Category Archives: Martial Arts

Chi Kung or working with energy.

I’ve recently had one or two people ask about the Chi Kung we do in class, so I thought I’d make a few comments about it.

I should start by saying that Chi Kung (or Qigong) is very ancient.  It pre-dates any of the philosophical or religious traditions that have adopted its use.  It was practiced by early Taoists (which was originally a non-religious philosophy) and then by Buddhists.  Over the centuries Taoism and Buddhism appear to have cross fertilised each other until the Taoists become more religious and the Buddhists adopted much of the typically Chinese philosophy, developing the Zen approach, but during their evolution, both developed increasingly more complex Chi Kung.

Chi Kung has not only various roots but also many branches.  These branches differ according to the intended goal of its implementation.  Some Chi Kung has been developed to enhance health, some to extend life, some to achieve spiritual enlightenment and some to aid in martial arts.

While we tend to think primarily of Chi Kung in terms of the physical exercises, one should understand that it is an approach to the way energy is created, stored and used within the body.  In much the way that in Western physics we might see that energy can be in the form of heat, light, electro/magnetic or stored as potential energy etc, Chi Kung would describe differing types of energy within the body and, much like as in physics, these can be converted from one form to another.  If you rub your hands together you are using chemical energy that you converted from the food you ate, (which previously converted it from light energy,) into heat; your hands will get warm.  So, on a cold day, when you rub your hands together, you are still warming them from the energy that the sun dispensed months earlier.

When we use a heart monitor, we are, of course, actually measuring the electrical charge that operates in the muscles of the heart.  We understand that every atom in our body is simply moving energy held in a pattern.  In a way, as modern western thinkers, we are wonderfully equipped with a paradigm suitable to grasp Chi Kung.

The goal of the Chi Kung practiced will change its emphasis.  For example, the use of herbs and spices will be relevant in some medically orientated traditions.  Some practitioners, with a view to longevity, will be strict vegans.  Those seeking spiritual enlightenment might strictly control their frequency of sexual activity; to enable them to focus that energy into mediations.  Others may need to isolate themselves as a hermit for a period of time.  So, Chi Kung can involve: how you breath, how you eat, how you move and how you think.  It can be part of your physical exercise or part of your religious discipline.  

Chi Kung has travelled a similar path to that of Yoga, though not always in the same direction.  While Yoga began as a religious practice, to help channel prana (Simplistically you can think of prana as Sanskrit for Chi) and has become, for many, simply an exercise for health, Chi Kung began as an exercise for health and was acquired into religious traditions, although it is now becoming increasingly separated again.  In the same way that many people find Yoga beneficial without it having any religious connotations, Chi Kung appears to have begun that way and is now coming full circle.

There is a certain conversation that I have often had with people after they have been training for a while; anything from a few months to a couple of years.

The conversations I’m referring to, all started with a student saying something like “One of the reasons I wanted to learn Kung Fu was that on several occasions I got beaten up / bullied / threatened / picked on, and now that I know I would be able to deal with a violent confrontation, I’ve had no trouble”.

Invariably people find this confusing because as far as they are concerned, they aren’t behaving any differently.  They aren’t five stone of muscle bigger, they haven’t got “I do Kung Fu” tattooed to their foreheads or anything, so why, they wonder, are people behaving differently towards them?

The answer of course is that, at an entirely unconscious level, they are behaving differently and, at an equally unconscious level, others notice.

Unless someone is deliberately doing some quite sophisticated method acting, most of the messages we convey to others are unconscious.  We all understand that our body language will demonstrate a bewildering number of things about us and because we get that, we can often deliberately change aspects of our body language, but even the most expert actor will only be able to fake a few details.  At a simple level, we might try to look more confident, threatening or relaxed in a particular social situation.  At a more sophisticated level we might deliberately mimic a person’s body posture, breathing rhythm or speech cadence to make them feel more at ease with us.  But there is a limit to what can be done with the deliberate adoption of such techniques.  This is usually evident when we become aware that someone is not being sincere.  We observe someone and think, ‘wow he’s trying hard to look hard’ or ‘relaxed’ or ‘friendly’ or whatever.  We often see through someone’s attempt at deliberate manipulation of their body language, particularly if we are looking for it.  Of course, sometimes we are easily fooled because we want to believe the message we are being given; we want to believe that the person talking to us likes us, for example.

