What's going on with Qi/Chi/Ki nowadays?

[Senkoujin]

Hello everyone, Senkoujin here!

I haven't been on this site for quite some time, but it's definitely nice to be back!

Now, for the matter at hand---Qi/Chi/Ki.

 

I have around 13 years of experience with energy manipulation.  In the first couple of years, I had no idea what anything like it was called until I searched for it on the Internet.  Judging from what I found, it closely resembled Qi/Chi/Ki, so I added this to my vocabulary.  For the sake of remaining consistent, I'll simply use "Qi" (Chinese PinYin of the character) from here on.  Just so you know, I have no formal Qi training.

Over the years, I've only noticed old Chinese monks/masters showing up all over the internet and YouTube displaying their skills.  I've already seen most of their videos; the most current popular of these individuals is "Master Zhou Ting Jue" (look him up), and it appears that he (as opposed to most of the others) has been through some actual scientific testing over the years, which makes for a harder debunk for skeptics.  This man was also featured on Stan Lee's Superhumans, which brings the question......did any of these people even fathom the James Randi Million Dollar Challenge before it was terminated last year?  Perhaps some person(s) DID succeed without recognition?  Anyway, that's a whole different topic altogether.

 

Now back to the matter at hand, how many of you know how to engage in the use of Qi or energy manipulation, and how much can you handle currently?

[back to earth]

I know how to 'engage' and use my  Ki /  Qi   and how to 'engage with  another's' Ki ,  but I am not sure what you mean 'engage in the use of Qi.   or  'how much one can handle' . 

Redirecting ( manipulating)  another's Ki and energy is essential  in many of the Martial Arts ;  eg, disarming an opponent's weapon when unarmed.  'Sticky hands' exercise is another classic example ( and sticky swords )  - I am too old  and stiff nowadays to do it with kicks - 'sicky legs'. 

But dont be fooled about what Qi , Ki is ...     and dont be fooled by the internet and videos and hearsay .  You might notice that there are also some videos out there of 'ki masters' getting 'embarrassed'  (ie ,  'smashed' )  by people that know how to fight .  And coming 'unstuck' (exposed and investigated for fraud) .  One needs to feel it first , and I dont mean by yourself, I mean feeling  from another ... with your body - in reality.  And then start training , it takes a long time.  The first time I encountered it, it felt like my opponent just raised his hand , I just sort of floated upwards and back and flew through the air  and landed about 5 metres away . he did it by subtly redirecting my own energy and momentum .   This is real . 

But I think you are more interested in 'Qi Magicians'   and    'siddhis'   ?  

[SHaYap]

One will recognise it better and earlier if one trains to sense it to help and heal, as soon as one chases it for fight and attack, it becomes a hard toil of a road to know and sense, Qi as 'powerful' as it is claimed to be, works poorly as any form of violence. It is not conjured out of 'nothingness' Qi is the very essence of everything, and that nature is strongest when it is the natural healing Qi.

~

Edited April 18, 2017 by third_eye
brain mode translation error

[back to earth]

Using Ki in martial arts is supposed to be form of non-violence.   Even the non-violent should be able to protect their family. 'Medical Qi' is something different .  The two are often conflated, this has been a source of fantastic claims  and mistakes.   

 

 

 

[XenoFish]

There is a psychosomatic inducing placebo effect in here somewhere I just can't quite point it out.

[SHaYap]

In a Reikic sense, that wont be too far from the fact, I guess

~

[Senkoujin]

10 hours ago, back to earth said:

I know how to 'engage' and use my  Ki /  Qi   and how to 'engage with  another's' Ki ,  but I am not sure what you mean 'engage in the use of Qi.   or  'how much one can handle' . 

Redirecting ( manipulating)  another's Ki and energy is essential  in many of the Martial Arts ;  eg, disarming an opponent's weapon when unarmed.  'Sticky hands' exercise is another classic example ( and sticky swords )  - I am too old  and stiff nowadays to do it with kicks - 'sicky legs'. 

