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This is not my interpretation but anothers with some of the explanations quoted in this article for a bit of study in an attempt to clarify, for my mind, and understanding. Overall, to my mind, chinkuchi is not some mystical, “System,” that explains and provides for inner energy developments at least as described because, to my mind, there are not mystical mysteries to how one manifests a goal by a chinkuchi effort, techniques or other model.
No one today can truthfully, including my explanation of chinkuchi, convey the true meaning behind the use of the term in Okinawa of, “Chinkuchi.” They can only make assumptions toward personal theories that may or may not actually be true, relevant and factual. Let the fun begin (please note this is my mind meandering around some quotes or meme’s extracted from an article on the subject and is not a comment on the actual article itself).
Subtle Energies: In one of the first paragraphs it is mentioned and defined as follows, “We now know they are composed of electro-magnetic fields, sound waves (both audible and silent, such as kiai and breath), light waves, other finer vitalities, and the effects of various psychic states on physical strength and performance. All these vibrational phenomena fall under the single and popular Asian umbrella labeling as Chi or Ki.”
I am not too sure the term subtle is adequate or correct in describing how such things as electromagnetic fields, sound wave, etc. apply to the human body as it relates to chinkuchi and so on. Lets talk about electromagnetic fields as a part of the bodies subtle energies, is this real, true and medically viable as something within the body and able to be manipulated?
Upon a small amount of initial research the human body does not actually contain electromagnetic energies. For instance, from the World Health Organization, “Electromagnetic radiation has been around since the birth of the universe; light is its most familiar form. Electric and magnetic fields are part of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation which extends from static electric and magnetic fields, through radio frequency and infrared radiation, to X-rays.”
Electromagnetic Fields, EMF, magnets, alternating electric and magnetic fields, radio freq radiation and microwaves, infrared radiation, the sun, from ultraviolet rays and X-rays to name a few so I am having difficulty understanding how electromagnetic files can be subtle energies of the body as manifested as ki or chi.
I can accept that to manifest energy, force and power through breathing, structure, alignment, etc., principles of karate and martial arts, but not through sound and light waves. I can accept that those things can have an effect on human bodies but as to their connection to subtle energies of the body and to their being manipulated, not so much.
Now I ask, “What are vitalities,” in the same opening paragraph. I wonder if it is an attempt to give meaning to a more mystic oriented ancient study of classics to give an impression of knowledge to make what has long been unexplained some meaning with some agenda involved. Ok, nuff said on this one, the first quotation or meme needs a bit more substantive verifiable material and references to hold sway on my interpretation of chinkuchi.
The very next thread of the article that jumped out at me was:
Chinkuchi, “Power” (chinkuchi) is developed by striking with:
1. Proper Breathing
2. Proper Tensing
3.Accompanying each movement with what I call “mind control.”
First, there is a presupposition that the reader already understands what power is or they are conveying the idea that the reader must already know and doesn’t need it explained so they will readily assume and accept that chinkuchi is power. In reality, chinkuchi is not power itself but a term used to explain how certain physiokinetic sub-principles when applied properly will actually help or assist or enhance true power generated by proper means and methods.
Yes, breathing is an absolute as a part of a whole that helps the body generate both energy and its product, power and force. Tensing, is not, tensing should be another part of a whole where sequential locking and sequential relaxation are more appropriate but also not exclusive to the term chinkuchi yet at least a part of the whole. The mind control in number three is not truly mind control since we all know that nothing happens, either consciously or subconsciously, in the body without the participation of the mind. Here, a better term is, “Intent,” as driven by training, practice and a mind-set toward a mind-state.
Power is not generated by these factors alone, body mass movement along with gravity are the chief power generators withe all the other principles when applied tend to give an enhancing effect to build on a limit to energy and power generation of a human body of a specific type, etc.
