Magic Power! Wow, who wouldn't want that?

This is the appeal of "ki" (in Chinese, "chi") power. It has lured in a lot of people to martial arts and has a lot written about it. The problem is, most of what people think is bunk. I am not talking about applying scientific reasoning to the subject. I am talking about the ki power talked about in the west by those peddling their powers does not match what the Japanese say about ki. There is so much bunk that has been built up about the matter that it doesn't resemble what it originally was meant in Japan.

First of all, let us look at the Japanese character for ki. 気 is how it is now written. Prior to WWII, it was written like this, 氣. Let me make them larger to make it easier to see.

気 is the new way, 氣 the old.

The difference is that it used to contain the character for rice, 米.

The explanation I got for the original character was that when the writing system was being developed back in China, people would put rice in a pot, put on a lid and start to cook it. As the heat rose and the air expanded, the lid moved. The part of the character that has not changed is the lid.

The ancient Chinese took this to represent something that they could see the effects of, but had no idea how it was happening. Sure we know about expanding air now, but they had no way to measure or observe that back then. All they knew was that if they did "A" then "B" would happen. This is the essence of ki. Put yourself in the place of someone in the third century noticing things but having no way to explain the reasons why it is happening.

I have seen blithering idiots go on about "Heaven's ki" and making it sound like heaven is sending down energy. No. In Japanese (and Chinese I think) Ten 天(heaven) ki is the word for weather- 天気. A third century peasant, or even the most learned scholar for that matter, had no idea about humidity, air pressure systems, etc. But they knew that when the smoke of a fire stayed low to the ground, or that there was a ring around the moon, that there would be certain changes in the weather.

Today, the character ki can be found in words relating to a lot of things. Yes, it is talked about in acupuncture, but when you talk about things like emotions (they didn't know about hormones after all) you can also find it. If you ki is working hard (Kiguro) then you have anxiety. If your ki goes around (Ki ga mawaru) then you are thoughtful, considerate and full of good ideas.

Is it a mystical power? Well, it depends. It certainly could have been in some cases to people in the past. But those that show up to Japan expecting to learn about the mysterious force of ki and planning on learning how to throw ki fireballs will be met with amusement.

In essence, there are still a lot of things science can't fully explain. There still are mysteries in the world. But that does not mean that we have to accept anyone else's explanation for why some things happen if they don't provide proof. That logical fallacy is used a lot by 9-11 conspiracy theorists. If someone can't explain why certain things happened, then it MUST mean that their story that planted explosives brought down the towers and not the planes is true. Don't fall into that trap. If you don't know why something happens, accept it and keep your mind open until something is proven to explain what is going on.

This relates a lot to the fifth dan test in my art of Bujinkan. It is also called the sakki test (sakki = “killer ki”) In it, the applicant sits with his back to the tester who has a sword. Now it is a bamboo sword, in the past they used real ones. (Damned lawyers.) At some point, the tester swings down with a blow to the head. If you get out of the way, you pass.

I took the test. I passed it on my first attempt. And no I have no idea how it works. I see other guys who took numerous tries to pass the test go on and on about the supposed mystical aspects of the test. For me, it was weird but I have no way to explain exactly why I did what I did.

One of my teachers in Japan failed the test at least twice. He admitted it and said that prior to taking the test for the first time he was heavily into exercises that were supposed to raise his psychic senses. He stood with his eyes closed and tried to feel if someone was reaching out to him or not and things like that. He took the test and failed. He increased his work on his exercises and failed again. He said it was only when he took the attitude of "screw it" that he was able to sit down and pass the test.

What is happening in the test? As I said, I have no real proof of anything. And I really think anyone telling you much about what is going on is speaking out of their ass. For me, it is enough to see it in action to remind us that there are still things we can't explain and mysteries to yet discover. The answer might be very mundane, and probably is. I remember reading about a horse that filled demonstration halls with its ability to do math. The addition problem would be asked of it and it would tap out the correct answer with its hoof. So, they took it into a lab to test it. In the lab, it failed. They finally figured out that the horse wasn't adding up anything. It was instead picking up on some level the reaction of the crowd as it tapped the last and correct number that matched the answer.

Could that be similar to what is going on with the fifth dan test? Could we be picking up unconsciously the reactions of the people watching as they unconsciously pick up the testers intention to come down? I can't say for certain one way or another. So I look on anyone speaking about the subject with confidence as a fool at best, and a con man more times than not.

Aikido is founded with the word ki as part of it. It means the way (道) of blending (合) ki- (気)- 合気道. Exactly what ki is can be the subject of a lot of debate. There are nuts in every country and martial art. But for the most part, those doing aikido in Japan just shrug and keep practicing their basics when asked about ki. Aikido is big about taking an attack and redirecting it. The ai part of the word means, "to blend." As with many things in Japanese, there are several nuances that can be taken into account with the word. (This is why all the Japanese to English translators I know drink a lot.) It might mean blending with the inertia of the attack, blending with the spirit of the other guy, putting your mindset in line with his so much you anticipate his next moves.. or all of the above and maybe none.

Reverse aiki (合気) and you get kiai (気合). Many have heard about kiai-jutsu or giving a kiai when doing a strike. But most people teaching kiai in America have no idea about its real nature. Just as aiki means blending with ki, so does kiai. But in this case, it is unifying your own ki all to one purpose. At the very basic level it means to keep your mind on what you are doing instead of letting your mind wander. But it goes much deeper than that as your practice progresses. Everything inside you works as one. The yell you give is merely the manifestation of this effect. In fact, a lot of times there is no yell and no need for one. But you can find many examples of guys on youtube who seem to think that merely screaming louder and more fiercely makes them better. Take a look at some of those bozos and then find a demonstration from Japan of masters of the older arts. Their kiai will be fierce, but it is like the fierceness is an aftereffect rather than the purpose. That is key to understanding things like ki in my opinion.

Ki is used in many contexts. When you see a great musician at work, that is their ki. Obviously I am not talking about some mystical power. But if you ever take a look at a very skilled artist doing their thing you know that there is.. something.. going on. I have seen skilled performers in kyogen (an ancient Japanese comedic art) lounge around waiting to perform. Once they stand up..something..happens and their movements are now like lasers in their intensity. That is ki. That is what we should be striving for in whatever we do. But it doesn't take meditating under a waterfall to get and it won't let us read minds.

So go forth, do your best, and let the Ki be with you.

(Oh, and please take the time to look over the books I have for sale. My wife makes me justify writing these things by making at least a token attempt to get some money out of it.)