The thorny issue of Qi

I have come across some internal stylists who proclaim they don’t believe in Qi. I have to wonder why then they practice internal styles. It’s like writting Haiku poems that aren’t three lines - it can be done, but then it is no longer Haiku.

But it then raises the thorny issue of Qi. Qi needs to be taken on its own terms. We use the Chinese word “Qi” because there is no equivalent word for in English. Likewise, there is no scientific concept that is equivalent.

This should not make Qi mysterious. As a Chinese Medicine practitioner who does acupuncture treatments, Qi is not mysterious. It can be helpful to think of Qi as a reflection of the overall health of a person - their physical and mental capabilities and coordination. But it not helpful to limit it to something like the electrical impedence of the skin, or a mechanical calculation of vertors or leverage.

In very broad strokes, our Western thinking leads us to analyse theories while the internal martial arts are built on analysing experience - our own and the experience of our predecesors. Time spent making Qi fit into some kind of theory will be far less productive than time spent training conscientiously.