What is Ki / Chi?

There are no absolute right answers to this question. Instead of giving the one true answer to this, below are several different opinions.

(a) Ki doesn’t exist. Everything the ki model tries to explain can be explained with body mechanics, biophysics, and psychology. There is no need to postulate some mysterious force. Science can explain it.

(b) Ki exists absolutely. Ki is an energy, a living force, a spirit that can be used to increase your strength, throw people around, etc. Subjective experience shows that ki is real. It may either be a bio-kinetic phenomena science doesn’t understand yet or the power of the mind in union with the body.

(c) Ki may or may not “really” exist. It is a useful model. The ki model allows you to visualize how to increase your strength, throw people around, etc.–it doesn’t matter if it exists or not. If someone invents a better model (i.e. one that is easier to visualize), then maybe we’ll switch to it.

Of the styles that stress ki, some work on developing the flow of ki within their bodies. An example of this approach is Taijiquan. Other styles work on letting the ki of the universe flow through them. Chi is an internal experience of quiet,and flexible (flow) movement. It is often represented by Circus Acts . I am sure you have seen strong-men breaking ice blocks,or people bending iron bars with their neck.These acts are amazing . They have nothing to do with chi. Some people have Chi naturally, others develope it with practice . My observation is that Chi is poorly understood ,because most people including martial artists ,simply dont have much . Most of the methods of developing Chi are commerial ventures more designed to generate revenue (apologies to the real schools out there). It takes years of practice (for most) to actually experience it. Some people just have it ,and its not a function of physical conditioning. Some people without training experience the Chi by nature. Its a type of grace,flow,connection. Some animals (deer in motion) are loaded with Chi. You look at them and say Whow… thats the Chi Your house cat is likely to have more Chi than the usual martial artist (some exceptions) . Martial arts are great!! I love martial Arts! The continious flowing motions in the arts may improve the practioners Chi…meditation may improve the Chi..or sometimes nothing improves the Chi …sorry. Many Chi experts just dont have much Chi..sorry..some do. I am just guessing here, but I think its a natural thing that we ,as people may have lost (or reduced ) over time. Hey, but what do I know?

The martial arts are the “scientific study of combat”. It includes: physics, geometry, physiology, and psychology. We will look at the scientific meaning of the character of “Ki”. Ki training is an essential part of Bushido. First, let us start by breaking down the Chinese character of Ki. The first part of the character means breath or spirit. The second part stands for rice and the physical body. “Ki” training involves many things.

You are made up of three things as a human. Spirit, mind, and body. Yet they are all one unit. Spirit is who you are, your personality. Concerning “spiritual” training. Spiritual training in Asia does not mean religious. It means this. Spirit is self, thus the meaning of “self-control”. Spirit leads mind and mind leads body. There is no religion in combat technique. People have religion. No one joins the military to become a priest. Your duty is to protect your family, home, and country from invaders foreign and domestic. Your mind is psychological. Your mind is emotion, what you have learned, and experiences. You choose how to react to your environment. Reaction is thought before action. Reflex is faster than you can think. Like touching a hot stove. You don’t have think about what “technique” you will use to get your hand away from the hot surface. It just happens from natural self-defense. Next, your body is the physical. Your body is your vessel that carries your spirit and mind. Your mind has two parts. The conscience and the subconscious. The conscience recognizes what you see, hear, smell, touch, and taste. Your subconscious is the record holder. It is your ability to recall that information when it is needed which tells you if your memory is good, or needs exercise.

Yes! Exercise your mind! Your subconscious records everything, whether you are directly involved in it or not. You see the technique and think, “I can do that!” When you try, it is a different story. You see, your mind already knows what it is supposed to do. You mind is a computer that has already recorded, calculated, and performed the technique thousands of times before you ever get the chance to actually perform it physically. The physics, geometry, and psychology are already done.

