Ki is a hoax

[bluekey88]

In the other thread where I think this debate started...I never stated that Ki was necessarily a hoax. I did say that a lot of typical demonstrations of ki were more akin to tricks than actual demonstrations of ki. I also felt that a lto of the typical explanations of ki didn't hold water.

however, I further wnet on to elaborate that many of the effects of ki were, in my expereince, very real. The difference is that i feel that there are better explanations for the phenomenon than ki (which has become a bit of a catch all phrase for a lot of stuff).

My argument (towards the end) was that it could be more benefiical to focus on developing the knowledge and language out side th emetaphyscial to describe these phenomenon, how they are taught, and how they can be utilised.

I cannot disprove the existence of Ki. however, I've not seen a credible demonstration of it that couldn;t be more easily exaplined by something else. I feel that this does not take anythign away from various ki/chi cultivation prafctices or the internal arts that utilize these concepts. Aikido, t'ai chi, etc...very good, strong and powerful arts int he ahnds of a competent practitioner. I just wonder if a change in the nomenclature and thinking might be of beneift. Maybe not...just something to think about.

Peace,
Erik

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

No one is saying ki doesn't exist, they're saying prove it. If you say 'I have experienced it, and you can too, but the only way to do so is in person', there's nothing wrong with that. The question is how do you know what you are experiencing is ki? I've done some qigong, taijiquan, and bagua and I've experience the hot tingling feel of 'energy' in my hands, but the only reason I've ever had to believe it was ki was because someone said 'Feel that? That's ki.'

What the skeptics among us are asking is how do you know it's 'ki'? I don't know that the exercises I'm doing don't just increase blood flow to my hands causing an increase in heat and a tingling sensation. It could be explained, conceivably, by either one. The skeptics are asking how do you know it's ki and not something else.

If someone told me that they call that sensation ki and left it at that, no problem. Ki is as good a word as tingle. But if that was the end of it, then there wouldn't be much skepticism, discussion or debate.

You have well stated (bolded) where the skepticism and debate begins:

They are also asking, since the 'cultivation' and use of ki is, supposedly, something that can be taught and felt between people then it should be measurable and repeatable in some form or fashion. Ki practitioners say that it is.

As soon as an instructor says, "I can show you how," you have a claim of knowledge, application, and transferrability of that knowledge.

Now here's where the breakdown happens, in multiple situations where a skeptic has gone to a ki practitioner and ask for an expression of ki to be demonstrated and tried to document it the practitioner has been unable to back up their claims on a skeptical unwilling individual, thus casting doubt on the veracity of their claims and those of other ki practitioners.

This is the problem. The claims go beyond simple existence and application. They go into the fact that these some of guys and gals (usually the ones that seem to have the greatest financial stake or ego at stake, oddly enough) want ki to be the force.

Once you get into claiming that you can use the force, unless you execute all of your techniques through the medium of film with the aid of George Lucas' special effects team and budget, you can't use the force.

If I stick with saying that Ki is biophysics and essentially breath control and metabolic control through biofeedback and meditation techniques, I can either reproduce the results or find sound documentation for them by others who have. I could then say, legitimately, that I use my Ki to sustain me through several matches and marshall its power when I need explosive strikes.

But as soon as I start claiming that I can force-push my opponents, I am in a position of claiming to do something that not only can I not reproduce, but for which there is no verifiable evidence that anyone else can.

Ki very well may exist, and you may have to experience it directly to know that, but if it does exist there should be a repeatable method to measure it and way to describe it so that non-practitioners can have some conception of what it is without resorting to vague, semi-mystical terminology.

Well, I think that myself, Searcher, and probably others have defined it pretty reasonably.

But few ki proponents and claimants want to hear biophysics. They want to use the force. And they want you to believe that they can use the force. Athletes and singers use breath control and regulate their metabolic rates in order to do what they do; Ki proponents and claimants need something special.

George Dilman wants you to believe that he can force push an opponent and that he has taught others to do the same. But the only people who seem to be vulnerable to it is his own students and some guy from Blackbelt mag. who provided no video. Personally, I believe that his students have been conditioned through excessive cooperative partner drills and that the BBmag guy watched enough of those same drills to subconsiously get with the program (I'm being generous, because the only alternative is that he lied in the article, but I'm not willing to make that accusation).