But dont be fooled about what Qi , Ki is ...     and dont be fooled by the internet and videos and hearsay .  You might notice that there are also some videos out there of 'ki masters' getting 'embarrassed'  (ie ,  'smashed' )  by people that know how to fight .  And coming 'unstuck' (exposed and investigated for fraud) .  One needs to feel it first , and I dont mean by yourself, I mean feeling  from another ... with your body - in reality.  And then start training , it takes a long time.  The first time I encountered it, it felt like my opponent just raised his hand , I just sort of floated upwards and back and flew through the air  and landed about 5 metres away . he did it by subtly redirecting my own energy and momentum .   This is real . 

But I think you are more interested in 'Qi Magicians'   and    'siddhis'   ?  

When I said "engage in the use of Qi", I was hoping not to confuse people.  To clarify, I basically meant "use Qi".

In terms of "how much one can handle", I'm referring to how much energy you could gather and pool at any given time on average.  No exact measurements are needed; just a simple rough estimates like "a little bit", "a lot", "a huge amount", etc. would suffice.  I am also interested in your acquisition speed.  According to my techniques, I have learned that my body has a limitation (also dependent on mental/willpower) when it comes to the amount of energy gathered; the case being, gathering external energy.  The more I gather, the more "intense" my body gets, like for instance, my tongue would begin to curl while doing this, as well as the signature 'heated' feeling in the hands, increased heart rate, sudden/latent healing effects, etc.

Also, like I mentioned earlier, I have no formal Qi training, so whatever energy manipulation I'm doing could possibly make no sense in Qi, but then again, according to my research, the majority of my experiences seem like a close match.  One interesting thing you mentioned was trying to manipulate others' energy...I find that intriguing, but I generally don't talk to people about this matter in real life, as it has always been my own personal thing.  In the past, I've tried transferring some internal energy to a couple of my close friends, and a few strangers from my hand to theirs...some of them said they felt something; some said they felt nothing.  It wasn't until several years later that I discovered external energy...now I'd love to try that and compare the results using both internal and external techniques.

In all honesty, aside from healing and 'energizing' yourself, I find the practicality of the whole thing subjective, however, due to seemingly infinite potential, I think there's more to it than meets the eye.  I can gather what feels like a TON of energy, but I am compelled to discover better, more unique ways to put it to use before it dissipates (sounds silly, doesn't it?).  I believe the key to a greater power (unknown) lies in consistent deep practice (which I need to punch myself in the face for being a bit lazy in that aspect).  It's also one of my forms of entertainment, had I lost this ability to manipulate energy on-demand, I'd personally be quite the depressed individual.

[Podo]

I've been doing chinese martial arts for about 9 years now. I can say, with full confidence, that qi is not a thing. It also IS a thing, however. Allow me to elaborate.

Qi, in the sense that it is some mystical force, is utter nonsense. Complete trash. Nothing to it. Qi in the sense of directed energy and focusing of one's mind to bolster their martial capabilities? Totally a thing. But, there's nothing magical about it; it is merely a form of mindfulness wherein you focus on your body to a level that most people do not, and therefore can use your awareness to accomplish what most people cannot. My first sifu called it "engaging your qi" to punch "through" someone. He talked about it in mystical terms, and still does, but all he really meant was that you had to aim through your target instead of at your target. This awareness of what you were truly trying to accomplish is what he calls qi. It's not mystical, nor is it even particularly difficult, but it definitely requires practice and discipline to achieve.

Ultimately, qi is just that: it's a word used to describe a level of body awareness achieved by those who wish to make their bodies into weapons. Anyone can do it, and it's not hard, it just takes a lot of diligence and practice. You can pretty it up with spiritual malarky, but at the end of the day it's nothing but training and physicality.

[back to earth]

12 hours ago, XenoFish said:

There is a psychosomatic inducing placebo effect in here somewhere I just can't quite point it out.

Allow me     (and this took me about 10 years of training and talking to 'expert'  and feeling / experiencing   to work out )  ; By 'visualising '   'ki'  and the basic 4 principles, it improves and corrects my form so technique is done properly .

Eg, I can say simply ' keep weight underside' and I can simply imagine that and that triggers my body to do what it took more than 10 years to learn . If I had to consciously do that or explain what is going on it would take a very long post .  

here is another one :  the other week at sword training, I wanted to demonstrate a technique, but the other guy would not attack me ... he kept hesitating  and then refused !   he said "I dont like the look in your eye"    ... excellent placebo effect there !  

