Martial Arts Discussion

Jamie Fowler2 said:But how do you actually feel chi? Where does your focus go when you contract at the end of a strike? And why even contract at the finish? (Trick question: is that chi yin or yang? 😁 )

You can experience chi in so many different ways: warmth, coldness, tingling, or even a pulsing sensation. For instance, if you hold your hands together, it feels as though the air itself has volume and you can actually feel it pressing against you. Through sheer mental willpower, you can try to direct chi to any part of your body—though, if I’m being honest, I’ve only been partially successful at that! As for whether chi is yin or yang? Hmm, from what I understand, chi itself isn't strictly yin or yang; rather, it manifests *as* yin or yang. So, a movement could be yin or it could be yang, soft or hard...

When you're striking, you should be focusing your mind onto a single point of impact to funnel the chi right there. The same logic applies to blocking (though that has never quite worked for me!).

Regarding that contraction at the end of a strike—I'm still a bit fuzzy on the reasoning there. I remember reading somewhere that in Tai Chi, strikes are supposed to be completely soft, even at the moment of contact with the opponent's surface.

And isn't the whole point of practicing Tai Chi to clear out those internal blockages? After all, that's the only way chi can flow freely through the body.
That comment you made about "my chi is stronger than yours" reminds me of something our Sensei Mario Topolšek once mentioned. He said that with enough practice, a fighter eventually reaches a level where they can sense an opponent's chi, allowing them to practically predict every move. He even added that a fight between two true masters usually ends after just one strike—or sometimes, none at all!

I'm constantly trying to channel all of this into my Sanchin kata training. Like they say to the Uechia masters: "Everything is in Sanchin; the entire art is contained within Sanchin." It covers the fundamental movements, body conditioning, breathing, rooting, chi, and concentration. Ultimately, you're aiming for a meditative state where your mind isn't anchored to any specific body part, but instead, you become fully aware of everything both inside and outside yourself. I truly believe that's the peak every martial artist should strive for, regardless of their style. At that level, all the differences between various disciplines just seem to melt away.

The only catch? You'd probably need to train four or five hours a day, and there's absolutely no guarantee you'll ever actually reach that level.

Maybe that "inner versus outer" concept refers to the balance between using muscle versus using chi during a movement (though, personally, I find the idea of moving without using any muscle a little hard to wrap my head around).

Man, I've gone and dried myself out... I'll stop there for now.

Jamie Fowler2 said:If you don't know anything, why the hell are you even training?

I’ll know when I hit enlightenment. Until then, it's hard work. After that? It's still hard work.

😁 😛

Heat, cold, pulsing—you can get that just by shaking your hands out properly. (Kind of like Ki Aikido, right Peter Myers29?). Not sure if that actually counts as "chi."

That whole thing about focusing on a single point also applies to body "weight." It's easy to demonstrate but a pain to explain. Best way to pick up that skill is through partner drills like Tui Shou.

Regarding Tai Chi at the end of a strike—what you said isn't quite spot on. In an ideal scenario, even if the muscles are relaxed or nearly so, the alignment of the bones and tendons creates this unbroken, solid chain from the feet all the way to the point of impact. If the practitioner wants to, they'll feel hard as a rock under pressure. That's just a byproduct of the previous skills. There’s no secret sauce here—every martial art has something similar (like the Bong in Wing Chun or the rooted hand in Aikido)—it's just human biomechanics at work. That Tai Chi "relaxation" is just what happens when you orient yourself toward tactics and pull the opponent into empty space.

As for what Mario Topolšek wrote... well, I have to take his word for it since I saw it with my own eyes 😁 but man, sensing intention sounds like straight-up science fiction.

A fighter's need to be "everywhere at once" in their body seems kind of opposite to striking from just one single point, doesn't it? Or maybe it's just some koan... 😁

Man, it would be nice to just disappear to a monastery for a couple of years and just train.

Internal vs. external... if we're going by definitions, it has nothing to do with muscle mass or whatever. Original Tai Chi involved some pretty grueling exercises. Most of the forms people see nowadays don't have much to do with Tai Chi as a combat art—they just show the application of skills you're supposed to have mastered through intense fundamental drills. The "softness" of those (internal) skills comes from the necessity of rapid changes. There's a saying: you only start learning how *not* to use force once you know how to apply it. And once you master not using force, then you can start learning how to change.

