about as “absolute truth”. If you understand why I mentioned that there is no absolute truth in the intellect, then you should also understand why the intellect is required to be switched of in order to see any part of anything that can be referred to as “absolute”. However, if you have truly understood, then you will se that there is a contradiction in this statement, which demonstrates the inadequacy of the intellect. I think you misunderstood something I said. Let me give you another example. If everything that you ever came across was hot to the touch, you would have no concept of cold, because it would be something that you cannot come across, as it does not exist. In order to know that something is hot, one is required to know what cold is. So if everything is hot, and nothing is cold, then you would not know the concepts of hot or cold. Each one depends on the other for its existence. In other words, hot is what gives meaning to cold, and vice versa. Hmmm.. I think you lost me on this one.. atomic logical values aren’t my forte.. No, we cant have an understanding of non-changing thing, without an understanding of a constantly changing thing. I think I see where your going with this. I may have better said that phenomena has a potential for constant change, not that it is constantly changing, yet in some sense it is. Lets take a rock, in this instant this rock is exactly the same in some sense as it was a second ago, yet in some sense it is different. The intellect is full of contradictions. One more thing I forgot to mention is superimposition, i.e. the intellect can superimpose concepts from one phenomena to the next. This bit is kind of obvious though. I’m not sure if I fully understand your argument. The way I see it, is existence and reality are one and the same. It is the process of being here, now. If we are not here, now, then we are nowhere, or don’t exist. It is not only my word you have, think about this. Substitute the word “reality” for “existence”. The reason “existence” and “unchanging” are related is because if “existence” changed it would no longer be “existence”, it would be “non-existence”, therefore “not real”, and not possible to “experience”. The context this should be in is that “phenomena” which arises from our intellect, is neither absolutely real, nor absolutely false. Whereas, existence is something that is absolutely real, because, whether the intellect is on or not, you still exist, and if you did not exist, it would not be possible to perceive in any form. I guess one may need to experience existence without the intellect to understand this. Don’t get disgruntled by such statements though, it makes perfect sense, that if one wants to know more one should have to experience more. It would be unreasonable to expect to understand everything, by doing nothing. You see, the opposite of existence/reality is non-existence/non-reality, the later cannot be experienced, so we have no concept of it. But, our intellect as I mentioned can superimpose, which in some sense helps with intellectually understanding this concept. Phenomena is a property of the intellect, hence goes by the rule that two opposites are required for any understanding. When the intellect is switched off, phenomena disappears. Existence is still there, when the intellect is switched off, so existence is not property of the intellect, it is a constant that does not change regardless of what state your consciousness is in. Whether it be intellect or purely receptive. Whereas non-existence is not something that can be experienced, because you would not exist to experience it. Hope that clears it up a bit.. Cheers.
Yup, you were right! It has now descended into intense navel gazing. As I see it, the pro chi guys here are making claims that are physical, as such they should be provable.....like the statement that blood can be moved at will. Lets see this proof. Lets see someone stop there pulse through the use of chi! Infact any physical manifestation of the (chi related, as I know Brido can be jumped upon after doing his nei gung) benefit of chi gung, other than mild health pluses that could be acquired through any low impact exercise.
Are you just going to repeat the same thing over and over.. I don’t really see the point in replying to an identical comment twice.. do you? Why don’t you, consider the answers you received and then say something new?
If you stop your pulse your dead. It is possible to slow your pulse throught meditation. Now I shall commit a horrible act of egotism... I quote myself. You can also be utilizing "chi" raise the temperature of a specific area of your body, such as your hands, to such an extent that anyone can see. iff redness of skin = increased bloodflow to area then chi moves blood, by moving chi through the body areas of great chi expression(where the chi/yi becomes focused, note:this is term I use) become red. This happens even in instances where if there is no focus on the "chi" flow no redness/heating would occur. This has happened many times in my experience.
Why don't you just accept that chi is just a nice idea and nothing more? You certainly cannot prove it's existence despite claims that should be easily provable!