Another classic. peeps from club went to a demo.  A 'master'  there claimed he could not be struck with a sword , he would sit still and mentally stop the attack .       

Forst guy comes out. grabs a wooden sword walks up to him, stops and  walks back.  2nd guy goes to hit him and stops just before.  Then guy from club has a go ... just walks up and  bonk !   Lightly on top of head with  sword. 

Master explained ;  'Well, it doesnt work on everyone ."           

(last guy later asked 1st  2nd guy what happened; 1st guy felt a 'strange force' repelling him  .  2nd guy; "' Well, I realised it was just this old guy sitting there defenseless... I wasnt gonna clout him !  " 

Classic !      .....     a dangerous game though ....    can go wrong !   Very wrong ! 

[back to earth]

12 hours ago, third_eye said:

In a Reikic sense, that wont be too far from the fact, I guess

~

' Reikic  sense '      

[back to earth]

5 hours ago, Senkoujin said:

When I said "engage in the use of Qi", I was hoping not to confuse people.  To clarify, I basically meant "use Qi".

In terms of "how much one can handle", I'm referring to how much energy you could gather and pool at any given time on average.  No exact measurements are needed; just a simple rough estimates like "a little bit", "a lot", "a huge amount", etc. would suffice.

Okay .... I dont gather and pool,  I connect to the 'universal reservoir'  .... it just flows through'    ....   LDT should be a channel or conduit, not a pool or reservoir .   So I guess my answer would be -  limitless. 

5 hours ago, Senkoujin said:

 

 I am also interested in your acquisition speed.  According to my techniques, I have learned that my body has a limitation (also dependent on mental/willpower) when it comes to the amount of energy gathered; the case being, gathering external energy.

Instant ... if flowing and not gathering . 

5 hours ago, Senkoujin said:

 The more I gather, the more "intense" my body gets, like for instance, my tongue would begin to curl while doing this, as well as the signature 'heated' feeling in the hands, increased heart rate, sudden/latent healing effects, etc.

My heart and respiration rate slows ... this is a crucial step , even during vigorous exercise .   It used to take me about  5 to 7 brath cycles to slow it down after vigorous exercise - teachers could do it one breath .  Hands  still become warm .

5 hours ago, Senkoujin said:

Also, like I mentioned earlier, I have no formal Qi training, so whatever energy manipulation I'm doing could possibly make no sense in Qi, but then again, according to my research, the majority of my experiences seem like a close match.  One interesting thing you mentioned was trying to manipulate others' energy...I find that intriguing, but I generally don't talk to people about this matter in real life, as it has always been my own personal thing.  In the past, I've tried transferring some internal energy to a couple of my close friends, and a few strangers from my hand to theirs...some of them said they felt something; some said they felt nothing.  It wasn't until several years later that I discovered external energy...now I'd love to try that and compare the results using both internal and external techniques.

For 'no touch'   feeling , the spot at the rear base of skull seems more sesative . 

5 hours ago, Senkoujin said:

In all honesty, aside from healing and 'energizing' yourself, I find the practicality of the whole thing subjective, however, due to seemingly infinite potential, I think there's more to it than meets the eye.  I can gather what feels like a TON of energy, but I am compelled to discover better, more unique ways to put it to use before it dissipates (sounds silly, doesn't it?).  I believe the key to a greater power (unknown) lies in consistent deep practice (which I need to punch myself in the face for being a bit lazy in that aspect).  It's also one of my forms of entertainment, had I lost this ability to manipulate energy on-demand, I'd personally be quite the depressed individual.

gotta run . more later

[XenoFish]

 

[quiXilver]

On 4/14/2017 at 3:59 AM, Senkoujin said:

Hello everyone, Senkoujin here!

I haven't been on this site for quite some time, but it's definitely nice to be back!

Now, for the matter at hand---Qi/Chi/Ki.