It is because most of the details that we observe in another are unconsciously observed that we are usually unaware of their complexity.  Let me point out some of the more obvious factors first.  The angle or set of the spine and the position of the head, the position of shoulders and hands, where exactly the eyes are looking and how steadily, the tone and texture of the skin.  Breath is very complex; the rhythm and speed are obvious, but also there is the smoothness of the breath, whether the breathing is being done high or low in the chest.  A person’s speech is constantly changing according to how they feel; the vocal cords undergo subtle changes of tension according to one’s emotional state.  And I haven’t even mentioned pheromones!  Again, at a profoundly unconscious level, we are constantly reading each other’s chemical signatures.  Apparently lap dancers who are taking contraceptive pills take, on average, significantly less tips. (“significantly” in this context refers to statistical analysis; i.e. not a small enough difference to be mere chance) It is believed that men are unconsciously aware of which women are fertile!  From a negative perspective, have you ever tried to hide, from someone who knows you, that you are feeling angry or worried?  You might carefully control you posture; your body language, but they might hear it in your voice, see it in your skin tone, detect it in your breathing or be actually smelling it in your sweat.

The reason that those, who become proficient at Kung Fu, don’t often get picked on, is simply that they project their sense of self assurance, whether they realise it or not.  Other people are reading them, at an unconscious level, and what they read is not “potential victim” but instead they read “potentially dangerous!”

Most people will be aware that economy of motion implies, in most cases finding the shortest line between two points.  In Kung Fu that is exemplified by using a straight punch; the straightest, shortest route to the target.  Get in close, keep it tight, relax and unleash fast effective blows.  In many ways, the one-inch punch is the ultimate expression of economy of motion.  But it is so much more.

Economy of motion is an essential element within the whole philosophy of Tao Te Kung Fu.  The psychologist E. R. Guthrie back in 1952 defined “skill” as “the ability to bring about some end result with the maximum certainty and minimum outlay of energy, or of time and energy.”  This is a beautiful fit with the way we train.

The more anxious one gets, the higher one’s level of emotional arousal, the less one is able to competently perform complex manoeuvres.  First, the fine motor skills go at around 115 heart beats per minute, then the multi-movement actions go at around 145 heartbeats per minute, and by the time you get to 175 you are able to perform only simple movements using the large muscles.  This is one of the reasons that the more precise and complex techniques are only taught once students have a few years of training behind them; the training teaches them to remain calmer and more in control, and therefore able to use more complex techniques and the fine motor skills required for things like pressure points.  Until one is competent enough to have the confidence and with it, the relaxed metabolism, to stay calm, one can’t use such complex and precise techniques.

All techniques are therefore stripped of all superfluous movements.  The aim is the shortest motion, the quickest route to the objective, the least strength required, the technique that will achieve the fastest, easiest result.

This all means that the training methods must be the best, using the most comprehensive and effective programmes to get students to the highest level of ability in the shortest time.  The first principle of fighting strategy is of winning in the fastest time; around 1.5 to 2 seconds should finish a fight.  Because our aim has been to develop a system that, as far as is possible, anyone can use, all techniques should require the least strength.  Which relates to another aspect of the style, which is targeting that achieves maximum effect with minimum power, while not relying on the tiny targeting of precise pressure points.  For example, while there are plenty of points on the head that will finish a fight quickly, they are quite difficult to hit, partly because of size and partly because people automatically protect their head vigorously.  By comparison, the neck has many vulnerable points, so many that one does not need to be very precise; you’re simply likely to hit one.

So if economy of motion achieves maximum certainty of outcome, with minimum expenditure of energy in the shortest time it is synonymous with what constitutes ‘skill.’

It is not enough to be effective in martial arts.  Most styles, when performed by a competent practitioner will work, but to be efficient, to use the best economy of motion, means a system will work for more people and better, quicker and more easily.

Some fighting styles would encourage you to train so that you become harder, stronger and more able to take out the obstacle before you; sure, that’s one way.
The one thing in life that always seems to get its way is water.  It will always find a way to the sea.  Put a boulder in it’s way; it just goes around.  Block the stream altogether and it will patiently build up and become a lake, only until it can find the one point that gives way first, then off it goes again.  It may take a totally different path now, but it will get to the sea and always by the easiest route. 
It is an axiom that in any system the one with the most flexibility will generally win.  A business man who is able to switch from one type of business to another as the market changes will tend to succeed.  A farmer who can change to different crops as the climate or demand changes will tend to flourish.

This tendency can be seen from either a positive or a negative perspective.

While we tell our kids that cheats seldom prosper, the truth is that the one who will step outside the rules, the one not confined to moral norms will tend to win.  They just won’t be winning at the game others thought they were playing.  If others stick to one set of rules and you don’t, you will get the better of them, you just won’t be playing the same game.  A game is the set of rules, you might get the better of your opponent by cheating, say, fouling in football, but don’t say you beat them at football; you stopped playing that the moment you abandoned the rules.

Socially, the one willing to step outside the norms (rules) of good manners will often win; if no one panders to your every whim, it’s probably because you aren’t likely to have a tantrum in public.
Of course, some people don’t get asked to play or taken out much!

