Qigong

Qigong or Chi Kung is a term used to describe a great number of systems of energetic practice. One of its more commonly known derivitaves is tai chi Chuan, which is a martial form that incorporates many of the principles and techniques of Chi Kung.

in Essence, Chi Kung describes "the way of energy", although the term "chi" also refers to the breath. The word "chi" has many meanings, being one of the oldest words in the chinese language. In the traditional Chinese cosmology, the notion of chi is fundamental to understanding the nature of reality. Chi is the fundamental, primordial substance from which all things in creation are made. It is an omnipresent force that all matter consists of. It is responsible for both form and energy, matter and energy.

Although all matter consists of chi, the idea is put forth that some forms have a greater quantity of chi than others, and are therefore more capable of longevity and work. It then follows that there are practices designed to gather, cultivate and condense chi in order to change the level of ability of the practitioner.

Boddhidarma, the man responsible for introducing chan (zen) buddhism to china, and also the founder of the shao lin schools is commonly thought to have originated the earliest forms of chinese chi kung (yoga being the earliest forms of indian chi kung) after noticing how weak limbed and lazy his monks were. The "eight pieces of brocade" form is said to have originated as a means of strengthening the monks' limbs and allowing them to work harder in the gardens. Martial applications came later.

Most commonly, chi kung is used to maximise a person's health, and many practitioners in china can be found in parks all day long practicing their chi kung for this purpose. Many miracle cures have spontaneously occurred in practitioners of chi kung.

There are also techniques by which chi kung can be used medically, and many practitioners in the east base their practice solely on chi kung. Typically, their hands are held a couple feet from the body being treated and blasted with beams of the healer's chi until their energetic system corrects itself and the illness vanishes. Reiki would be considered a form of chi kung (rei-universal ki-japanese for chi).

Chi Kung is also used in the soft martial arts (as opposed to the harder, force driven arts that rely on muscular strength instead of connection to the life force). Tai Chi is one of the more better known forms, although of course shao lin wu shu and many other forms also include a chi kung component.

There are many legends as to what can be accomplished through chi kung. It has been contested that many feats of superhuman strength are carried out through the practice of chi kung, from bending iron bars across one's neck, to being impermeable to blades, to withstanding the application of great weight, to lighting fires with the force of one's chi.

Chi kung is believed to restore in the practitioner those natural human capabilities that are latent in most humans, due to our lack of predators. there are not many situations in modern life which require the use of telepathy, psychokinesis and pyrokinesis, unless one is especially attuned to these situations.