Since the beginning of time mankind has always searched, created and believed in something beyond our perceived reality.  From mythical beasts, gods, mind altering drugs to magic, anything that isn’t within our current grasp of understanding or removes us from reality.  We are not a content creature unfortunately, and reality is never good enough.  And the martial arts have proven no different.  Why do we search for the greener grass of magic when reality is just as mysterious and amazing and sitting within our own back yard?

From super human strength to being indestructible, every martial artist has heard the stories of old time instructors using ki/chi power to demonstrate feats of strength and mysticism.  They’re great stories, but are they real?  I honestly don’t know.  I will say, I choose not to believe in them until proven otherwise however.  I have no interest in wasting my energy trying to attain something that MIGHT be there, when I can place all of my energy into something that IS there.  Upon watching demonstrations or hearing old stories of past instructors, don’t be quick to dive into the practice of the mystical arts and spending 8 hours a day meditating, or going on an all dirt diet, or spending a month naked on a snowy mountain to supposedly attain such incredible skills.  First, one must ask themselves a few questions.

Where did it start?  It’s tough to say where the origins of ki energy and the techniques used came from.  However, it is known that both ninja clans and samurai not only welcomed the thought of being other-worldly in their abilities, but actually went to great lengths to produce this mystical image of themselves to help build fear in their enemies on the battle field.

What better way to mentally destroy your opponent then to make them believe you have god like powers not from this earth?  I believe this is where much of the mysticism came from, but not all.  If you knew nothing of the martial arts and saw me place a man larger than me to his knees , crying in pain, just by touching him with my finger, you would think it’s magic, would you not?  Especially if you were that person being dropped to your knees!  However, it’s not magic, it’s science and knowledge of the human body that can create that scenario.  Yet, if I never told you, you would go on believe it was magic.  And what if I showed you how to do it, but never explained why it worked?  And what if you turned around and taught it to someone else, but since you didn’t know the science behind it, you taught it as magic, or ki power?  You would then have mystical techniques that work, but aren’t understood.

I believe this is a very likely scenario in the martial arts world.  Many instructors forego explaining how techniques work to their students, they just need to make sure their student knows how to do it, asking “why” doesn’t seem important to some when it works.  Whether or not ancient martial arts instructors once knew how these techniques worked scientifically or if they just experimented and saw the end result and taught it, is not known.  However, science is learning more and more about eastern medicine and eastern martial arts techniques and beginning to “un-mystify” them with scientific explanation.  One by one, the mysticism is turning into reality by science.  Those endless hours of meditation to cultivate ones ki energy to perform amazing demonstration, just might be knocked down to a 10 minute biomechanics lesson.

What’s the point?  When would this be useful?  Why should I dedicate decades of my life practicing hours on end to learn these techniques?  The unbendable arm, being “glued” to the ground and unable to be lifted, producing heat from the hands, standing ones ground when being pushed by multiple people, taking a kick to the family jewels, all of these are examples of ki (or chi) power being used to demonstrate its power.   They are fun to watch, but what use are they beyond demonstration?  Never having your arm broken, never being thrown off balance, these are useful things in a fight or even in daily life, but why have I never seen them used in a realistic situation?  Why are there always rules to how one can attempt to lift, bend or kick?  Why does the person performing these demonstrations have to prepare themselves and do breathing exercises before the demonstration can be done, does this not render it useless in a real situation?

I have so many questions, none of which have ever been answered.  If the answer is that there is no preparation needed to perform these demonstrations and they can be used in a real scenario, then does that mean that these people never get illnesses, bumps, bruises, cuts or even fall off balance throughout their entire life?  Why do I not believe this?  I love the stories, the demonstrations and am open to being proven wrong, but as it stands, all of these demonstrations can be explained through reality, kinesiology, anatomy, biomechanics…science.  It may not be the answer, but I have to bow to science when it does have an answer until proven wrong.

Reality more amazing than mystic?  What’s more interesting and amazing?  A mystical energy that flows through your body and can be manipulated to create unique demonstrations, or the fact that the human body has evolved in ridiculously amazing ways that we have only begun to tap into and understand it?  For myself, the human body is utterly amazing and incredible.  The more I learn about it, the more I’m blown away by it and how seemingly impossible it is to be as perfect as we are in our functionality.

We’re not just muscle and bones that move around, we’re an incredibly fragile, yet resilient system of billions of things working together to make us who we are and keep us alive.  For instance, when the body is faced with a life threatening situation, it jumps into action and heightens the senses, you gain clearer vision, hear clearer, more focused, stronger….all assuming you’ve trained this system appropriately and haven’t let fear take over and leave you with tunnel vision, unable to physically move and unable to mentally process what needs to be done!  The body can actually shut off its hearing if it’s unnecessary or will conflict with actions to save its life.

A loud bang can go off near your ear and you won’t even hear it, nor will there be any ringing or damage in the ear afterward!  The body, if trained properly, can even go on autopilot and do physical actions without thought or consciousness in a time of stress!   When in a heightened sense of awareness, the eyes can actually illuminate in the darkness in order to see clearer, almost as if a light was switched on.  These bodily functions seem like magic, but are based in reality.  The human body is incredible!  The reality of what the body can do goes far beyond the mysticism that’s flooded through the martial arts.  In my opinion, reality is far more incredible than the mystical!

Money Talks.  I would like to point out a man by the name of James Randi, the founder of JREF (James Randi Educational Foundation).  He is a magician and world renowned skeptic.  Specifically, he has a standing offer of 1 million dollars to anyone who can prove the paranormal, such as claims of those in the martial arts using Ki/Chi power.  This has been a standing offer since 1996, and no one has even come close to winning the money.  While I understand some may not be moved by money, the fact is, if they can do what they say, why not prove it, and then donate that money to charity if they don’t want it?

I’m not trying to disprove these super natural powers people suggest are out there, I would love to find out they are true as it would be a truly mind opening experience!  What I’m suggesting is that people spend more time on what is real, rather than what might be out there, understanding that reality is not only just as amazing, but proven to be attainable!  Your neighbors grass only looks greener from your current perspective.  And who knows, it may be covered in hidden dog crap!