Sometimes the following the way of least resistance is the result of laziness or fear of change.  Sometimes we need to stop and ask; whose game am I playing?  Who set these rules?  Do I want to play this game?  Are you stuck in a rut, a path to the sea, not made by you?  Are you carrying on because it’s the easiest way?  Sometimes it takes just a little effort or indeed courage, to switch courses.  When a river is diverted at one point, it doesn’t need to know the whole route it will now take, it will carry on and find the way, but one change, at one point, can set it on a different path for the next thousand miles. 

There are times when to relax and go with the flow, to be flexible, to not resist a force, but to yield, slide out of the way, go around and take the easy way, is the best thing to do.  Then again, there are times when a small action will begin a wave that will build and become a tsunami that shakes the earth.  Sometimes to hold back water as it builds up weight means it can be released with devastating power.  There are times when a small dam will send a stream to one side of a watershed and one valley will be nourished while another has a drought.

Realising that there are many possible ways of responding and acting is part of remaining flexible; instinctively and immediately knowing the best way to act in any given situation requires the development of wisdom over a lifetime.  Often the best one can do is to be aware of what the situation is and the possibilities available.  To use a simple example:  If you realise that you are in a potentially vulnerable/dangerous situation, you can be aware of possible threats and possible escape routes and possible responses.  You don’t have to be constantly paranoid, just have an awareness level that is in tune with the risk.  If you are unaware that you are even in a dangerous situation, if anything happens, it will be a surprise and instead of acting with any of the possible responses, shock will make you freeze.  This is true in all areas of life; whether you are trading on the stock exchange, driving on a motorway, falling in love or walking home at night.

It is so often the case that the most useful lessons (and, it appears, the hardest to apply) are also the simplest to understand.  In Yorkshire they say “If things don’t change, they’ll stay as they are.”  We know it.  So why does it take so long to sink in?  I heard a definition of insanity that described it as doing the same thing repeatedly in the expectation of getting a different result.  Someone will say, “I’m on a diet at the moment” and you reply, “Weren’t you on a diet last time we met, a year ago?”  “Yes” they respond, sheepishly “I seem to always be on a diet.”  And you want to scream at them “Well it’s not working, is it!”  If what you are doing is not working do something different.  Make a change.

If you want things to change you have to do something different.  Start something new.  Consider how to achieve what you want or where you want to be, then work out the steps to get there, and then take the first step.  You can only achieve any goal by taking action.

When life is raining blows on you, if all you do is try to find ways to block them, eventually you will get beaten down.  When you crisis manage your life, constantly on the back foot, just dealing with one problem before the next one comes.  When you just defend yourself, blocking one blow after another, all you can ever do is postpone your inevitable defeat.  Sooner or later, the blow will be too hard, or you won’t react in time or you’ll misjudge the angle of attack, and you will go down.

Move.  Step aside.  Do something different.  Do something that will get you results.  Attack! (It’s odd how often what you learn in Kung Fu applies to life in general.)
We all know this.  So why don’t we?  Because, change is scary.  Action is scary.  To walk you have to alternate from stepping into air, chaos, and your foot landing, order.  It is only in the times of chaos that we are able to move forward or change direction.  Another problem is that the feeling that you’re losing crushes your spirit and takes the fight out of you.  I once had to deal with a guy outside a night club who was just slapping his girlfriend around the head; quite hard.  She cowered against a wall, her arms wrapped over her face.  I don’t know how many times he’d struck her; several in the time it took me to get across the road.  When I asked her why she put up with it, she said that if she moved out of the way or tried to hit back, she was afraid it would make him angry.  If you hadn’t guessed yet, yes, when he got angry, he would slap her.  She just didn’t believe she could change things.  Only when you believe you can change things, can you start to consider how to.

When my children were young, if something appeared to be beyond them, I would ask “How do you eat an elephant?” and they would answer with a learned response “One bite at a time.”  I  know we’ve all heard it before.  “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.”  If you can take one step, you can take another and another.  It might take time, but the sooner you start, the sooner you’ll arrive.  Each step makes success more believable and only when it becomes believable is it ever going to be achievable.  It’s the first step that is the hardest.  If you can learn to make the first step an instinct, an automatic reaction, the rest of the journey becomes believable and therefore possible.  Taking positive action can become a lifestyle.

The best way to raise enough courage to take the first step is to truly visualise the end result so realistically, with so many details, that it becomes an emotional event and the decision to act will follow, caught up in the heat like a wildfire of emotional energy.

Once you have made one journey that looked impossible, the next will not be so daunting. It’s your first marathon, I’m told, that’s the hardest.

Kung Fu literally means “achieving success/excellence though hard/disciplined work.”  Disciplined in this context means that you take one step at a time and keep taking them.