The real definition of chi

[NorthernMantis]

I was talking with my girlfriend today (yes she's Chinese) and I was explaining hard chi kung to her and the conversation went like this:

NM's gf:Oooh I saw that in a movie once (once upon a time in china one) when the sword couldn't cut the guy.

NM:Oh, so you you saw that movie too huh?(she got here 2 years ago from Beijing and I know HK movies are illegal there so I thought she never saw it)

NM's gf:Yeah..but..I don't understand..how they can do that?

NM:That's because they can control their chi

NM's gf:Oh so they can conrol the air?

NM:[Laughs and just nods his head]

There you have it folks chi means air.:D

Well I know this is slightly OT but I thought I should share it with other obsessed kung fu maniacs.It really surprised me when she said that but I jjust went along with it.Maybe later on I'll get a little more in deph about it with her.Now that the 1 million dollar question is answered what's next?

[Former castleva]

"For now it is sufficient to say that Qi literally means breath.But to a western mind,breath is breath and Qi means much more than it´s direct translation" -Erle Montaigue-

[Repulsive Monkey]

I think at the last count there are over 30 different accepted translationsfor the word Qi in Chinese. Air, breath, energy, force, etc, are just common names. Traditionally air has been one of the common definitions for Qi, so your girlfriend was quite close to the truth there. I think from the Chinese Medicine point of view, because of the copiuous amounts of Zheng Qi inhaled into the body it was considered the most important Qi of all, hence the Chinese refering to it as air, possibly. However Qi has also been refered to as air because of its density or general quality i.e. fluid like water but as light as air. As air is the source of the majority of the Qi we absorb into our bodies I'm sure the traditional Chinese doctors and sages made no apparent distinction between the two words and their definitions, and automatically refered to Qi as air.

[dezhen2001]

HK movies are illegal in Beijing? :eek:
Then how come my friend manages to see all the recent movies with people like Ekin Cheng, Chiu Man Cheuk etc?

I've been through this discussion with my gf before also... it gets tiring after a while :D

good info Repulsive Monkey

david

[Former castleva]

Yeah.There are many translations for ki (chi in japanese) too.
BTW,if you study chi for a longer amount of time,you´ll find out that there are different kinds of chi.

[Sho]

In Japanese, air is kuuki and the ki in it is same as qi in Chinese.

[EARTH DRAGON]

Chi Defined:

The idea of Chi is fundamental to Chinese Kung Fu and Medical thinking. However, because of its new arrival, the English language has yet to formulate a word or phrase that can adequately define its meaning. We do know that Chi is not some changeless, perpetual substance everything in the universe is composed of and defined by. Nor is it the proverbial "natural force" or "vital energy force", for, although it is occasionally translated in that way, traditional Chinese thought does not distinguish between matter and energy. Perhaps we could say that it is energy at the point of materializing? Unfortunately, neither classical (the Wong Di Nei Jing) nor contemporary (the Shanghai Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine) medical text attempts to describe the nature of Chi as a concept. Instead, they define or perceive Chi functionally by what it does in our bodies.

The Chinese medical texts describe Chi manifesting from three sources.The first is called "Prenatal Chi", which is transmitted from parents to their children at conception and is stored in the Kidneys. This explains why children inherit their parent's constitution. The second is "Earth Chi", which comes from the foods we eat. The third is "Heavenly Chi", and is extracted from the air we breathe. These form the Chi that permeates our entire body. Chinese medical texts also describe Chi as having several variant aspects and functions. Within the body, Chi possesses five major functions responsible for the soundness of our bodies.Chi is the source of all movement, voluntary and involuntary, whether walking, thinking or aging, all depends on Chi. It is inseparable from movement and grows with it. Chi protects our bodies from the environment. Hostile influences such as illness are resisted. Chi controls change within our bodies, such as digesting foods into blood, saliva, sweat, and bile. Chi keeps things inside our bodies where they belong. Organs from sagging, fluids remaining in their place, and prevents loss. Chi warms the body. If you doubt this, just touch a dead one.

Chi also has five primary types associated with specific actions within our bodies:

Organ Chi - Chinese Medicine states that every organ has the same Chi, yet each performs differently depending on the nature of its Chi.

Meridian Chi - Meridians are the pathways through which Chi travels to the various body parts adjusting and balancing their activities.

Nutritive Chi - This Chi is associated with our blood. It travels within our bloodstream transforming nutrients from our foods.

Protective Chi - This yang Chi regulates our immune system aiding in combating illness and disease.

Ancestral Chi - This Chi's function is to regulate our breathing and heart rate.

Remember to keep in mind that this is merely an introduction to the concept and nature of Chi and its relationship to the body. Chinese medical theory does not move in a linear fashion like in the West. The whole is always present and is refined with learning over time.

[PaulLin]

Most people only know the modern way of writing "chi" in Chinese character. They wrote steam on top of rice. However, the original way of writing chi is nothingness on top of fire. There is an intention of telling what the lauguage creator has think about how to describe chi.

[Chang Style Novice]

"In Japanese, air is kuuki and the ki in it is same as qi in Chinese."

Chi is for Cookie and is good enough for me!

[NorthernMantis]

dezhen-

I know. I also heard they are starting to loosen up on movies there now.;)

My gf understood pretty well though.:D

RP-

That was deep, I didn't know you knew so much about the subject.

My sifu had wrote about this subject on another forum and I would like to share her thoughts with the rest of you guys and I quote

"A simple answer is that it is the life energy moving through the body,but the type of answer you are looking for requires much more.

Cultivating a high level of chi requires "opening" the body, which is a combination of strength, flexibility, relaxation, and proper body alignment to allow maximum flow of energy. Then you have to develop anawareness to consciously use that energy flow. A high level athlete inmost sports might have strength and flexibility, but aside from a natural chi that all living beings have, may not have a high level of chi that he/she can direct.

Some of the advantages of developing Chi is an ability to help heal injuries, general overall improvement in health, and in terms of fighting, the ability to have your body be in perfect position to
execute power (fa jing) and maintain a relaxed state to fight longer.

Don't believe stories of "magic" where one touch makes a cripple walk.Do understand that the benefits are worth the work, which takes years of practice. Also - to get the most from reading chi kung books, you needto have some experience with it. It's like learning kung fu forms from a book, but never having had a kung fu lesson. (I tell it like it is.)

Good luck-

Sifu Shelly"

Man I'm so impressed by her knowledge.

[EARTH DRAGON]

I am suprised that there have been no comments on my post. I thought I would hear some feed back

[NorthernMantis]

Sorry Ed didn't mean to be rude. Your post was very informative on the different types of chi.Just didn't have time to look at it.:(

[mantis108]

No offence, but that shows how horrible a government can be when it bans knowledge. Your friend and millions of people in China are robbed of this knowledge which can contribute to better their life. But small minded tyrants took the right of education away and fill it with political brain washing. It's sad when the descendents of discoveror of this valuable knowledge know little to nothing but foreigners know more then they. I honestly don't know how the PRPC politians can justify that except to declare knowledge "evil". How convinent. :( *sigh*

Mantis108