It is your body muscle memory that needs physical training. When you do a technique and think, “I am never going to learn this!” You are defeating yourself. Be positive! Your mind already knows the technique or you would not know you are doing it wrong! You just need more physical training to get your body and mind coordinated. You need to go to the dojang more often. You have to become a more dedicated student.
If your instructor tells you to do something, just go and do it. Even if you have done it a thousand times, do it two thousand! Go the extra mile. It takes repetition to build reflex. You can meditate on the techniques all day long. You need to get up and move your body so your muscle memory will retain the techniques. Sometimes when people watch a movie, their body twitches when the action starts as their mind absorbs what is going on. Your mind understands the learning process. It takes physical movement. Your mind has already learned the techniques. “Ki” means body and mind coordination.
If there are two military groups and they coordinate with each other what happens. They win the battle and ultimately the war. Martial means military. The Latin based English word comes from Mars the god of war. Mu is the Korean word for military. MuDo means military way. MuSool means military techniques.
Let us move on to breathing techniques. First, let us look at what your body needs the most of in their prospective ranges of nutritional values. Food, water, and air. Food has all the vitamins and nutrients you need to live, and yet you can go weeks without it. Water has less nutritional value but does contain some mineral and essential things. After all you body is 60% water. You can dehydrate in a few days or moments if you are outside working in the hot sun. Lastly, let us consider air. No vitamins or nutritional value at all, yet you can only go seconds without it. It seems that the less you think you need some thing the more you need it. That goes to the old Korean saying, “From nothing comes everything and from everything comes nothing”. It makes sense if you think about it. We take breathing for granted. You just breathe because it is an autonomic thing. It is involuntary function yet you can control it if you try. Breathing correctly is another thing. You have a point in your body called DanJeon. It is the gravitational center of your body and where your techniques get all their “power”. Located about 4cm below your navel. It is the most important point you will ever learn about. Breathing is essential. Breathing correctly is something that takes practice. As we get older we breathe higher up in our chest cavity. We start to think, as we get older, how our lungs hold the air and breathe accordingly. We also think about physical size more. Try to make a baby sit down or take a spoon from its hand. They don’t know you’re stronger. It is society that teaches us that size is the difference. We must unlearn all that we know and relearn what is real. We do an exercise called the “unbendable arm”. We show the difference between physical strength and power. We will also have two to four people grab one person by the arms and try to pick them up. They cannot. Size doesn’t matter. Never underestimate you attackers though. As for the lungs, your lungs actually expand larger at a top to bottom direction. We need to breathe from our DanJeon or center. Sitting down in the kneeling position with your feet tucked underneath you, both big toes side by side. Shoulders relaxed, your buttocks firmly between your heels. Hands resting gently and relaxed about mid-thigh. You may also sit crossed legged with your hand resting gently on your knees. Back straight and look forward at a 45-degree angle toward the ground. Eyes closed.

Breathe in through the tip of your nose through your mind and continuing to your center without making any sound. This breath should last about 20 seconds. Next, breathing out through your mouth, making a kind of low hissing sound by letting the air out yet constricting flow with the back of your throat, not your teeth. This breath should take about 20 seconds also. It will eventually take you one minute per breathe. You should also breathe with your whole body. Yes that’s right, your whole body. Breathe in through your nose, fingertips, and tips of your toes. You breathe out the very same way. You will feel your body begin to tingle. That is the oxygen you are supposed to be getting. WOW! It makes your red blood cells dance. They love oxygen. When you do DanJeonHoHeub, or breathing techniques should get a good sweat going. Yes! Sweat from just breathing correctly, you will burn calories, digest better, and increase your metabolism. It clears you mind and wakes you up. Training is better that the strongest cup of coffee. You don’t feel like going to class? That is the best time to go. When you are tired. It rejuvenates you and gets all the blood flowing, getting your body the oxygen and nutrients it needs.