Daniel

 

[Xue Sheng]

Xue, I don't think it's pointless—as long as you accept that the purpose of the discussion is not to persuade someone on the opposite side, but to lay bare the logic and evidence base of the arguments. Remember those debates I and many other people used to have with Last Fearner about the 2,000+ year old history of TKD? His claim that since we couldn't disprove his own particular version of the monks-hiding-in-the-hills story (which that kind of claim always boils down to when it turns out that there isn't one shred of evidence for the ancient origins of some modern TMA), there was just as much reason to believe it as there was to believe the history supported by massive documentation and reliable historical records. When it was pointed out to him that we also couldn't disprove the hypothesis that TKD was invented a year ago by space aliens who telepathically imposed the relevant memories into the minds of a number of people picked at random, as part of a study of Earthling psychology, he was indignant... but never actually managed to show that his unprovable story was better founded than the space aliens story. The long drawn out arguments were in the end very useful, because they brought to light a good deal of just what the evidence base for the KMAs is, and what that base does not provide any support for.

The key point is, I and the other historical realist types weren't trying to persuade LF. We were trying to lay out the key aspects of that evidence base, and what it's possible to infer from it in a way which meets the 'space aliens' test, and what's not possible. My goal wasn't change LF's mind, but to make a certain case before an interested, objective reader with no preconceptions about the matter. And you're not out of this kind of fight yourself, amigo—what about all those people out there who are convinced in their bones that the Shaolin Temple really is the point of origin for all the CMAs, and to hell with known history, eh? If you challenge them on that, you're not trying to change their minds so much as to persuade the as yet unconvinced reader of the discussion that the Shaolin origin theory doesn't hold water, period.

This almost exactly the same kind of debate, transposed to a different domain. Here too I think setting out the structure of the argument ultimately does serve the same purpose.

Let me think, to get sucked into a pointless argument based on unrelated examples that could be taken as condesending (although I don't take it as such) and be part in part responsible for it going on or not Ad nauseam like the MMA vs TMA posts of the past and the future and of course wait to be called jingoistic again (not by you) or not……hmmm let me think

I choose not

Basically the only thing want to say at this point is that I am the only one willing to admit I am a stone. And as one stone to another you can’t argue with a stone because when it is all said and done it is still a stone. And I simply do not have the time for these things anymore.

Later guys.

 

[Carol]

Let me think, to get sucked into a pointless argument based on unrelated examples that could be taken as condesending (although I don't take it as such) and be part in part responsible for it going on or not Ad nauseam like the MMA vs TMA posts of the past and the future and of course wait to be called jingoistic again (not by you) or not……hmmm let me think

I choose not

Basically the only thing want to say at this point is that I am the only one willing to admit I am a stone. And as one stone to another you can’t argue with a stone because when it is all said and done it is still a stone. And I simply do not have the time for these things anymore.

Later guys.

Xue, I know you are a stone. I know this cuz, YOU ROCK!

 

[Aiki Lee]

I personally view ki as the force of one's intention. Bodily energy is put into strong emotions, and such intentions energize people into commiting certain acts. You really like some girl? You build up bodily energy feeling strong emotions toward her which manifests ans an intention (wanting to ask her out) whihc results in action (actually asking her out).

I think intentions can be felt by people certain martial arts schools do sakki tests that allow one to feel the killing intent of another and avoid a blow. This is the evidence I use for my interpretation of ki.

I do not believe one can knock someone out with magic or "posion" another person's ki by striking meridians. I think ki is merely the manifestation of a person's will power, and if people are sensitive enough to their environment and rely on all their senses they can pick up on a person's ki, but I think that is the extention of it. I have not experienced any mystical things involving ki as I interpret it.

 

[geezer]

I choose not

Basically the only thing want to say at this point is that I am the only one willing to admit I am a stone. And as one stone to another you can’t argue with a stone because when it is all said and done it is still a stone. And I simply do not have the time for these things anymore.

Later guys.

Whoa...an impatient stone! Who'd a thunk.

And Daniel... (key the ominous martial music) wheeze, click, puff... wheez, click, puff... (now imitating the stentorian voice of James Earl Jones) regarding the force, ...wheeze, click, puff... I find your lack of faith disturbing...

Oh, and another thing that is disturbing. If you have a reasonably high level of skill and can do a few cool martial stunts, your business will be way better if you explain these techniques in terms of chi or ki than if you resort to not-so-mysterious attempts at explaining things in terms of everyday laws of physics. After all, the assumption is that if you have experienced chi and can use it, you must be a more advanced martial artist than someone who hasn't... even if the other guy can perform at exactly the same level. So when asked about chi, a lot of instructors, get evasively vague and mystical rather that lose a few students who are wedded to these romantic notions (regardless of their veracity).

