The Truth of Chi in the Martial Arts!

Chi,
that mysterious, invisible energy
that nobody can define,
is difficult to teach
and ‘real’ scientists scoff at.

The first thing you need to do
to cultivate chi power
is learn basic physics.

I was lucky.
My father was the prototype engineer at Ampex.
Ampex, in the 1950s was making
cutting edge reel to reel tape recorders.
In the 60s he was the prototype engineer
for Memorex tape.
They were making the first cassettes.
Our end tables were loaded with
Popular Mechanics, Popular Science,
and other like magazines.
I hated school
with their elitest BS instructions
for simple things like math,
but I was reading things about
how to make an airplane,
the latest advances in robotics,
how tires are made,
and that sort of thing.

One day I didn’t understand steam.
My father took a pair of tin snips
built a base, a spindle, and a propeller.
He arranged the propellor over
the spout of a coffee pot
and turned on the stove.
A minute later I understood steam.
I went to school and while every other kid
was asking what steam was,
and how did it work,
I knew.

One of the first graphics I came across,
in this matter of Chi,
was a drawing of a man with a fire in his belly
and energy waves emanating.
I understood chi.

Making your own body into a coffee pot,
however,
wasn’t realistic.
So…how?

I looked up all the words
connected to energy.
Do you know what energy is?
Go on,
think about it.
Make your best guess.
It is…(drumroll)
‘the capacity for work.’
There are about 50 other definitions,
and you have to understand them all,
and that means you’re going to have to
look up a lot of words
and actually understand them,
but…
the capacity for work.
If that isn’t invisible I don’t know what is.

Then,
during Karate,
I would be shown a block.
Instead of thinking of the focus and power,
I would be thinking of the angle struts
that support a bridge.
The cantilevers.
I would think about this as in where
were the muscles needed to support the block.
But I was also reading everything about chi,
and zen and oriental mystical practices,
and trying to understand them in terms of physics,
and I would visualize invisible cantilevers
holding my blocks up,
supporting the arm and…
resisting incoming energy.

As the years passed I stopped
resisting the incoming fist/energy.
Instead of hitting somebody’s arm with a block,
I let them run into my perfectly cantilevered body.

Then,
after a while,
I stopped punching people.
Instead,
realizing that there is space between atoms,
I put my fist inside their body.
Their own flesh could not withstand this concept.
Note that I said concept,
and not power.
I was now punching with an idea,
instead of muscle and bone
and all that inefficient stuff.

People who laugh at forms as silly dances
might punch hard,
but they don’t punch with minimum energy
to get the same, and better, results.

Want to know why chi manifests in older people?
Because they pass their peak,
their bodies are no longer filled with muscles and strength,
they have to use tricks, instead,
and there lies the chi,
because the tricks they learn are nothing but chi physics.

Chi physics,
different from Newtonian physics.
Newtonian physics the apple falls and there is gravity.
Chi physics you can undo impact
and even things like gravity,
by understanding a concept.

The old guys have spent a lifetime
slowly accumulating a slight knowledge
of Newtonian physics with their bodies.
When they get old they used the simple physics,
but backed it up with things like minimum energy
invisible cantilevers,
occupying a body with a fist instead pf punching.
They have figured out which parts of the body
respond to light touches.
They know a touch can unbalance the body,
because it unbalances the mind first.
and so on.

You see,
the ‘real’ scientists scoff at chi
because the physics measures the universe,
and they can’t measure what they can’t see.
They can’t measure a concept.
But when you master simple physics sufficiently
and start dealing in concepts,
you find a whole new realm of physics,
physics that the ‘real’ scientists don’t have a clue about.
They’ve never done a form until it is a concept.

And that is why forms are so important.
They teach physics.
The physics of the body
that lead to the physics of concepts.

The only problem is that most forms are done incorrectly.
They have been arranged by whim and preference,
and not by simple physics.
When is the last time your instructor said,
‘A little more (or less) oomph in the cantilever
will make that block work without effort.’

And that is where matrixing comes in.
In the Master Instructor Course
I explain all sorts of things about the body,
how to construct it efficiently,
and all this will eventually make chi manifest.

In Matrix Karate,
and to a lesser degree in my other arts,
the forms and techniques are corrected according to physics.

You turn the foot a certain way,
to increase traction,
to use the muscles on the legs properly,
to take advantage of the ‘spring’ that is the arch of the foot.

That is the essence of physics.
Now take that through the ability to hold a position
(grounding)
or cantilevering your blocks
by visualizing the energy structure of the body.
and doing your forms,
practicing these things,
and you end up with chi power.

The chi power will manifest quickly
if you understand all the physics words,
mass, energy, flow, etc.
It will manifest quickly if your forms
are scientifically correct.

But,
most people will not do these things,
so I wrote books like

How to Fix Karate

Personally,
I think the Master Instructor Course
and Matrix Karate,
are much more important,

But

How to Fix Karate

is wonderful entry point.
It analyzes the forms and techniques
and starts the student on how to think the right way
when it comes to learning karate,
or other martial arts.

Furthermore,
it comes in two volumes,
and it has links for

FIVE HOURS OF VIDEO

Now,
summer is here
so think about cleaning up your martial art,
get rid of the whims and preferences
that others have corrupted the arts with
and make your art perfect this summer!

Al

And thanks to everybody who picked up my book,

Advanced Tai Chi Chuan for Real Self Defense!

Don’t forget to give me five stars.
Those ratings help my sales.

Don’t forget to check out the interview
https://anchor.fm/dale-gillilan/episodes/S1E10—Al-Case-e12e3np

‘The Last Martial Arts Book’ has 12 ratings for 5 stars.
(There is a video version of this book with no stars yet)
My two yoga books have 9 ratings between them for 5 stars.
‘The Book of Five Arts’ has 8 ratings for 5 stars.
‘The Science of Government’ has 7 ratings for 5 stars.
‘Chiang Nan’ has 6 ratings for 5 stars.
My novel, ‘Monkeyland,’ has 5 ratings for 5 stars

That’s a lot of good ratings
so hopefully you’ll find the book that works for you.

How to Fix Karate:
A Karate Training and Workout Book
(Two Volumes)