Is Karate a style that draws much on KI?

[OkinawaKarate04]

I am a 1st Dan in thw whole time i have been training i have focused on ki very little i am just wondering if this is a fault of my sensei or is karate just not very ki oriented? i understand that all MAs are ki oriented i am not trying to sound foolish it is just somthing i have thought on for a long time i know that ki excists and i know that i can feel my own energy but how can i focus into a more karate understanding. from what i have seen i feel it the most in my styles hard strikes and deep stances so if anyone wants to give some in sight it you be great. I am a little embasserased bc i feel like this is stuff i should alredy know... but it has never been taught to me or even talked about

 

thank you

 

Style: Shore-goju-ryu

[AngelaG]

What do you mean by Ki?

 

Are you talking about utilising something such as 5 element theory? Or building up ki and using it against someone, or taking away an opponent's ki etc?

 

Could you clarify a bit more please?

[OkinawaKarate04]

I mean ki as in using it as a means to draw on more power and or focus in a situation for training or self defence

[AngelaG]

For training I think playing with ki in relation to karate is very possible and can be a very interesting exercise.

 

However in a real self-defence situation you won't have time to meditate, or build up ki using the normal methods and therefore in that respect it is a bit defunct.

 

However you can use 5 element theory to take away the opponents ki and therefore weaken them - which has the same overall affect of building up one's own ki.

 

There are a few exercises you can try though. Try aplying centre lock or striking someone, then lift up your heel so that the pressure is on the front of your foot (activating Kidney 1) and then try again. see if you get any difference.

[Sasori_Te]

It depends on how you practice Karate.

 

I wouldn't blame your Sensei. He was probably never taught these things himself. This knowledge was not really passed on to Westerners when Karate was imported.

 

You can rectify this with meditation. Meditation on it's own will build your energy field in an over-all sort of way. As for directing energy, it's a matter of imagination and intent. When I say imagination I don't mean that it's made up. I mean that you use your "mind's eye" if you will, to feel and build this energy. Your intention directs it where you want it to go.

 

This is a way oversimplification, you really need to get with someone that is experienced in meditation and chi gung. You can then adapt it to your Karate. It's probably the best your going to be able to do.

 

Good Luck!

[OkinawaKarate04]

Thanks

 

Could you explain this 5 element theory

 

has anyone here actually traveled over seas to train....? i hope to someday after i get done at Ball State

[cathal]

You may want to check out "Ki and the Way of the Martial Arts" by Kenji Tokitsu. He explains several methods to use the ki in your body, in both soft and hard methods. Not sure if Goju-Ryu is a hard style, but he provides a good explanation of using both.

[June1]

Why not ask your sensei if he/she has ever used ki or thought about teaching it?

[AngelaG]

Thanks

 

Could you explain this 5 element theory

 

has anyone here actually traveled over seas to train....? i hope to someday after i get done at Ball State

 

I'll try to do a brief explanation of 5 element theory.

 

The body has lots of pressure points, these are the areas that acupuncturists use to heal when they jab their needles in, and that martial artists use to harm when they jab their fists in.

 

Each pressure point has a meridian name depending on the characteristics it shows and the pressure points are joined by the meridians (like dot to dot), each point is also either Yin or Yang: Yang if the meridian goes to the head, Yin if it doesn’t.

 

The meridians are as follows:

 

Yang

 

Stomach (Earth)

 

Large Intestine (Metal)

 

Gall Bladder (Wood)

 

Small Intestine (Fire)

 

Triple Burner (Fire)

 

Bladder (Water)

 

Yin

 

Spleen (Earth)

 

Lung (Metal)

 

Liver (Wood)

 

Heart (Fire)

 

Pericardium (Fire)

 

Kidney (Water)

 

The names in brackets after the meridians are the element assigned to them. As you can see they all have elemental pairs .e. Yang Earth (Stomach) and Yin Earth (Spleen) – except for the Fire element which has 2 elemental pairs.

 

5 element theory is easier to explain with a diagram but imagine a circular diagram with the five elements placed around it going (clockwise) Wood – Fire – Earth – Metal – Water. (Constructive cycle) Acupuncturists will use the pressure points this way to heal people i.e. from a Fire pressure point to an Earth pressure point. A martial artist however can utilise the diagram in the other direction to get harmful effects from them. I.e. hitting a Fire point and then hitting a Wood point. (Fire burns Wood). (Going the wrong way around the constructive cycle)

 

Moreover it can get more complicated if you imagine the circle bisected by lines, like a pentagram. This is the Destructive Cycle, and it works by jumping across elements. So the Destructive cycle would go: Wood – Earth – Water – Fire – Metal. These too will also get a nasty affect if you hit points in this order.

 

I’d recommend Patrick McCarthy’s Bubishi to see diagrams of the points (Although the Triple Warmer and Pericardium are labelled up the wrong way). Or the free online .Pdf book I posted in the other thread in here. After that you can label them up in their elemental pairs yourself and put whether they are Yin or Yang – and experiment with effects. Be careful though, playing with pressure points is dangerous and should only be done very, very lightly with a willing partner, and with a trained first aider and someone who knows a bit about energetic KOs and revival.

[Zhong Gau]

i thnk the 'qi' you are refferring to is known as "Monk's Fighting Qiqong" and is a result of qi breathing while practicing your forms. it is the basis for most neijia. including 'iron hand' and 'iron shirt' and 'emperor's golden bell' and 'fa tching'.

 

the five elements method works well but tends to work better after the 100 days meditation and perpertual chi compression meditation.

 

Wing tsit chan has several books on qiqong with exercises for a variety of health needs but not much for fighting.

 

ther is also a 'five elements qiqong' and a 'five elements practice' in both hsing-i/xing-yi and hung gar. both follow the constructive cycle but a tantric variation utilizes the destructive as well.