What is Ch'i? Concepts and Cultivation - by Mads Rud

What is Ch'i? Concepts and Cultivation

Study martial arts or watch enough kung fu films and you'll find the concept of ch'i (also written chi, qi, ki, etc.) mentioned almost everywhere. Despite it becoming a pop culture term, pinning down a definition can be difficult. And applying it? Even harder. Even martial artists have differing opinions on how exactly to talk about ch'i, its abilities, and if it's even real or just a metaphysical principle that aids training. In this article, we'll explore the basic concepts of ch'i and how to cultivate it as discussed in The Demon's Sermon on the Martial Arts.

Ch'i is considered a vital force, or a sort of innate spiritual breath and energy that all living beings have. In the context of general living, then, ch'i gives us health and vitality, clarity and energy to fulfill our daily lives. In traditional Chinese medicine, having blocked or stagnant ch'i can result in sickness or undesirable symptoms.

In martial arts, ch'i becomes a key focus either implicitly or explicitly, as unity between our vital energy and body is what produces resilience, clarity, and skill. The Demon's Sermon states that "what we call thought is also ch'i. The known is called thought; the unknown is called ch'i... Form follows ch'i, and for this reason... it is considered essential to train [it]. "

The book makes several delineations of what ch'i can look and feel like with some cardinal characteristics; yin, muddy and heavy are opposite to yang, active and vigorous, while discordant is opposite to harmonious. Another way to think about ch'i is living or inert. While all that is difficult to conceptualize, the book does give us some examples. I will quote a short section here, and I encourage you to try and identify moments in your, your peers, or students' training that resonate with these descriptions:

"The person who is too damp and stagnant will be dragged down by a muddy ch'i that is heavy of itself and will be slow in practical application. The person who is too concentrated will focus on ch'i with partiality, and will render his form shackled and rigid. He will come to a standstill and will be unable to move. Thus, his action and response will be all the slower, like a stream that has frozen and is unable to melt... The man who has complete freedom in changing between the hard and the soft will have no obstructions in his actions and responses."

Were you able to identify any moments in your training where you experienced stagnant or shackled ch'i? In my own experience, I tend to lean towards having shackled ch'i. I hesitate, ruminate, and sometimes my techniques feel shallow in power and intent.

So if ch'i is so vital to life and training, and many of us are new to it, how do we train it? The demon gives us an introduction exercise. Remember that ch'i is a vital energy or breath while you read this:

"First, lie down on your back, relax your shoulders, let your chest and shoulders open up to the right and left, and stretch your arms and legs out comfortably. Place your hands on the empty area in the region of your navel, calmly forget about all your Ten Thousand Thoughts, and empty your mind of all things. Dissolve all obstructions to you ch'i and draw it downward. Let your ch'i fill your entire body, and have it diffuse all the way to the tips of your fingers. Count your incoming and outgoing breaths like the breathing meditation in Buddhism. At first, your breathing will eb rough. When it gradually calms down, your ch'i will become lively and should feel as though it fills Heaven and Earth. This is not a matter of holding your breath or straining your ch'i. In this case, your ch'i fills you internally and becomes active."

To me, working with ch'i is best described as mindful, embodied movement that focuses more on internal experience than technique. If ch'i is something you're interested in cultivating, start with the exercise above. Seeking out meditation and breathwork can help connect with the sensation the Demon's Sermon describes. If you're more experienced or searching for something more active, the art of qigong seeks to cultivate ch'i and is widely accessible through online videos.

We now have a working definition of ch’i as a vital force that follows our mind and fills our form. We also have some examples of what ch’i can look like, whether that be strained, muddy, or ideally integrated into our martial arts. With the introduction to cultivating ch’i in this article, I hope you can apply it in your practice!