 

[redantstyle]

imo, kman is talking about projected intention and/or extroverted processing. im part way through a email discussion with him, and this is what i am getting thus far....not woo woo at all. problem is he is using the "k" word, and that has far too many adverse associations connected to it.

far as the earth being round or flat, i really dont know. sure, they tell me it is one way or another, but i dont 'see' or 'feel' that.

perception might not change gravity, but it sure as hell affects how you to respond to the not only the effect, but even the threat of it.

reality might be the 'same' for everybody, but how they approach 'it' is quite varied.

like they say, 'martial arts is ninety percent from the neck up'

regards.

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

There is so many posts on the subject that I will try to address the ones I think are important questions:

No one is saying ki doesn't exist, they're saying prove it. If you say 'I have experienced it, and you can too, but the only way to do so is in person', there's nothing wrong with that. The question is how do you know what you are experiencing is ki?

Prove Ki exist no problem. Ki simply means energy in Japanese and Q is Chinese(However CHI is read in Japanese as Blood were in Chinese Blood is read Xue confused yet?) the you can read into that word as much as you want but simply means energy thats it. Again we have to first speak about what type of Qi are we talking about Human Qi,Earth Qi,Ghost Qi the list can go on. Second is are we speaking about Qi in a religious meaning or in a TCM meaning because different catagories of Qi have different meanings. But Ok lets assume it is Human Qi(human energy) What does human energy mean exactly? We can say Human energy is any energy produced by the human body to produce a function. Chinese thought is the mind(Yi) generates a thought which guides Qi. In english this translates as the mind has a thought sends the impulses and you are able to pick up the cup. Bioelectromagnetic energy may be another form of Qi according to Jwing Ming Yang's defination.
However being that there is at least 32 different Qi it really depends on the catagory we are talking about.

hot tingling feel of 'energy'

I could go on and say well the Laogong point expels Qi and you can feel it and etc etc.
But what you are feeling is blood(xue) and in some text it is said where ever blood goes Qi follows. In certain Qigong exercise they mimic lifting weights and other modern exercises. You will also feel the muscles get heavy this is the muscles tensioning,relaxing increasing,decreasing blood in this manner you can control the duration,contraction of the blood flow.
This is called external method or Waigong training. When you practice breathing durations,length,frequency you are adjusting the oxygen and Carbon dioxide exhange this is called Neigong training or internal training.
Again nothing mystical is going on.

 

[redantstyle]

yi-chi-li.

 

[Ninjamom]

I just found absolute PROOF of the ability to cultivate Chi!!!!!!!!

Sorry, I couldnt' resist.

 

[Archangel M]

Chi-Late

 

[Carol]

I know Chi exists. I found it at a Filipino grocery near Boston.

http://www.soyana.ch/index.php?page=178

 

[K-man]

The divide lies in that those who claim to have experienced chi make those claims to those who have not.

The discussion always starts here, as without someone makeing the claim that they have experienced and/or can manipulate chi, there is not opportunity for skepticism.

The problem arises when the hearer of the claim says, 'wow, that sounds cool. Can you show me how it works.' Then the claimant is either unwilling or unable to do so.


Claiming to be able to manipulate chi is, to a great extent, the equivalent of me telling you that I can manipulate your joints. When you say, show me, I can execute a wristlock on you and work your wrist in such a fashion so as to bear you to the ground. I demonstrate that I can do this, and I can then show you how to execute the same technique. Then you can execute the technique on me.

Since people actually claim to be able to teach Chi and consider it a part of the martial arts and indeed, base martial arts upon it, then they claim that they can execute techniques that require chi, such as knocking out a guy at forty paces. At this point, you have moved from belief in a theory to performance of a technique.

And since those who claim the existence of chi claim that it has martial application, the techniques must be replicable against a noncompliant opponent. When a top student of George Dilman agrees to demonstrate this to National Geographic on camera, can knock out his believing students, but cannot effect in the least some snarky journalist, it looks like he's a con man. And when Dilman makes some lame excuse about how lifting your little toe can negate the chi effect, he comes off like a conman who's been caught.
************
Edit: Another issue in this discussion is that the OP does not define chi or ki in any specific way. He just says,

Somehow, I doubt that he is open to ki being mere biophysics, otherwise he'd have simply started a thread with that premise as a means of explaining ki. But it appears from the issuance of a challenge in the OP and one of his later remarks about the thread not dying anytime soon that what he wants is a lengthy debate. Defining ki as biophysics isn't likely to produce much debate.

