thaiboxerken

True, he makes no qualms about it either. This is why claimants have often brought lawyers with them to the tests. So far, the failures of the testees have been so bad that the lawyers haven't even tried to file suit. False, the foundation makes money from giving lectures, selling books and donations. I think the foundation would grow in fame, and Randi would be happy. After the challenge is won, then science could investigate the source of these paranormal abilities and the nature of them. Randi might even get grants from the government to help further test more and more people. Really, Randi would lose the million but it's likely that it would bankrupt him. However, even if it did.. wouldn't it be a good thing to bankrupt these "evil" skeptics? I agree with you for different reasons. I think no one will ever pass because people can't do what they claim. The test is designed and agreed upon by both Randi and the Challenger. There is no judgement involved, results must be selfevident. Lawyers and third party observers may be brought by the challenger, if they so wish. You seem to imply that there is some dishonesty in the challenge when it's obvious that such dishonesty has been guarded against. Someone here claims to be able to diagnose medical problems by touch alone. That can be tested and does not cause harm to individuals. Also, many martial art demonstrations are done so that individuals cannot be harmed, right? It simply means to try and find the simplest solution. If your cake disappears and you see a guy with icing on his lips, do you conclude that demons must've come from the depths of hell and stole the cake, or that maybe the guy with the icing on his lips ate the last piece? He is a magician, a person that has an expertise on trickery. His expertise is used to ensure that people don't cheat during these tests. He also has done extensive research on the paranormal and understands that most of the tricks done by people are just tricks. Oh, and how much money has James Randi made from his work? You say alot, so you must know, right?

Does your original karate teach weapons within the first couple of months? What about ground fighting?

This is false. Randi and the claimant BOTH come up with the requirements of the controls/ test and proof. The test is made up in such a way that no judgement is required, the results must be self evident. Perhaps you haven't read the rules of Randi's challenge, if you did, you would know this. Yes, what you claim has to be determined to be paranormal by Randi to be accepted. What kinds of things can only a practitioner of Ki can do? Hovind didn't go to court regarding his challenge, he filed bankruptcy for something totally unrelated to his challenge. I only mentioned the bankruptcy because it shows that Hovind does not have the money he claims to have. His challenge is also unfalsiable and absurd. Randi's challenge is easy. If you think you can levitate using chi, then do it. If you do, you win. If you can put out candles using only your mind, do it and you win. However, if you try to cheat, then you lose.

I doubt that you can know if someone is going to attack you if you don't hear or see them first. Unless they are touching you, in which you can use your sense of touch. The person pushing the other people can be attributed to body mechanics PLUS the other 60 people believing that they will be pushed. Also, hands on the hips doesn't adequately transfer the force of those 60 people into the one old guy. If it did, the guy in front of the old guy would certainly be in a heck of alot of pain from the compression and sustain some serious injury. I suggest a better demonstration of this "Ki". Have the 60 people pull a rope that is tied around the old guy's waist. That will adequately transfer the force of the 60. If his "Ki" is real, he should be able to pull all 60 people. Or if he is to remain stationary, then the 60 should not be able to budge him.

You claim Ki is natural, yet it is not something that is evident. It's not something that science has discovered or has an explanation from, or even acknowledges exists. Because of this, it is a paranormal phenomena and it does qualify for the JREF challenge. You can even email James Randi at randi@randi.org to verify this. It seems to me that Ki is simply something you believe to be real. It is a mental construct in which you are taking confidence from. Because of this, you feel more confident doing mundane techniques and that is the reason you are better at those techniques. It probably has little to do with an "energy" that resides in the body more than it has to do with your self-confidence and practice. Your constant appeal to experience over evidence shows me that you really have only a belief. Believers of faith-healing are the same way, so are believers in witch-craft. It's always something to be experienced, not something evident. Why is that?

American kickboxing and Muay Thai are both sports.. however, Muay Thai does have less rules and uses some nasty techniques in their "sport". So, I would say that Muay Thai, at least, has some application in a self-defense situation. I've known several people that have successfully defended themselves with Muay Thai. It has it's uses, but train in more than just Muay Thai, since Muay Thai doesn't deal with weapons or ground fighting.

I'd like to take sole credit for this achievement. Ok, maybe not.

Maybe you wouldn't feel so silly if you train in Muay Thai or Brazillian Jujitsu. Not as many kids are into those martial arts.

I don't agree that large muscles hinder the power of a punch.

This is the reason why competitions should last until one person is standing. Judgement "sports" are too subjective for me to even consider anything more than performance art.

So, these testable exercises, do you think a person must have sufficient training in "Chi" or "Ki" to do them? Theses tests could be worth one-million dollars. What are these feats that you test?

http://www.skepdic.com/chi.html http://www.csicop.org/si/9509/chi.html http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/acu.html http://www.csicop.org/sb/9806/reality-check.html http://www.reall.org/newsletter/v05/n07/therapeutic-touch-tidbits.html

It's rather hilarious. The christian group's challenge is just absurd, and it's also a scheme. Hovind does not have one-million dollars, and he actually declared bankruptcy only a few years ago. His challenge itself is rather stupid as well, it basically challenges people to build a universe from scratch. The difference here is that the JREF challenge is winnable. Hovind's challenge is based upon unfalsifiable premises. One is a stunt, the other is a geniune challenge upon testable claims.

JEM isn't just talking body mechanics, he's also talking about other mystical qualities, even if he's not calling them mystical.

Point sparring came from the axiom that any hard strike from a karate guy will end any fight. Well.. now that we knwo the axiom is false.. the point sparring people still play the game, for unknown reasons. Maybe it's fun. Maybe it's to give them some kind of competition because they would lose in fullcontact events. Who knows?

Tell your girlfriend that you'll hold the cup...

Yes, this Ki belief is very similar to religious beliefs.

Sure they can, just ask em. They can throw a spinning roundhouse kick from the guard, even.

Only if you train it for a very long time, longarm. It also depends on the system of Karate.

You are correct, Shorin Ryu. However, to the uninformed, it can look like "Ki" energy at work. SaiFight, the link works for me and other people. Perhaps it's a problem with your computer settings.

Hey, don't doubt Markusan.. Those TKD'ers can throw any kick from ANY range.

Yes, like MartialMan said.. isn't it likely that the TKD hero you describe simply benefitted from cross-training in another art and that the "ki" belief concidentally happened to be part of it. I mean, if he trained in Brazillian Jujitsu, for example, would he not have improved his TKD as well? Also, I can understand your "missing" link, some people have a desire for the supernatural in their lives. The mundane world just doesn't seem to be fantastic enough for those people. The Ki filled that void for you, but any other belief could've filled that void. In indonesia, they practice a form of magic that might've worked for you. It's my opinion that this Ki is simply a mental construct in which you are placing your fears and doubts into and taking confidence and peace from. Hey, if it works for you, fine. We're still not talking about anything testable, just your feelings and internal beliefs.

Oh, and he also stated that science states that physical movement is an impossibility.... His statement is total nonsense, if not just an outright lie.

That everything must be proven by science for me to believe or accept it. He's implying that his post was too difficult or clever for me to answer. Makes no logical sense.

I'm just wondering if you have anything testable to claim. If there is any real use for training in "ki" methodology that has an advantage over mundane training methods. People have shown me chi tricks.. yet, I have been able to duplicate these tricks without belief in chi. Is it because I am subconsciously a chi master? Why is it that many martial artists that don't train in chi are just as successful as those that do?