The idea we carry an internal source of energy is present in many cultures. It is referred to as Qi, Chi or Ch’i in China, Shakti in India, Ki in Japan, or Spirit in Western writings. But how does one access this inner resource and apply it? I see many students of martial arts practicing movements, blocks, kicks, and punches by rote without any real power in the execution. The use of the kiai in kata or in combat is intended to focus that energy. But simply emitting a loud cry does not in and of itself achieve that result.
“Qi is the Chinese word for “life energy”. According to Chinese medicine, qi is the animating power that flows through all living things. A living being is filled with it. A dead person has no more qi. A healthy individual has more qi than one who is ill. However, health is more than an abundance of qi. Health implies that the qi in our bodies is clear and flowing smoothly like a stream; rather than polluted and turbid, not blocked or stagnant.”
― Kenneth S. Cohen (follow the link for more information on Ken Cohen – a teacher of Qigong, Tai Chi, Taoism, Heath, Tea & Cultural Arts)
One of my early instructors used a meditative approach to assist students in accessing their ki. Imagine a vast pool of water inside you, located at your diaphragm. That pool is usually still and calm. I embellished this in my mind to a night scene with blue moonlight reflecting on the water and trees surrounding the pool as if it were a large lake. When you call upon this source, the water shoots up from the center of the pool in an intense stream flowing up into your body then shooting out through the arm if punching or the leg if kicking. As you strike, feel the power of this raging stream coursing through you, shooting out to intensify the delivered blow. The kiai is an expression of that burst of water erupting from your center, a blast of concentrated energy to intensify your strike.
The key aspect of this visualization for me is the calm in that pool before the storm. I use that to maintain equanimity in my daily endeavor. I maintain the calm against any stress that might attempt to disturb me, so I am not buffeted by petty rages or annoyed by insignificant events. I save the energy to apply it effectively, a thoughtful choice rather than a reflexive, emotional response. And by holding my emotion in reserve, it is even more powerful when I do call upon it.
William McCoy