Either way, he has started a thread around a nebulous concept that he himself apparently cannot define. Not the best ground to stand on when issuing a challenge.
************
The bottom line is that you cannot claim that you can manipulate a force in an SD application and claim to be able to confer the skill to do so to others unless you can replicate it on someone whom you haven't trained as a nice compliant partner.

So far, no verifiable evidence has been presented that anybody has ever passed that test.

Daniel

I have to sleep sometime then I wake up to find more fires to extinguish!

The discussion always starts here, as without someone makeing the claim that they have experienced and/or can manipulate chi, there is not opportunity for skepticism.

There is ALWAYS the opportunity for skepticism. It is how that skepticism is expressed that leads to a spirited, robust discussion such as we are having or whether it offends people and stifles the debate.

The problem arises when the hearer of the claim says, 'wow, that sounds cool. Can you show me how it works.' Then the claimant is either unwilling or unable to do so.

Agree totally

so come and train with us. When you explain in logical terms how a particular move works, without referring to ki .. great. I'm all for learning. My sensei is always happy to show anyone, hands on.

Claiming to be able to manipulate chi is, to a great extent, the equivalent of me telling you that I can manipulate your joints. When you say, show me, I can execute a wristlock on you and work your wrist in such a fashion so as to bear you to the ground. I demonstrate that I can do this, and I can then show you how to execute the same technique. Then you can execute the technique on me.

Great analogy

. First part is easy ie demonstrate and show, second part to execute the same technique back ... not going to happen without a lot of time and effort. If it was that easy I would be outperforming GD.

Since people actually claim to be able to teach Chi and consider it a part of the martial arts and indeed, base martial arts upon it, then they claim that they can execute techniques that require chi, such as knocking out a guy at forty paces. At this point, you have moved from belief in a theory to performance of a technique.

This is one area where I have some skepticism myself. I have never seen or felt any demonstration of ki at a distance. I am not saying that it can't be done but please do it to me so I can experience it. My experience has been at the hands-on level, up close and personal. What I am saying is that using ki can enhance a technique.

And since those who claim the existence of chi claim that it has martial application, the techniques must be replicable against a noncompliant opponent.

And that is exactly how we train, time after time against a non-compliant partner. Sometimes it works for me, more often than not it doesn't. Depends on the partner and their level of training. I haven't been able to resist the techniques of my sensei yet, but I'm working on it. In my own dojo in training it works most of the time stationary. In trying to apply it in a kumite situation, I'm nowhere near that level.

Edit: Another issue in this discussion is that the OP does not define chi or ki in any specific way. He just says,
"I believe ki exists. I just don't know what it is."

For this I unreservedly apologise. :asian: When I started this thread it was in a fit of pique when I felt that the other ki thread was being hijacked. My tongue was placed firmly in my cheek and I was being deliberately obtuse. I believe this thread has developed in a very reasoned way, especially when we look at the controversial nature of the topic.

Somehow, I doubt that he is open to ki being mere biophysics, otherwise he'd have simply started a thread with that premise as a means of explaining ki. But it appears from the issuance of a challenge in the OP and one of his later remarks about the thread not dying anytime soon that what he wants is a lengthy debate. Defining ki as biophysics isn't likely to produce much debate.

I am open to anything. I will read every post and agree or disagree. In some instances we will just have to agree to disagree. I will not try to impose my understanding on anyone. You are correct, I don't believe ki can be explained as biophysics but that is just my opinion. As to the remark about the thread not dying, that was a remark about how active, thoughtful and inciteful forum members have been. :asian:

Either way, he has started a thread around a nebulous concept that he himself apparently cannot define. Not the best ground to stand on when issuing a challenge.

Once again, I apologise. I set a task worthy of 'Mission Impossible', should you wish to accept it. (This tape won't self-destruct in 10 seconds) Superb effort so far though.

The bottom line is that you cannot claim that you can manipulate a force in an SD application and claim to be able to confer the skill to do so to others unless you can replicate it on someone whom you haven't trained as a nice compliant partner.

So far, no verifiable evidence has been presented that anybody has ever passed that test.