Also, simply striking with breath, tensing and mind-control does not develop power. Striking alone is not powerful unless other principles and sub-principles are involved first. It insinuates that the shoulder, arm, elbow, forearm, wrist, and hand are powerful when in truth, alone, are not powerful no matter how you tense the muscles, etc.
Then the article went on to state:
- “Chinkuchi is a whole body action with its roots extending in proper body/mind structure.” My Comment: A somewhat limited explanation and yet it does touch peripherally on the full subject and explanation.
- “Chinkuchi is designed to intensify our physical strengths while simultaneously depleting the adversary of his power.” My Comment: No, it cannot intensify anything. It can be used when holistically understood to assist in teaching one how to apply principles to achieve power and force. It cannot add to or deplete another persons power, force or ability because that would depend on that persons understanding and proficiency in such things. Making such assumptions can be dangerous in the application of self-defense.
- “Chinkuchi is primarily about the relationship we have to our existing conflicts, which for martial artists implies adversarial forces.” My Comment: I have no idea what the heck is being said here, a relationship with existing conflicts? We have no way, except maybe in sport cøntext, to know an adversaries power or forces or abilities in an attack, we are going to have to act in an appropriate way to that kind of chaotic surprise situation.
- “In chinkuchi, proportionality and placement rule power.” My Comment: Proportionality and placement have little to do with power, they are way down on that list of power generation. I can’t even begin to understand what is meant by proportionality. As to placement, that is not governed by chinkuchi and placement is about application of some methodology to a chaotic unknown situation except maybe in sport yet there as well it is unpredictable. Power is ruled by energy, its generation, and to body weight and movement in appropriate ways toward the appropriate situation with everything else a means to enhance things for slight advantages in a fight, combatives and especially self-defense.
- “Chinkuchi training pays particular attention to both the inner and outer form both prior to and during the execution of a move.” My Comment: It sounds like an expression of proper application of fundamental principles of multiple defense methodologies for defense.
Another quote or meme to comment on:
- “Chinkuchi is accomplished by a precise combination of breathing, physical tension/relaxation, correct body alignments, concentrated volition and other key causal factors that can heighten the body’s expression of both power and control.” My Comment: There are no casual factors in using violence; the first part actually hinted toward fundamental principles and that is good; there is no expression of a bodies power and control for proper application of principles will instead make the body look less powerful.
- “Chinkuchi’s combative emphasis is upon defeating another person.” My Comment: Chinkuchi is not a philosophy or does it impart some mystical ability to defeat an adversary. Your preparation, training and practice toward your goals has a better chance of getting you to defeat another person on the attack. Chinkuchi is merely a descriptive word used to convey certain concepts that are used to apply principles. Simply just saying it is so does not make it so.
Laster a smaller meme caught my attention, i.e., “the nature of authentic power,” My comments: making some assumption that chinkuchi is the origins of power when reality says power comes from body mass and weight, momentum, gravity and principles applied.” Power is power, nothing about power is either authentic or not authentic. Power is either powerful or not, it is as simple as that and to say it is authenticate is some sort of agenda to entice and titillate possible enrollment increases, etc.
“Chinkuchi, physical strength is consciously manipulated by sequential bodily tensions in both still and ballistic posturing.” My comments: Chinkuchi is not about physical strength for power does not come from strength. Strength contributes to stability and movement where body mass and movement along with gravity generate power. Strength has its benefits but in reality toward self-defense, not as much as we often attribute to strength. As to ballistic posturing, I just don’t get it because posturing is about transmitting your intent and you don’t want to do that and it also has nothing to do with chinkuchi. I also don’t relate how sequential tension and relaxation affect posturing but I can see how it effects movement, structure, balance, and other physiokinetic sub-principles to effectively utilize the bodies limited energy to create the most power and force the body is capable of.
“Chinkuchi is the practice of the inner details of a move.” My Comments: Mystic mindless meanderings because, to me, there are no inner details to any movement of the body because it is about the skeletal system, the muscular system, the other systems like circulatory and respiratory to move the body mass and make use of physiokinetic principles to achieve power and then transmit that into the target. There simply are no inner details of a move.