Like i said i dont think anyone denies that anyone can use the mind to mess up your biological clock. People claim the same thing. But they dont do taichi, they get hypnotized, they do pagan healing spells, they attend those christian get together where they rip people off, etc... Buddhist monks have set themselves on fire without uttering a scream, they certainly did not do taichi or neigong. It also happens that this particular capability doesnt translate at all to martial arts efficiency in general. Tai chi chuan isnt hard to bring into martial art training. Looking at the form, mimicking the form. Applying it on a resisting withthe help of previous knowledge ive had before hand. Its not hard at all. Nothing mystic about it. No mystic energy about it, and yes i can throw my partner with no effort by good timing. It adds well with the chinna, throws, and other stuff i have reflex for in that range. And Ive read the treatise of the masters of tai chi classics. Nothing that refers directly to nei gung. But can easily be interpretated that way because chinese people like to be cryptic. Like it can easily be interpretated the other way. I direct to two quotes: from master wong chun yua "The tai chi principle is as simple as this: yield yourself and follow the external forces. Instead of doing this, most people ignore such OBVIOUS and SIMPLE principles and search for a more REMOTE and IMPRATICAL method. This is the so-called inches mistake, which, when allowed to develop, becomes the distance of thousands of miles" and further explanation: "Regardless of your opponents action, the principle of your response remains the same. Once this type of movement has become your own, you will understand internal power" The last passage follows a passage on basic fighting concepts such as sticking and following an opponent. But the context is clear, it basically describes that when youre coordinated enough to use what youve learned in your forms against a live opponent easily and efficiently. Then you have internal power. That it is that simple, and theres nothing deeper to look at. To a cetain extent, this is analogous to potential energy in mechanics. Where a mass is held at a certain height. The potential energy is equivalent to m*g*h, yet the mass doesnt do anything except being there. But the energy becomes real when the mass is let go from its initial position. Its like how a person makes a mock punch when youre not really on guard, and you react right away subconsciously like you were always trained. You parry and prepare for counter strike when you realize 'oh wait a minute'. Nei Gong improves blood circulation because you breath regularly. And you can use that 'meditative moment' to synch your whole body to external movements. The act of doing so, to synch that little centimenter of subtle shifting in your horse stance when you follow through your punch will improve your punch, but it is a mechanical explanation, not an occult one. Where do you get that small shift in horse stance, by raising the crown point when you breathe in. When you punch, you sink into your weight dramatically into your punch (or root)which was possible by the inital breath. Because the shift in height plays within a centimeter, it doesnt seem like much to the visual obviously but a centimeter of follow through to a punch hurts. The fact that the translator decides to cut apart the treatise and insert long winded monologues on internal energy, ramble on tai chi being the ultimate martial art and taoism between two simple sentences might be misleading I agree. Or you can say, i am full of it. At this point, i am really used to it. PS: Oh and if youve tried a bit of feng shui where the concept of chi is important. It is mostly a play on awareness and intent with the overall external environment. Like how orienting a house to a particular direction like south is better. After all since the sun rises east and sets in the west. youll never be greeted by a front door cast in shadow. Which, as dumb as it sounds, does play on your perception. Or how as you go into a house, if you cant see the back windows or the back door, the house looks bigger. Within the same analogy where chi is analogous to the intent of your opponent and your own to his. Its less farcical. Because you basically match a reaction to take advantage of the general intent(direction/flow) of his attack. Like how in judo, the principle is to force him into one direction so that you can throw him in the other.
Nice idea and nothing more, in other words a concept, just like a billion others on this planet. The fact is something can be felt and manipulated if you are practicing the right way, the right exercises, and under the right instruction. This is a fact, and this fact has been around for thousands of years, and the name ascribed to it is Chi. Very plain and simple. If you don’t believe in it, that’s called ignorance. The only way you can find evidence of its existence is by feeling it yourself. If you have never felt it, and you practice Tai Chi, I suggest you either find a new teacher or stop wasting your time, cause without Chi its not Nei Jia. If you think what I am saying is a load of nonsense, then go find a real lineage holder and check for yourself. MartialArtNoob, your understanding of Chi is not far off. Its just that in order to move fluidly for yielding and attacking continuously, one must have a great amount of sensitivity to ones own body, in order to be able to manipulate one’s body to generate and receive force. Chi appears where your intention is, so if you hold on to that Chi feeling and move it around your body, you are in turn training the intention to reach around the body. As a result the more you train, the deeper the perception of Chi, the more control you can exert over yourself and your opponent. There is nothing mystical about it, it is a method for training the mind and body. Yet this is a quite simplistic explanation.
Liokault & Noob - OO ARE YER?? no responses from me to your 'qi' comments until you extend this courtesy and I recommend everyone else does the same. A proper profile would help too, Liokault. Invisible snipers should be ignored imo :Angel:
I find this massively rude and ignorant. If I put on my profile that I was Bruce Frantzis would you be happy? Would you stop arguing with me? Would you take my word as given? As I have already said, I have been training in Tai Chi for 17 years and practicing a nei gung set for most of that time. This is all you need.