Open challenge. Come and train we us and make up you own mind. Two choices: Total BS ... or ... maybe there is something to ki after all.

 

[newy085]

I have to jump on the bandwagon that beleives in ki, but not the mystical forces, way. When it is described like that I always think of it as what the midichlorions? in Star Wars are.

I believe that ki is more focus or spirit (as in fighting spirit). The ability to centre your mind and body. I believe it is reach through extreme focus, putting your whole mind and body about reaching a single outcome. I think this is the reason that mothers are able to lift cars to get their kids out, and people are able to perform amazing feats when theirs or someone they love's life is in the balance.

I think that training the ability to focus, in complex situations would be beneficial to maybe reaching some of these potentials without external stimulus.

But like always, this is just the way I see the world, I have no reasons or proof.

 

[newy085]

I got so into my post that I forgot the original reason I was posting. I live in Brisbane K-Man, so if your keen to catch up, it would be great to get together and 'swap notes'. I have no experience in ki training, but I have an open mind and a strong chin.

Send me a PM if your interested.

 

[K-man]

Imo (here goes) Ki and all its comparable systems is a way to control your body through meditation.

The human body can do a lot of things that are normally thought impossible. For example, someone I know once was admitted to the psych ward because he reacted badly to certain meds and had to be controlled.
The room he was in was home to an 80 year old frail woman who had issues.
At one point that woman 'flipped' (sorry but I have no better word) and rammed her fist through a procelain washbasin that was over an inch thick.
I could not have done this.

The brain controls the body through various means. Hormones, the nervous system, the blood stream, the metabolism, etc. It also controls experience by managing the sensory input and prioritizing.

I have also seen a yogi on Guinness world records fold himself in a little box, which was then submersed in water for 7 full minutes. He survived by putting himself into a trance that virtually shut down his metabolism.

So if you can consciously control the body and the mind, you will have a controlled application of the ‘super powers’ that can be unlocked. And by using meditation / breathing techniques / ki / kuji-kiri, you can learn to do this.
But here is the thing : If you can use techniques to control the mind and body and take over the automatic processes, then this also means that if you don’t know what you are doing, you can royally **** yourself permanently.

The human brain / body is an incredibly complex piece of machinery, and we still don’t understand how it really works. Experimenting with e.g ki without knowing what you are doing is like going into a nuclear power plant, and then pulling various levers and pushing buttons, wondering out loud ‘gee, what happens if I do this’. In the best case, nothing happens. Worst case, you experience your private little Tjernobyl.'

I believe in ki, kuji, and all those things as systems that you can use to have control of your body by taking over the automatic processes.
I do NOT believe in invisible energy flows that can be controlled by the mind, but not measured in any way.

So if you can use ki to make your arm so strong that it won't bend... yes, I can believe that. But your ki won't allow you to affect other human beings, unless through hypnosis, persuasion or mass hysteria.

See the following examples:

This is derren brown, a stage performer who is a convinced skeptic, and shows he can perform a no touch knockout by manipulation:

This is a case of mass hysteria, persuasion:

This is a case of the same, except the outsider doesn't believe it and kicks some ki ***:

Now, you really are naughty Bruno!!

I asked for no bad words and no videos! However, since they are here, let's have some discussion.
In particular video no. 3. His perception may have been his reality or he wouldn't have put up the cash. Bad decision!

This is the type of situation that gives ki a bad rap. It is so far from my understanding that I don't know what's happening. But let me put up a proposition. PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THIS AS MY BELIEF. Suppose as I was told as a young karateka body + ki = strong. Suppose, as I am told and I read in articles on ki, that ki exists in all living beings. Is it possible for one being to have a stronger ki than another? That is certainly along the line of the training I partake in. It may then follow that the MMA fighter had stronger ki (albeit in a different form to that which was possesed by the karateka) and his ki steamrollered the other guy. Just a possibility. The other explanation is "Pride cometh before the fall."

The second video is interesting. This is one that I can go along with the auto suggestion explanation. If you watch the people falling they fall back in a stiff body attitude, like a pole falling. If you look back to the kiai master's students falling, they collapse, as if their support has been removed. This goes more in line with my understanding.