Many times my students don’t feel like going to class. They come anyway, when they leave they go home feeling alive and energized. They love it. By the end of class, everyone feels like a million dollars and their ready to get something to eat. Your body starts to digests within 30 minutes after a workout whether you have food in it or not. Eat something very light. I usually have Kimchee and soup. Korean soup is full of great stuff. A banana is great! Full of potassium. Always remember, Safety is paramount when training!
Laws of Full Circle Wholeness, Water, and Physiology.
Law of Full Circle Wholeness. This principle is important in its own right, it stems from the theory of physics. To use physics to unbalance the converging body and then geometry to throw or pin, manipulating human physiology causes it to happen without using an aggressive force or muscle strength. There is a huge difference between strength and power. The theory states that the defender’s body must become the center of motion, like a spinning top. Likewise, with the body. Using your opponents own “energy” against themselves has no religious meaning. In Asia, spirit refers to the person. Mind refers to emotion and thought. Body refers to, you guessed it, the physical body.
Next is Law of water. All body movements must be fluid like water. This means your techniques must be adaptable. Water in a river will pull a pebble with the current, go around a boulder, or carve a valley through a wall of rock. The act of dripping water can drill a whole in stone. A continuous and fluid motion in the right direction, that makes for a most destructive force. A Typhoon is a good example of this. In a typhoon the air and water spins around absorbing everything and at the same time throwing everything as long as its motion is continuous. If you want to destroy a typhoon, you must first get to its center (if you can). What can withstand the force of a typhoon? Nothing.
Lastly, there is Law of physiology. Instructors in Korea get certified in chiropractic, acupuncture, acupressure, and sports massage. There are many vulnerable spots on the human body called pressure points or trigger points. The locations of these vital spots usually coincide with that of the nerves, blood vessels, or internal organs. When these vital spots are stimulated, the result can be anything from severe pain, to impairment, to death. Every pressure point has its own way of stimulation. Hit, push, or rub and from an angle that is personal to each point. Some are complex points, which can be stimulated more than one way. Just because someone knows where pressure points are, doesn’t mean they know HOW to use them. You may know where Korea is but, to really know Korea and all its roads, rivers, railways and so forth, you must study it in depth. This knowledge is necessary to a successful defense. Remember! Bushido is a way of physical and mental coordination. Every movement requires the coordination of both the mind and body acting in unity, and consistent practice is necessary to maintain this coordination. Repetition is the way to build reflex and muscle memory. Training in more than one art can confuse the body and retard learning causing your body to become confused in a stressful situation resulting in your injury or death. One person, one mind, one body, one art. This is the true Bushi way.
Ki can be thought of as positive thinking, belief in yourself, faith, confidence, or a state of mind/body unification. You have used ki quite naturally many times in your life, at those moments when something totally captured your interest and imagination. It may have been while you were playing a sport, working late into the morning on a project that was important to you, playing with your child, or simply spending time with someone you love. In each case, you were totally focused and completely yourself. You were achieving a wonderful effect, but seemed to have a limitless supply of energy. These experiences often define our lives, yet their occurrence often seems to be out of our control. Through the study of Ki principles (One-Point, Relaxation, Positive Thinking, and Correct Posture) and the practice of Ki Exercises, though, you can spend more and more of your life operating at this powerful, higher state. So that’s what Ki exercises can do for you. But that doesn’t mean you should bare down and do your ki exercises so that, one day, years and years from now, you can appreciate the benefits of ki development, and all the world will stare in awe as you walk effortlessly through life, achieving whatever you like, while inspiring love and admiration in all beings that you encounter (although that wouldn’t be so bad). Ki exercises are about feeling good right now. Do them this morning, and they will have an effect – albeit small at first – all day long. Do them for a year, and you will be a different person. Do them for your lifetime, and perhaps people will look at you and say, “Wow, that ki is some kind of mystical force.” Then you can tell them, “You got that right.” Here is how we think you can use this Ki Exercise section best. Go through the exercises in order. Don’t try to do them all today. Take two or three at a time. Look at the pictures, read the text, and try to duplicate what you see. Read the tips, but don’t try to apply them all at once. Maybe pick one that seems particularly applicable, and work on that one.
Role of the Spirit In the long history of martial arts, expert fighters have used their physical skills as a means of building mental and spiritual skills. This is especially true of karate; in fact, for many karatekas, the art is primarily a path towards spiritual fulfillment rather than a means of self-defense Karate and its martial arts forerunners are historically linked with Zen Buddhism. In this branch of Buddhist belief, people achieve enlightenment through everyday activities. By experiencing every moment for itself and leaving the mind open to all experiences, Zen Buddhists find inner peace. The cornerstone of Zen Buddhism is being in-tune with the world around you. Karatekas practicing at Karate International of Raleigh. While the instructors at this school don’t teach Zen Buddhism, they do help their students achieve inner focus and enlightenment. The spiritual elements of karate complement most major religions. There are many strong connections between this philosophy and karate. In solitary practice, karatekas must learn to concentrate on their own movements, letting everything else go. This is a powerful form of meditation.
In fighting competitions, karatekas need to react quickly to any action by their opponent. This quickly teaches the karateka to be open and attentive to whatever they encounter: If you’re not paying complete attention in a fight, you lose the match. Not all karatekas practice Zen Buddhism as such. Karate masters might be Jewish, Christian, Hindu or agnostic — the martial arts discipline fits well with a wide range of religions and beliefs. But to advance through the higher levels of karate, it is essential that a karateka cultivate spiritual power, whatever their religious beliefs. The basic element of this power is ki.
Ki is an amorphous, undefinable force, but it is generally described as the energy of life itself. It binds all living things together and gives each person his or her spiritual, physical and mental power. In most schools, beginning karatekas won’t worry too much about ki. They focus mainly on proper technique and breathing exercises. But in these basic activities, they are laying the groundwork for later ki exercises. Through the power of ki, a karateka can break through concrete blocks as if they were made of paper. To break through these blocks, Kathy Olevsky imagined that they weren’t even there. She focused her energy and just stepped down through them. As karatekas develop heightened physical control, they become more aware of the seat of ki in their body. With concentration, karatekas can move their ki up and down, so their source of energy is higher and lower. Experienced karatekas generally center their ki, in order to achieve maximum balance and power. Ki is absolutely crucial in the higher levels of karate: It gives masters the power they need to break blocks and topple much larger opponents. Karatekas say that the actual fighting principles they learn in karate help them in all aspects of life.
To understand the connection between karate and real life, consider a stressful situation anyone might encounter — let’s say getting fired from your job. In this situation, there are any number of ways you could react. You could take it as a sign that you are an absolute failure and completely shut down mentally. This is the equivalent of taking a punch squarely in the chest. Or you could accept the turn of events and learn from the experience. This is like deflecting the blow and using your opponent’s momentum to your advantage. When looking for a new job, you might send out resumes blindly and interview at dozens of companies you don’t know anything about.
This is like fighting an opponent with no plan at all, waving your arms around wildly. Instead, you could fully focus your efforts on the positions that interest you, tailoring your letter of interest and resume to fit the company and job description. This is like focusing your physical force into the side of your hand and finding the weak spot on your opponent. You could practice these principles without undertaking karate, of course. But karatekas claim that exercising this philosophy physically as well as mentally strengthens their resolve and character.
In the study of karate, you learn to carry your body a certain way through many hours of practice. After a while, you deflect blows and land punches almost without thinking: It is simply part of who you are. And if you know to automatically deflect physical attacks and land effective kicks and punches, karatekas say, you will also know how to handle everyday threats and opportunities. Your body and mind know right away how to handle whatever crisis arises.