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The Practice and Use of Chi in the Martial Arts

By Al Case


When it comes to building that thing called chi energy, tai chi kung fu is one of the best. What's interesting is that the principles used in that martial art can be used in Karate, taekwondo, aikido, or whatever. The central principles being utilized, you see, are pretty universal.

One of the first drills one might encounter, if one finds a good tai chi chuan system, is 'holding the bowl.' This is an easy drill, at least for the first couple of minutes...smile. One simply assumes an hourglass stance, back very slightly rounded, and positions the arms as if holding a large pot.

The first challenge in this stance is that of the mental aspect. One's mind starts to have thoughts, and these thoughts are a distraction. Once one has dedicated himself to getting past this phenomena, the mind thoughts start to disappear.

The second challenge in doing this drill is physical in nature. After sixty minutes or so, the body tends to get riled. It doesn't want to run energy through it, it doesn't want the discipline, and it will shake and shimmy and and even try to get sick.

So you ignore the mind, and you ignore the body, and you concentrate on the stillness of the mind (listening to the universe around you), and moving energy through the physical body. After a short while in the holding the bowl posture one will start to feel energy, and there are many things you can do with this energy. You can move it around the bowl, you can channel it through the major meridian running through the center of the front and back of the body, and you can do other things.

What is of importance is that this exercise has martial arts effects. After becoming practiced at this posture, doing the karate pattern called Sanchin will show amazing amounts of chi power. One's martial arts abilities will truly start to grow and manifest.

This posture, incidentally, is one of the major ten hands positions, as outlined in 'The Perfect Technique,' (Quality Press). Thus, it becomes a centerpost for advanced martial arts studies. The concept of this book is that there are only ten positions the arms can be in that will 'run' energy, and that the position of the arms in the 'holding the bowl' posture, as practiced in tai chi Kung Fu, is the first and possibly the most crucial of these arm positions.




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