Tony, >surely the whole point about Chi is that you >cannot retain it; you may 'gather' it but it's only >passing through.
I am hesitant to completely agree with that. It certainly seems like there is a part of the energy that you keep, and in fact the GrandMaster above me (teacher's teacher and disciple of the legendary Chen Fake,who could send people sailing when they touched him)states that there something like a crystal behind your navel (dan tien) that you condense your accumulated chi into. The measure of your length and intensity of practice is the concentration of energy in this spot. For me, probably the most significant addition to my practice (previously Wing Chun Kung-Fu and Chi Kung) was the focus on gathering and retaining much of the energy you generate during static chi kung and moving form (called "nurturing your energy"). I could whip up strong energy but leaked it away with too much fajing (explosive energy) and no gathering and condensing excercises. On the other hand, there must also be a part of the practice that attunes you to the flow of energy and makes you more efficient at channeling (say from the ether or from the ground or air, depending on circumstances) energy in an instant. There, the concept of "passing through" seems appropriate. The "parasitical" part of my thought is related to previous discussion on tying up the energy resources of a tree in order to broadcast your preps, instead of building a broadcaster. And it is a bit abstract. The acummulating and storing idea may seem materialistic, but we are material creatures in our bodies. I imagine a combination of the two perspectives (accumulating vs. channeling) result in the net effects of Tai Chi practice. Sincerely, Chris Shade --- Anthony Nelson-Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Chris - surely the whole point about Chi is that you > cannot retain it: you > may 'gather' it, but it's only passing through. > Thus it can scarcely be > 'parasitic' to obtain it from natural surroundings - > it returns to them soon > enough ! Tony N-S. > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Try FREE Yahoo! Mail - the world's greatest free email! http://mail.yahoo.com/
