Taijiquan And Other Martial Arts - The Reality Of "chi"

[Paul-from-France]

Hi everyone !
According to the philosophy of Kung Fu, the chi is an energy, a life force, that any individual might be able to unleash after years of practice. It is said to grant its users with extraordinary powers such as great strength, longevity and even healing capabilities. In ancient Greece, there was a similar concept called "pneuma" believed to allow those same abilities through a rigorous utilization of breath.
However, the scientific community of today considers the practice of Tai Chi to be nothing more than a low impact cardio exercise ; which in itself remains a very helpful habit.
In my experience, the practice of Taijiquan can serve as a powerful concentration exercise. It is sometimes referred to as "meditation in motion". The state of mind that is reached through Tai Chi movements feels indeed similar to the one brought by meditation. Though meditation reaches out much deeper (on a good day).
So what do you make of it all ? What conclusions did you get to through your practice ? Is "chi" a real force or rather a deep state of concentration ?

Thanks a lot for your answers and a good day to you all !

[Prabhaker]

14 minutes ago, Paul-from-France said:

the scientific community of today considers the practice of Tai Chi to be nothing more than a low impact cardio exercise

You can practice Tai Chi  as a low impact cardio exercise. A master for whom Tai Chi is a way of life, knows how to awaken the life energy.

[Paul-from-France]

Hi Prabhaker ! Thank you for your answer. Indeed there is no reason to stop something that makes me feel better and better.
Could you say a little more about what you mean by awakening the life energy ?

[zazed]

Lovely question. I think it depends on your mindset. Lot's of westerners no doubt practice Tai-Chi as a pure low cardio sport. 
Without the correct mindset that is all that it is. If you are just going through the motions, there is nothing inherently spiritual about the motions on their own. It's the same with meditation actually, there is nothing inherently spiritual about sitting cross-legged on your ass.

But if you work towards enlightenment and do Tai-Chi with mindfulness, and based on the slow movements and serenity, that is clearly it's intention, then it can likely be very powerful.

It's been on my todo list for a while, to learn Tai Chi, and practice it with full mindfulness. 

[Prabhaker]

9 hours ago, Paul-from-France said:

Could you say a little more about what you mean by awakening the life energy ?

Martial arts enhances flexibility, strength and stamina as well as coordination, presence and calmness – all at the same time. This  purifies the energetic system of the body, removes blockages and frees energy.

Practicing tai chi ... slowly slowly you become more and more silent, more and more peaceful. The question of war and destruction disappears.  Just do it more consciously, more gracefully, more lovingly and you have changed the very quality of the action. And once you know to change the qualities of your actions, your whole life becomes the life of a meditator.

The head, the heart and the Hara are three levels to take action from. The head is for thinking, the heart is for connecting and the Hara is the centre of your total being. In the East, the Hara is seen as the conscious center of your body. In the West we mainly focus on the head, and the belly stays the most unconscious area of the body. 

When you begin to learn martial arts, you think about each movement and how you are supposed to do it - and then you stop moving, because all the energy goes into the thinking process. But when you are centered in your Hara, there is no thinking, there is no judgement - there is no doubt. 

When you are centered in the Hara, you are in balance. To be in the Hara means waiting for the right moment. Then you are in the present. 

 

[Douwe Geluk]

Hello my name is Douwe Geluk and i also practise and teach several Chinese martial arts.  I have practised How Chuen Monkey Kungfu 'standing tall monkey martial art' which is based on the sasquatch, bigfoot or yeti a mythical creature.

 

But also Ng Ying Kungfu and Tai Chi Chuan and Chi Kung. Within Sasquatch Kungfu as Tai Chi and Chi Kung the Chi was, is an important factor. Chi does not have to be magical it can be the bloodflow, body heat and so on. 

 

The bases lies in the fact that when you know certain forms or moves and the 'order' is absolutely no problem anymore you can feel them more and channel the chi by focus.

[Bobby]

It’s real.  you can use it to move physical objects if you join certain psionics groups.

i mean I obviously can’t prove that those things really happen cause I haven’t joined one of those groups. Buuut..... they exist, and that should indicate something is happening.

And ive seen YouTube videos that seem pretty convincing

another power people claim to attain by tapping into chi is the power to live without food. Now that would be very nice I have to say, haha. Obesity and starvation solved simulateously.

on the wilder end (because telekinesis and inedia seem pretty normal to me, lol) you have gurus like shirdi sai baba who were said to manifest objects like double rudrakshas [a la the holographic universe] out of thin air. Now this is the point where even someone like me begins to question things. Very very interesting regardless!

Edited January 3, 2019 by Bobby

[Vinnie]

@Douwe Geluk Your humour sucks.

[Paul-from-France]

Hello everyone, here's a quick follow up on this thread. After I moved, I ended up finding an amazing Dojo that teaches traditional Karate. I've been taking lessons for a little more than six months now and the practice has been very enriching. I can not encourage you enough to find a powerful Dojo of your own, away from the commercial competitive ones. The ideology there can be a little bit close minded sometimes but the results are here.

Best wishes for the new year