“Sanchin: A rich body of knowledge exists within this form regarding the Subtle Energies.” My comments: the only part that troubles me is the reference to subtle energies, I wrote on that earlier.
“Breathing: Asian ‘breathing ’is not meant solely as the action of air/oxygen passing in and out of the lungs. Breathing is also synonymous to ki flow.” My Comments: There is no mysterious energy flow but there are internal systems such as circulatory and chemical and nervous and respiratory and others that actually relate do the concept and idea and philosophy of chi/ki because all of those along with fuels consumed, etc. provide the energy of the body. Admittedly, if breathe stops the body and mind die in short order without fail while the other systems if they fail allow time for the body to be repaired and continue. It is that simple.
“Speed with which people are moved through their martial systems today— two years to black belt, on average — and one can easily see why deep layers of the martial arts are being lost.” My comments: I apologize to the author, this is just bullshit. I say this because every single person except a very, very few never went beyond one to two years to achieve black belt. This all stems from not understanding that sho-dan is simply moving from a novice start into a student status beginning. Most of those early pioneers simply stayed with it and either learned or developed the so called depth and breadth of karate and martial arts. Even the Asians work under the handicap of the early, 1800’s late to early 1900’s, efforts at converting karate and martial arts away from its combative origins to the more accepted educational version for self-improvement, etc.
One of the unusual traits of the fairly new and young system of Isshinryu is the, “Crescent Step.” Some of my thoughts, ideas, theories and beliefs on this aspect of practice and training can be read in the following articles:
The author who wrote about this, the same one who wrote about the chinkuchi principle, has the following to say:
The Crescent Step
“Chinkuchi crescent stepping is a ki-pumping action that maximizes the flow of energy in the leg’s Strength Channels for enhanced body power. The maximization occurs as a result of the semicircular leg action, which activates all the primary leg meridians simultaneously, something that straightforward stepping does not accomplish.” My Comments: First, this is the very first time anyone has related the chinkuchi principle to the crescent step and that does not mean it is not so but I have to consider how my belief of chinkuchi connects to the crescent step. Then I have to ask the question, “What proof, fact, or reference can be given that the stepping action regardless of whether crescent or standard indicates that it is a energy pumping action?”
In addition, regarding, “Maximizes the flow of energy in the leg’s Strength Channels for enhanced body power,” is just plain mystical mumbo jumbo used to give an answer that cannot be given and proven, not according to my research as to possible testing, examination and proof by medical research even outside of the K&MA origins. There is no proof either way that the action actually allows free flow either because the legs assuming a seisan stance then moving as described is not natural movement of the legs. If nature intended us to benefit from such unnatural movement they would have that implemented naturally through nature itself. Even if I am correct all of it is in need of validation and verification as to reality and the results professed herein.
Nowhere is there any reference, proof, validation or verification what is said, to include the statement, “Something that straightforward stepping does not accomplish,” that would indicate, other then the authors unsubstantiated word, this to be true. I do admit that the legs and their natural movement has very positive effects on the body and mind toward health, fitness, and other more natural effects as medical research indicates by the very recommendations made by the medical community with extra emphasis by heart health specialists who advocate walking as the best form of exercise for health, fitness and overall wellness.
Yes, I admit freely that many of my assumptions although derived from my persona studies and overall conclusions on this and other K&MA studies is also in need of testing, verification and validation when not referenced properly in my bibliography. Neither is either true or not on both ends of this written discussion.
