heretic888 said:
I would also like to point out that, outside of aikido and reiki, it is somewhat disingenous to equate the Chinese concept of ch'i with the Japanese concept of ki. In most forms of traditional budo, ki is imagined more along the lines of something as "spirit" (with a similar meaning as shin), as opposed to some internal "force" or "energy" you can manipulate.
Laterz.
I really liked the first couple of paragraphs, as the positive rep point I sent you says, but I'd like to comment on this last one.
Both the Japanese Ki and Chinese Chi are said to be energy. Calling energy a "Force" is the same thing, different terms. (Like: Magnetism can be described as both a force and an energy)
Also: In much of the Japanese study of what might be called "KI-work" the mind and breath play a roll in manipulating Ki, just like in it's Chinese counterpart of Chi-Kung. Both systems use meditation to help become sensitive to this energy and breathwork in manipulating it. So with the mind manipulating it consider this, the Japanese word "Shin" is used interchangably for either the concept of "mind" or "spirit". Likewise, the Japanese term spirit (as used in the Koryu Budo/Bujutsu) is Not a direct correlation to the use of the term in western thinking.. but probably has more to do with mental focus and exertion of a directed will as well as a stoic harnessing of emotion.
So: In Japanese the term for mind can equate to 'spirit'. Both the Japanese and Chinese Chi/Ki systems have a good deal of breathwork and meditation, along with a specific type of movement, to aquire the ability to make use of or "manipulate" this energy/force.
All of this comes from a very similar source: Traditional Chinese Medicine (AKA: TCM), the oldest form of medicine still in active use. Both the Japanese and Chinese martial traditions have many of the same theories as TCM such as meridian theory, exact points of entry to these meridians, the use of breathwork, mental work and movement/exercise to influence/control the energy that runs through these meridians, and the physical accessing of these meridians to elicit physical results in the recipient; wether for healing, subduing or harming. The two cultures have their own systems of healing based on these theories and practices: in the Japanese culture they have Shiatsu and secondarily Reiki (a very new field to a very old approach).... their correlation in the Chinese culture? Accupuncture and Tui-na and accupuncture. (Tui-na is the process of the diagnosis and treatment of physical issues through massage that activates certain patterns throughout the recipient's meridians to cause specific effects....it's pretty much a direct correlation to the much bettern known "Shiatsu".) The two cultures also have their own martial traditions that address these theories, both are repleat with them. Often the practitioner is ignorant that they are infact activating the attackers Kyusho or "Pressure Points"....a term that falls woefully short of what it really is by the way. For instance: the traditional Koryu-Bugei (traditional Warrior systems) of Japan have a study called "Kyushojutsu", which is the study of using/accessing the body's meridians through specific points that can be struck, poked, rubbed, grabed, brushed, scratched, stabbed, twisted...etc. all to elicit anything from added pain to their strike to abrupt debilitating pain, to numbness, to energy drain (like an instant fatigue), inhibitting breath, inhibiting the regular flow of blood, unconsciousness (short and long term), blindness or other sensory disruption(primarily short term), muscle spasms/cramps, loss of use of a limb, severe disorientation or death. The process to do this uses these "points" of access into the body's meridians to effect the flow of Chi and effect the body's neurological system.
The oldest systems of Karate-Do are proven to be founded upon a deep knowledge of this practice. The ancient texts known as the "Bubishi" show that the men recognized as the great masters of Okinawa founded their kata and technical practices on this knowledge and skill that they aquired from martial arts masters and texts in Fuchow China. Gichin Funakoshi is quoted (if memory serves) as saying that all strikes should be directed at "Kyusho"...these points of access. To this day if a traditional Karateka were to take this knowledge of Kyushojutsu and apply it to their Kata-Bunkai (interpretation of their forms) they unfold a WEALTH of information that the masters imbedded within, some that many....Many....for decades never knew was a facet of their art. Chojun Miyagi Sensei, the founder of Goju Ryu Karate-Do, drew the name of his system (Goju = hard/soft) from a line in the Bubishi, showing he had this knowledge. The Bubishi came from masters in the area of Fuchow China... which is exactly where Master Miyagi returned to study martial arts well after he'd alredy founded his style, been awarded the title of "Hanshi" (sort of a 'teacher of teachers' according to the Budokukai, the organizing board for traditional martial arts in Japan) and made The representative OF the Budokukai for the RyuKyu Islands (Okinawan archipelago).... after ALL that........where did the master return 3 times to train, to finish off his art and create the main Kata for his system? Fuchow China, the same place that the "Bubishi" came from. Miyagi's Kata are also known for their imbedded breathwork....which correlates to the breathwork of Chi-Kung. Anko Itosu and Azato Itosu (two of Funakoshi's primary instructors) also demonstrated a replete knowledge of the Bubishi and it's principles. I put all of this forward to show... the teachings that later split and divided like a protazoa ....and became the MANY systems that are now lumped into the catagory of "Karate-Do" were in many regards founded on these systems of "Manipulating" Chi, through accessing the paths through which Chi/Ki flows...the "meridians" of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The Chinese systems???
WOW.... many of them were founded on this knowledge and a good deal of those still contain the "know HOW", both of cultivating the ability to control/manipulate the Chi in themselves as well as using the knowledge as a part of their martial art to overcome any attacker efficiently. The breathwork, the postures, the motion, the meditative exercises, the knowledge of the access points and HOW to access them......... it's pretty much "IN THERE" in the Chinese arts.
In all of these systems, the Chi/Ki can be called "Spirit" or "Mind" with equal accuracy.....same with "Energy" or "Force".
wow.....didn't know I'd written THIS much. Hope yall stayed with me.
thanks if you did.
Your Brother
John