The first video is intriguing. (I actually went through all eight of the Bullshido tapes.) If the student was not part of the setup, so to speak, we have to accept that it was the 'suggestion' of Derren Brown that caused him to collapse as if he where hit in the stomach, when obviously he was not. When the demonstration was conducted from behind the student could not see Derren and, as far as I can tell, there was no noise to indicate a blow was coming. Yet with Derren's 'punch' the student collapses. Forgive me if I have missed something here. Was it Derren's mind playing with the student's mind, auto-hypnosis or whatever, or something else? How did the student know when to collapse? The video (Bullshido 2 of 8) does say that the power that we have to marvel at is the power of the human mind. :asian:

 

[Daniel Sullivan]

K-Man, I appreciate your response.

Let me ask you this: how do you define 'Ki' or 'Chi'? To an extent, such a discussion depends, to a great extent, on how the term is defined. Since you asked for skeptics to actually disprove the existence of ki, you'd have to define what it is that they're supposed to disprove.

Ki as simply being energy? Well, nobody would argue the existence of energy.

Ki as 'the force' as in an actual, real life equivalent to 'the force' in Star Wars? Different matter.

Since you say that you don't believe that it is biophysics, I assume that you must have at least some idea of what you think it is.

I say that I'm not a skeptic regarding Ki. But what do I mean when I use the term? Just so that, for the purposes of discussion, you know what page I am on:

I am referring to the phenomenon that in the west, is mostly used only in regard to the martial arts, which allows those who can manipulate it to seemingly be stronger, have more endurance, or be faster, or tougher when they make use of this 'phenomenon.'

I define it as the energy within the human body, and the control of it allows us to maximize our efforts by using that energy more efficiently. A simplistic definition, but that is my essential belief on the subject.

So my question to you is, what page are you on in this regard?
*****
Edit: Regarding the topic of your thread, I would like to respond to that as well. No, I don't believe that Ki (or Chi, Qi, or whatever other terms are extant for the same thing) is a hoax.

I do believe that unscrupulous and/or self deluded individuals perpetrate the hoax regarding their abilities as related to Ki and their ability to manipulate it.
*****

Thanks,

Daniel

 

[Flying Crane]

Edit: Regarding the topic of your thread, I would like to respond to that as well. No, I don't believe that Ki (or Chi, Qi, or whatever other terms are extant for the same thing) is a hoax.

I do believe that unscrupulous and/or self deluded individuals perpetrate the hoax regarding their abilities as related to Ki and their ability to manipulate it.
*****

Thanks,

Daniel

I agree with what you are saying here, Daniel. In my opinion, the vast majority of what is presented as "proof" of qi, particularly the no-touch-knockout type stuff and other similar magic trick things, is worthy of heavy skepticism and downright disbelief. But in my opinion, that doesn't negate for me the existance of qi, nor the benefits of practices designed to develop its potential. It's just something different from how many people want to present it, or want to pretend what it is.

 

[Sukerkin]

I'm sure we've danced around this particular tree a few times now? Very interesting to hear everyones comments and opinions tho' :tup:.

Does Ki exist? The awkward answer to tht is "It depends" .

Is it an external mystical force that we learn to channel? I don't think so. Is it, then, an internal mystical force that we learn to channel. Again, I don't think so.

Ki is a useful concept that allows us to voluntarily self-delude ourselves about the physical capabilities of our bodies and thus allow us to overcome those 'limits' that we all learn to impose upon ourselves as we grow up.

It is through use of Ki that I can punch through boards, break limbs and generally hurl people around. It allows me to 'augment' myself to achieve what I might otherwise fear I could not (and thus fail).

It is through a variant of Ki that I can 'read' what an opposing swordsman is going to do, even tho' he or she is static. Through the same variant, I attempt to confuse them about what I am going to do. Does this mean that Ki makes me psychic?

I much prefer the more prosaic explaination that by focussing on making use of Ki (zanshin as it is termed in this useage) I free up those parts of my mind and senses that tie in to observation and interpretation to isolate and interpret barely perceptable movements in a persons posture and muscles. Similarly, it allows me to surpress or misdirect those same changes in myself.

 

[Aiki Lee]

In my dojo we sometimes practice intention sensing.

Ocssionally we blindfold ourselves and throw rubber shuriken at each other to see if we can dodge them. Most people when properly focused can dodge 7 out of 10 and some can consistantly do 10 out of 10. We make sure we don't "time" each shuriken throw so it isn't a lucky guessing game.

I think there is a bit more to ki than just psychological influence, I tend to think that if a person can be "hit" by ki it is because they are sensing his will and intention and he realizes when that intention gets strong so there is a noticeable change they may cause the guy on the recieving end to react in different ways.