 

I have around 13 years of experience with energy manipulation.  In the first couple of years, I had no idea what anything like it was called until I searched for it on the Internet.  Judging from what I found, it closely resembled Qi/Chi/Ki, so I added this to my vocabulary.  For the sake of remaining consistent, I'll simply use "Qi" (Chinese PinYin of the character) from here on.  Just so you know, I have no formal Qi training.

Over the years, I've only noticed old Chinese monks/masters showing up all over the internet and YouTube displaying their skills.  I've already seen most of their videos; the most current popular of these individuals is "Master Zhou Ting Jue" (look him up), and it appears that he (as opposed to most of the others) has been through some actual scientific testing over the years, which makes for a harder debunk for skeptics.  This man was also featured on Stan Lee's Superhumans, which brings the question......did any of these people even fathom the James Randi Million Dollar Challenge before it was terminated last year?  Perhaps some person(s) DID succeed without recognition?  Anyway, that's a whole different topic altogether.

 

Now back to the matter at hand, how many of you know how to engage in the use of Qi or energy manipulation, and how much can you handle currently?

I met Zhou about six years ago here in California and studied with him.  He is one amazing human. 

Back then he was already in his 80's and his translator shared with me "he wakes up and does his qi gong, then goes to the clinic, healing and teaching for about 10 hours, eats something small in the evening, retires early to bed gets up and does it again.  Tireless and full of love and vitality that man. 

I went to him for healing.  Long story, but I had two reconstructive surgeries on my left ankle that saved my foot, but left me with residual pain that was absolutely debilitating for over a decade.  I could hardly walk for years... 

He informed me that he was not taking me on as a patient, but as a student and what he was going to teach me was to cultivate the conditions where my body would heal on its own.  So he taught me Qi Gong and shared information about eating to maintain health and prevent disease, instead of pleasure.  What I learned utterly changed my life.  Since meeting him I am again working 12 hour days in construction, building scenery for film and television with no ankle trouble... but even more impacting, my changes in nutrition have kept me from needing a lifetime of blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol medicines.  In 90 days, I went from being prescribed three medications for those issues, to having a clear bill of health and my general practitioner asking me for a full description of how I did it... using naught but simple food mostly from my local farmer's market.

He is 18th generation in his Wudang lineage.  Taught by his Uncles, one a Shaolin Monk, the other a Wudang Priest.  His uncles were in hiding during the Japanese occupation and came to live with Zhou's mother, their sister.  At age five, they could see his propensity for energetic practice and so he became a repository for all of their combined advanced training. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[back to earth]

yes, medical Qi is something different .   I have had some very good TCM treatments myself I once watched  (on film )  a woman have a total hysterectomy , not only was she conscious, she was half sitting up in bed (with a cloth screen so she she could see 'down there' ) , sipping tea and talking  to the nurse.  

I mentioned this to my anesthetist  ( during an interview before I had a recent hip replacement )  and he said  "Oh , that must have been in China ! "     I asked him if he thought Chinese Medicine was  valid ( as I previously had  difficulty with another western 'specialist' in this area)  and he said " Of course !  They have had a successful civilisation for thousands of years with great advances ." 

He was one of the better ones . 

[Senkoujin]

13 hours ago, Podo said:

I've been doing chinese martial arts for about 9 years now. I can say, with full confidence, that qi is not a thing. It also IS a thing, however. Allow me to elaborate.

Qi, in the sense that it is some mystical force, is utter nonsense. Complete trash. Nothing to it. Qi in the sense of directed energy and focusing of one's mind to bolster their martial capabilities? Totally a thing. But, there's nothing magical about it; it is merely a form of mindfulness wherein you focus on your body to a level that most people do not, and therefore can use your awareness to accomplish what most people cannot. My first sifu called it "engaging your qi" to punch "through" someone. He talked about it in mystical terms, and still does, but all he really meant was that you had to aim through your target instead of at your target. This awareness of what you were truly trying to accomplish is what he calls qi. It's not mystical, nor is it even particularly difficult, but it definitely requires practice and discipline to achieve.

Ultimately, qi is just that: it's a word used to describe a level of body awareness achieved by those who wish to make their bodies into weapons. Anyone can do it, and it's not hard, it just takes a lot of diligence and practice. You can pretty it up with spiritual malarky, but at the end of the day it's nothing but training and physicality.