AND
“Chinkuchi crescent stepping is a far more specific an action than just gliding the leg in a general arc. It involves the movement of the upper thigh, the foreleg, precise knee flexion and abductor/adductor orientation, and the arc must cross the body’s mid-line (spine). The foot must skim low to the ground, with weight forward on the ball, and assume a particular proportionality in length and width to maintain an open flow of energy in the Bubbling Springs acupressure point on the bottoms of the feet.” My Comments: Nicely articulated in print but …
AND
“Why aspire to such detail and complicate the simple action of crescent stepping? … attention to detail could result in instantly doubling one’s physical strength … “ My Comments: Strength like energy, power and force in each human is finite, it has limits that no matter what you do and how you do it can be doubled, it is just not in accordance with nature and the laws of physics. We can enhance application of force and power through such activities including the one described in this quote but doubling - not going to happen. I can see how a student can perceive a true application of power and force as some wonderful discovery when in truth all that is accomplished is teaching that student how to apply principles properly to make use of their true maximum potential.
“Biofield functioning as a science, true of false?” My Comments: Biofield is defined as, “biofields (subtle field manipulation, etc.???) as “energy fields that purportedly surround and penetrate the human body” The keyword here is, “Purportedly.” It means, “allegedly,” which means, “used to convey that something is claimed to be the case or have taken place, although there is no proof.” These may be those very fields he mentions early on that one is supposed to have an ability to control but since it has not or cannot be proven then we can lay claim to all kinds of results and beliefs yet actually accomplish nothing of note. In other words, because he says so it must be true when coupled with extensive experience in the field that promotes the chinkuchi and crescent step theory.
“Karate’s Hidden Internal Face” My Comments: Hidden would mean it is still hidden and therefore unseeable and undiscoverable. One of those terms used to reach a personal agenda, a supposition and a leading term to make the reader believe that karate has something hidden much like having some special, “Secret.” In the philosophy of Japanese K&MA there is a concept of an inner and outer perception of something somewhat like yin-yang where, in nature, there are two sides to anything living or not-living. In truth even the Japanese don’t use hidden but the terms omote [表], which means “surface” and ura [裏], which literally means “behind”. It is used to indicate that a study of kata, for instance, must be taken up with the omote and ura mind-set, i.e., to look for what is obvious and then to study and research to find that which is behind the practice of things like kata. Not hidden, but something not as obvious, especially to a novice, but rather behind the training and practice waiting to become obvious to the practitioner, a cultural belief system called shi-kata that is used in Japanese society that defies explanation to the western mind. Look at it as omote, or watching a good movie, while ura is having the behind the scenes information made available to the viewer.
New Information: Energy Therapist; energy medicine; integration of the physical, emotional and spiritual within the individual; My Comments: I came across this while researching some of the disciplines this author uses such as hidden internal face, biofield, and subtle energies. It is like the professed and advertised supposedly yet not actually medical discipline of energy medicine and energy therapist. If it works for you and floats your boat, great and if it comes across as a new age agenda driven marketing ploy to extract as much of your money that it can - buyer beware. It reminds me of my grandmother on my father side who started out a wealthy socialite who believed in fortune telling and seance talk with the dead belief ended up losing every penny of her wealth, drinking herself into oblivion only to die broke, sad and a drunk. Believe what you will for if it does float your boat and you can sail lives currents with ease and contentment, go for it. This just adds to my belief that it is salesmanship selling the next elixir to make your life feel and be better. This energy therapy and medicine seems a lot like the Asian healing art of Reiki. Go figure …
Closing Statement: What has been presented in the chinkuchi and crescent step article has a lot of value but it requires mining out the suppositions and leading statements and questions used to persuade, guide and affect how the reader interprets and perceives the material. Anyone, including myself, can be easily re-programmed so that their memories come to the conclusion that want we see, hear and feel is our reality even when, in some cases, it is not true reality. Investigators, like the ones you will face in a self-defense - defense - will use such suppositions and lead comments and questions to maneuver you into saying something they can use in prosecution even when you discover later it is not the truth. Overall, I liked his article and how it was presented but I also feel he could have done far better (then again that is making the assumptions I have a greater skill and understanding - do I?).
For all I know, this persons expertise, training, studies and experiences may well be proof that it all exists and it all works - I just have my doubts as described above.
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