Movement without muscles is just self-delusion 😁 You need muscles just to stand upright.

Peter Myers29 said:I'll know it when I hit enlightenment... Hard training before enlightenment, hard training after enlightenment.

😁 😛

Yeah, right. Aikido isn't Shaolin or Karate. You aren't going anywhere without actually understanding what you're doing.

Jamie Fowler2 said:Not a chance.

🙄 ....

Jamie Fowler2 said:Aikido isn't Shaolin or Karate. You won't move forward without understanding.

You won't make progress in Karate without understanding either. Or in any other skill, for that matter. 🙄

Jamie Fowler2 said:heat, coldness, pulsing—you can actually achieve that just by shaking your hands really well. (Kind of like Ki Aikido, right Toco?). I'm not entirely sure if that qualifies as "chi."

Regarding what Topolšek wrote... well, I have to take his word for it since I've witnessed it firsthand 😁 but man, the idea of being able to sense someone's actual intention sounds straight out of a sci-fi movie, doesn't it?

Isn't there a bit of a contradiction in a fighter needing to be "everywhere at once" within their own body while simultaneously focusing a strike onto a single point? Or am I just overthinking this? Is it some kind of Zen koan? 😁

It would be absolutely incredible to just disappear to some remote monastery for a few years just to focus on training.

What I was actually thinking about was that sensation of warmth, cold, or pulsing that you can trigger mentally in any part of your body without moving a muscle—you know, while sitting perfectly still.

Now, I don't have a clue how sensing intention actually works, but I do know this: Sensei Topolšek once pressed a bamboo staff against my solar plexus, and with just the slightest bit of pressure, he rendered me completely unable to step forward or even throw a punch... it was a feeling of total helplessness. And I've heard stories of him walking a 220-pound guy around a dojo like that, leaving the guy totally unable to find his balance!

The physical force is concentrated into one specific point, yet the mind remains omnipresent. It’s that state where your awareness isn't restricted to just the limb you're using, but rather you're conscious of every single part of your body simultaneously. (Don't ask me how to actually pull that off, but I suspect it's similar to meditation—where after intense concentration on one thing, you eventually become that thing, at least in your mind).

The real catch with all of this is that until you feel it on your own skin, it's incredibly hard to wrap your head around. Which means you basically have to train like crazy (I'm talking 3 or 4 hours a day!), have faith, and hopefully, something will happen.

Peter Myers29 said:🙄 ....
You aren't going anywhere in karate without understanding what you're doing. Honestly... doesn't matter what skill you pick up—if you don't get it, you're stuck... 🙄

So that means you actually know something, huh... 😛 Alright, then—drop some actual wisdom for once.

Look, in Shaolin they have this whole "progress" method—basically just punching a tree with your bare knuckles for a year straight. You don't even need to understand the mechanics or whatever... you just keep swinging. Then, a year later, you’ve got a killer punch. How is that not progress?...

Any hysterical old lady can make you feel warmth, coldness, or pulsing anywhere in your body. Those sensations are just symptoms of "something" else. They aren't "it."

That stick thing is just that falling into a void I was talking about. If your opponent can't find that "point," they can't push you like that. It’s way harder than people think. Using the stick is just the early stage of sensing intent—actually, it's not even intent yet, just the opponent's movement and body orientation. The Chinese used to demonstrate this skill by holding a bird in their palm. If the bird tried to fly, it would push off the hand—as soon as they felt that push, they'd snap their hand down just an inch, and the terrified little thing wouldn't dare take flight. Animal cruelty... what a mess.

As for concentrating force into a single point—I think you need to be fully connected and have strength flowing through your entire body first. If you attack me with all your power concentrated into one spot, I'll do whatever I want to you. Unless, of course, you can shift that point incredibly fast. You get there easily by widening your focus, exactly like you said. Otherwise, that’s basically the specialty of Xing Yi.

Every step is a drill 😁

Even though most of my training involves Eastern martial arts rooted in this kind of philosophy, I tend to take a more Western approach to it. To be honest, I just don't have the time or the headspace to get lost in deep metaphysical speculation.
The reality is simpler: the human body generates chemical energy through its biological processes. How much of that energy is actually available to me depends entirely on my physical conditioning and my mental state.
How I tap into and distribute that energy comes down to technique, a practical understanding of what those movements offer, an awareness of body mechanics, logic, and sheer focus.
🙂