That's a really good analogy of Qi, and I agree with your points.  Given the circumstances and usage, it actually doesn't feel mystical at all; it feels pretty natural, but I DO know how it feels to live a life without using the technique.  I found that out first hand when I deliberately went cold turkey for a couple of weeks; it really is something that a lot of people just couldn't be bothered with as a 'normal' routine/practice because of such changes in comfort zones.  Laze is the downfall.

 

10 hours ago, back to earth said:

Okay .... I dont gather and pool,  I connect to the 'universal reservoir'  .... it just flows through'    ....   LDT should be a channel or conduit, not a pool or reservoir .   So I guess my answer would be -  limitless. 

Instant ... if flowing and not gathering . 

My heart and respiration rate slows ... this is a crucial step , even during vigorous exercise .   It used to take me about  5 to 7 brath cycles to slow it down after vigorous exercise - teachers could do it one breath .  Hands  still become warm .

Sure, tapping into the universal energy has no limit, but the flow can be controlled.  If you will a high flow, you will most certainly need to concentrate more than if you will a quick low flow...the same concept should apply to gathering (holding it in your body [somewhere]).  It is here where physical and mental limitations become more apparent; there will be an exhausting point in which you will need to stop the flow/gathering and rest.  For example:  I try to gather the MAX possible energy in one sitting (my body is shaking at this point)...that MAX is my threshold, and I aim to exceed it through practice and conditioning.  Another thing, my heart rate slows during the flowing/gathering process, but afterwards, it fixes itself and increases after I let go.  Breathing isn't necessary to use this technique, but breathing certain does help.  As for doing vigorous exercise, my heart rate needs more time to slow down, and I DON'T DARE try to use Qi to slow it down...the thought alone scares me.  I'd just take deep breaths, but I require maybe 12+ breath cycles to normalize (thanks tachycardia [so it seems]).

 

10 hours ago, XenoFish said:

 

I found it funny how he said "It didn't work on him (Luigi) because he wasn't a believer".  Belief has nothing to do with it.

 

9 hours ago, quiXilver said:

I met Zhou about six years ago here in California and studied with him.  He is one amazing human. 

Back then he was already in his 80's and his translator shared with me "he wakes up and does his qi gong, then goes to the clinic, healing and teaching for about 10 hours, eats something small in the evening, retires early to bed gets up and does it again.  Tireless and full of love and vitality that man. 

I went to him for healing.  Long story, but I had two reconstructive surgeries on my left ankle that saved my foot, but left me with residual pain that was absolutely debilitating for over a decade.  I could hardly walk for years... 

He informed me that he was not taking me on as a patient, but as a student and what he was going to teach me was to cultivate the conditions where my body would heal on its own.  So he taught me Qi Gong and shared information about eating to maintain health and prevent disease, instead of pleasure.  What I learned utterly changed my life.  Since meeting him I am again working 12 hour days in construction, building scenery for film and television with no ankle trouble... but even more impacting, my changes in nutrition have kept me from needing a lifetime of blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol medicines.  In 90 days, I went from being prescribed three medications for those issues, to having a clear bill of health and my general practitioner asking me for a full description of how I did it... using naught but simple food mostly from my local farmer's market.

He is 18th generation in his Wudang lineage.  Taught by his Uncles, one a Shaolin Monk, the other a Wudang Priest.  His uncles were in hiding during the Japanese occupation and came to live with Zhou's mother, their sister.  At age five, they could see his propensity for energetic practice and so he became a repository for all of their combined advanced training. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow, now that's quite the experience, to have met Mr. Zhou in person like that!

I admire the man for his dedication; I love to help people as well!  Looks like he does Qi Gong full-time.  I'm 32 right now, and I should step up my game by getting out of the huge comfort zone of today and putting more time and effort into practice.  Mr. Zhou has the consistency that I lack; once I get past that, I'll be able to continue moving forward.

