The REAL teachings of Combat Chi Kung!

[Guest guest]

One of the major distinctions between the more modern and the older

combat methods is that the older systems place emphasis on physical

strength and swiftness.

But the older systems ALSO place equal stress on developing super-

increases of overall, highly refined awareness quite likely to be

referred to as extrasensory. This is in ADDITION to the sensory

awareness associated with the purely physical aspects of the martial

arts studies.

 

 

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To help make the distinction here, it can be suggested that some of

the modern martial arts methods that have been developed in this

century have not lost their connection to the older arts.

Principally speaking, Aikido is one well-known example in which the

older stress on extra-sensory awareness had not been lost.

 

 

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Why the older arts have not lost their process of developing the

superpower while the modern sport forms have is a point that needs

to be addressed. This point was brought home to me one sunny

afternoon in Japan.

While walking down a quiet country street, my teacher turned to me

and said: " Charles-san, we need to make a gentlemen's agreement. "

Having already spent some time with the Japanese and their ways of

doing things, I wasn't about to agree to anything until I heard the

terms.

In fact, I tried not to look too interested. That way, if agreement

was totally unacceptable, no one would (hopefully) lose face. So I

just nodded to wait and see what the " agreement " would be.

 

 

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" You see, Charles-san, your training has to change now, and it will

be very dangerous. "

You can imagine what I began thinking: DANGEROUS?! I was already

nursing a cut where a very sharp and fast moving katana (Japanese

sword) had grazed my hand. In those days, we generally trained

with " live " swords - that is, very sharp steel ones.