Can chi manipulation be achieve by all or only martial artists?

Answer 1

Chi manipulation is not unique to martial artists; Bodhidharma, the legendary founder of Shaolin Kung Fu was very adept at manipulating Chi BEFORE he invented Kung Fu. Moreover, in Chinese medicine, it is said there are three levels of competence; 1) Full fledged doctor, fully qualified to prescribe special herbs, mixtures, perform accupuncture, massage people etc, etc. 2) A healer, someone so adept at the stuff in number 1, that, you visit them once, you NEVER need to see them again. Whatever was ailing you, you're cured. 3) Finally, a "master of medicine;" at this "legendary" level, a Chinese doctor posseses flawless encyclopedic knowledge of various herbs, and they can perform accupuncture, without the aid of needles. Moreover, where a healer or doctor, will probably need to look at various parts of your body, a Chinese master doctor, can cure whatever ails you, with the use of only 2 or 3 pressure points. A normal or competent doctor, will need to look at pressure points on the head, on the hand, on the back, and possibly even need to give you a full body massage to get the chi flowing. A "master" on the other hand, can set up a "chain reaction" of chi that will ultimately lead to the body healing, with only a very small handful of pressure points. New age whack jobs have argued, that Jesus Christ in fact studied medicine in China, and that ancient peoples mistook his "miracles" and "bringing people back from the dead" with what was in fact Chinese or Indian medicine. India, has medical traditions similar to those of China, although their methods of accupressure involve herbs almost exclusively, and the application of special kinds of incense. The "don't try this at home" disclaimer applies here; I only have a general knowledge, don't ask me how the hell they do it. No, manipulation of Chi is not exclusive to martial artists in China. Additionally, in India, high level Yogis are said to be able to manipulate it, while in China, men and women, often very old, who have been practicing chi kung for years, are said to be able to manipulate it. It is extremely rare, for an individual under the age of 40, to be able to competently manipulate chi on the same levels as that of a master. In the Shaolin temple, not just the Shaolin temple but various Chinese families who practice Kung Fu, it is not uncommon for young children to have become adept at "iron shirt" techniques. There are children, able to walk barefoot on the tips of sharpened knives for example. How is it that the knives don't go through their feet? Its chi; they channel it to that part of their body, and it prevents severe puncture wounds. Again though "don't try this at home" those kids are trained by their mother or father, men or women who have had years of Kung Fu practice, and correctly guided meditation. The manipulation of chi within one's own body, is generally as high as most people under 30 will get; to gain mastery where a person becomes a "conduit" of chi, someone able to "transmit" the "universal" chi that, is something generally only the very old can do. Throughout Chinese history, throughout the "mythology," not once, has there ever been a reported case of a young man or woman, able to manipulate the chi AROUND them, if there have been such cases, usually those people, go on to become famous mystics. For example, legend has it that Lao Tzu was a Chi Kung master, a master, not just "competent," someone who had surpassed men and women who had trained in it for nearly a century, anyway, Lao Tzu surpassed his elderly Chi Kung teachers, legend says, at the tender age of 15. Now, I am talking about elderly people in their 80's and 90's able to do "Jedi" stuff; levitate objects, push things without touching them etc, etc, etc. Obviously these stories are exagerated, however the point remains; it IS possible to master Chi Kung so completely you affect not only your own body's chi circulation, but that of other people. Lao Tzu mastered this ability when he was only 15, again though, cases of attaining very high mastery, below the age of 30 or 40, are very, very rare. The majority of people, require a lifetime of training. Another thing chi is everywhere; we all live in a "sea" of chi. What separates an adept expert, from a master, is what where an expert needs a few minutes of concentration, a master, can manipulate it without even thinking about it. Moreover, they can make their body into a "conduit" of chi. Getting mythological here; if you use your own body's chi to push something, the most you will be able to move is maybe a pocket watch. However, if you "tap" into the surrounding chi, the chi that holds the universe together and make your body into a sort of "wire" for it, like I said a conduit, you would be able to, well, lift cars. The problem with channeling so much energy though is, that if your body has not been purified by years of training the energy will burn you to a cinder. Chi is very potent stuff, Physicists think, that it is in fact quantum energy. Now, if your body has not been slowly bathed by quantum energy over a period of many years, and you channel a large amount of it all of a sudden what do you think will happen to your molecules? You will burn to a crisp, and die an extremely painful death, feeling pain, at a subatomic level. Assuming there IS a connection between Physics and Chi energy, when you do chi kung, or Tai Chi Chuan remember, that is not a kid's game you're playing; if that is indeed quantum energy flowing through your body, its not something you want to take lightly or dismiss.