[XenoFish]

This "universal energy" as you call it is just a head trip. It doesn't actually exist. All the feelings and sensations that you're getting are self-induced. You feel it because you expect to. It's like placing your hands in a position where you're holding a "ball". So you visualize and imagine this ball, you keep directing attention to it. To the springy tension it presents when you move your hands slightly back and forth, eventually you feel it. Same goes for this imaginary energy. You can think about it as cold, hold, soothing, energizing, and with enough imagination and effort, those sensations become "real". It's all imagination and belief.

If you give such efforts enough practice, concentration, and imagination you can create a visual hallucination so that you see this mystical energy. 

It's is because of belief and expectation that energy healing systems such as reiki work, just a placebo effect. It's always why like in the video it doesn't affect everyone. Plus the 
"combat" version is a nocebo effect on those who believe they can be affected my imaginary kamehameha's.

[Senkoujin]

3 hours ago, XenoFish said:

This "universal energy" as you call it is just a head trip. It doesn't actually exist. All the feelings and sensations that you're getting are self-induced. You feel it because you expect to. It's like placing your hands in a position where you're holding a "ball". So you visualize and imagine this ball, you keep directing attention to it. To the springy tension it presents when you move your hands slightly back and forth, eventually you feel it. Same goes for this imaginary energy. You can think about it as cold, hold, soothing, energizing, and with enough imagination and effort, those sensations become "real". It's all imagination and belief.

If you give such efforts enough practice, concentration, and imagination you can create a visual hallucination so that you see this mystical energy. 

It's is because of belief and expectation that energy healing systems such as reiki work, just a placebo effect. It's always why like in the video it doesn't affect everyone. Plus the 
"combat" version is a nocebo effect on those who believe they can be affected my imaginary kamehameha's.

As much as I'd love to hallucinate, I simply cannot.  I have a stable mind and decent experience, and I wouldn't claim to do anything extraordinary unless I had good evidence to back it up.  At this point for me, there's nothing extraordinary about the energy (or hallucination-induced intense feelings that I could call upon at will on-demand without the need for 'believing' , 'imagining', or 'visualizing') that I can mess with.  I just need to be less lazy with consistent practice, that's all.  When it comes to stuff like magic/magick, I'd find myself agreeing with your tried and true analogies.

[aquatus1]

21 hours ago, Senkoujin said:

In terms of "how much one can handle", I'm referring to how much energy you could gather and pool at any given time on average.  No exact measurements are needed; just a simple rough estimates like "a little bit", "a lot", "a huge amount", etc. would suffice.

This right here, I think, is where the problem is.  Qi, Ki, energy, whatever you want to call it, isn't something that one gathers or pools, like some anime figure about to shoot an energy blast.  The energy of movement, redirection, concentration, and opposition is something that continuously flows through your action and intent.  Energy isn't some ethereal mist that you gather and hold on to until you decide to fire it at your opponent.  That's fantasy.  Energy is something that occurs as you create it, and ceases to exist if it is not used.  Energy isn't a thing.  It is an action.  Charging up your fist before punching isn't ki (it's just a good way to get pre-emptively punched).  Punching that energy into your opponent is ki, ideally if done without needing your conscious input into the matter.

[Podo]

2 hours ago, aquatus1 said:

Charging up your fist before punching isn't ki (it's just a good way to get pre-emptively punched).  Punching that energy into your opponent is ki, ideally if done without needing your conscious input into the matter.

Spot-on In my years of martial arts, there were plenty of people who would join the club who clearly had misconceptions based on anime fantasies. Qi doesn't get stored or held, it only exists as a method of thinking about hitting something, and allowing visualization to make hitting something better. As you say, if you try to "charge" something, you're going to get wrecked in a fight.

[XenoFish]

Do not hit your opponent, punch threw them. At least that was what I was taught during my brief experience with taekwondo.

[Senkoujin]

3 hours ago, aquatus1 said:

This right here, I think, is where the problem is.  Qi, Ki, energy, whatever you want to call it, isn't something that one gathers or pools, like some anime figure about to shoot an energy blast.  The energy of movement, redirection, concentration, and opposition is something that continuously flows through your action and intent.  Energy isn't some ethereal mist that you gather and hold on to until you decide to fire it at your opponent.  That's fantasy.  Energy is something that occurs as you create it, and ceases to exist if it is not used.  Energy isn't a thing.  It is an action.  Charging up your fist before punching isn't ki (it's just a good way to get pre-emptively punched).  Punching that energy into your opponent is ki, ideally if done without needing your conscious input into the matter.

Although you're talking about using Qi to fight opponents, I'm talking more about the principle of how Qi is handled with the body.  Given your explanation, I can assume that Mr. Zhou's hands become heated not due to a concentration of energy gathered in his hand(s), but due to a continuous flow in his hand(s)?

[XenoFish]

Which is a psychosomatic response. Not due to some "mystical energy".

[aquatus1]

38 minutes ago, Senkoujin said:

Although you're talking about using Qi to fight opponents, I'm talking more about the principle of how Qi is handled with the body.  Given your explanation, I can assume that Mr. Zhou's hands become heated not due to a concentration of energy gathered in his hand(s), but due to a continuous flow in his hand(s)?

Not so much just for fighting, but for any sort of activity where flow is required.  Qi is nothing more than your body's ability to flow smoothly and consistently, as opposed to mechanically.  If your hands get hotter, it has more to do with the increased flow of blood, not energy, into them.  Qi, as a mystical energy for healing, I tend to regard it as more of a faith-based thing, in that some people need a mental construct in order to get their body to the proper state of flow.

If you (the general "you", not you specifically) think of Qi as a mystical energy to help you heal yourself, that's fine, as long as that is how you are learning to heal yourself.  The problem is when other people take your story and extrapolate it into their mental constructs, usually in the form of Dragonball Z.  At that point, those people are not using the concept of Qi to learn healing or combat, but rather, they see Qi itself as a goal to attain, and the actual practice of healing (or combat) as the way to attain it.

 

[aquatus1]

59 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

Do not hit your opponent, punch threw them. At least that was what I was taught during my brief experience with taekwondo.

Yes, it is important not to think of fighting as a start/stop sort of thing.  Don't stop where their body is, but rather, go beyond, and continue flowing after that.

[back to earth]

13 hours ago, Senkoujin said:

That's a really good analogy of Qi, and I agree with your points.  Given the circumstances and usage, it actually doesn't feel mystical at all; it feels pretty natural, but I DO know how it feels to live a life without using the technique.  I found that out first hand when I deliberately went cold turkey for a couple of weeks; it really is something that a lot of people just couldn't be bothered with as a 'normal' routine/practice because of such changes in comfort zones.  Laze is the downfall.

 

Sure, tapping into the universal energy has no limit, but the flow can be controlled.  If you will a high flow, you will most certainly need to concentrate more than if you will a quick low flow...the same concept should apply to gathering (holding it in your body [somewhere]).  It is here where physical and mental limitations become more apparent; there will be an exhausting point in which you will need to stop the flow/gathering and rest.  For example:  I try to gather the MAX possible energy in one sitting (my body is shaking at this point)...that MAX is my threshold, and I aim to exceed it through practice and conditioning.  Another thing, my heart rate slows during the flowing/gathering process, but afterwards, it fixes itself and increases after I let go.  Breathing isn't necessary to use this technique, but breathing certain does help.  As for doing vigorous exercise, my heart rate needs more time to slow down, and I DON'T DARE try to use Qi to slow it down...the thought alone scares me.  I'd just take deep breaths, but I require maybe 12+ breath cycles to normalize (thanks tachycardia [so it seems]).

 

I found it funny how he said "It didn't work on him (Luigi) because he wasn't a believer".  Belief has nothing to do with it.

 

Wow, now that's quite the experience, to have met Mr. Zhou in person like that!

I admire the man for his dedication; I love to help people as well!  Looks like he does Qi Gong full-time.  I'm 32 right now, and I should step up my game by getting out of the huge comfort zone of today and putting more time and effort into practice.  Mr. Zhou has the consistency that I lack; once I get past that, I'll be able to continue moving forward.

I am sending you a PM .   I also contribute on a site you may be very interested in ... but I dont think i should publicly advertise other sites here .  It has a huge amount of information related to what you are seeking and a lot of posts about peeps personal experience, exercises, development , teachers etc .