Griffith Aikido - Brisbane Martial Arts and Self Defence

Chi power in aikido

Internal Martial Arts: Physics in action? (Published Blitz Australia April 2004, Vol. 18, NO. 4, pp56-8) by Daniel James
See Also Unbraisablebody

Science is often a benchmark that we routinely apply to our lives. We use science to decide what is the truth is, or whether one method is better than another. The scientific method is a process of trial and error that improves knowledge. The martial arts also is sometimes referred to as a science, as most arts have evolved from the battlefield where skeptical warriors hold on tested claims of superior art in life and death contests, to produce better techniques and systems. Indeed today many modern schools claim to apply 'science' or 'the scientific method' to their training, arguably though this is true of traditional schools as well.

There are considerable differences in the scientific method applied today in what we call modern science, to that of the ancient east. Historically in science the eastern minds was focused on observation whilst that of the west on the underlying mechanisms governing the universe (or the assumption that these exist). Hence today we have the laws of planetary motion from Kepler and the detailed ancient astronomical charts of the Chinese astronomers. Together they are the ying and yang of science, Kepler without detailed observation of the planets and stars would never have discovered his laws. These differences offer important clues to the development of the martial arts but are not the focus of this article. This article will explore the role of science and particularly physics, as a possible tool to understand more of the martial arts, in particular some explanation of 'internal energy'.

Modern science has been a tremendous tool for martial artists in many ways, for example we now know how to eat properly to prepare us for training and/or competition. We understand the mechanics of how to stretch our muscles properly even if 'proprioneuromusclar facilitation' is still a bit of a mouth full. The secrets of board and concrete block breaking are ours, reassured that the tensile strength of bone is greater that that of that of even concrete. A lowered center of gravity and deep stances gives us power and stability, while a high center and shallow stance provides for mobility. The secrets of Bruce's one inch punch are also ours, well at least we understand its not 'black magic' but basic mechanics, and achievable by the dedicated martial artist over time.

Basic physiology of the brain and eyes tell us much about seeing, perception and action. Focused, staring eyes perform less well than our 'glazed over' peripheral vision because of the physical location of our receptors in the retina. Here the peripheral receptors are more sensitive to movement (ready to save neanderlithal man from a stalking sabre-tooth tiger). Further, neurophysiology tells us that the expectation of an 'event' (attack) creates higher firing thresholds in our neurons, reducing our ability to perceive (and hence react) to small stimulus. From this we learn that to relax is to perform well, thus improving our freestyle practice and sparing. 'Meditate like a monk' and similar kits, now freely available, are based on brain wave analysis performed on masters. Whilst some of these products may be dubious in their claims, science has revealed much about meditation, so much so that its now better understood and more easily learned. We also understand how muscles (like the biceps and triceps) work in opposition to each other to control our limbs, thus the relaxed arm that only engages one muscle, strikes faster than the tense one. So how do we access this 'science' for ourselves, fortunately we can apply our own scientific process to decide if what we see, hear and do is the truth or not.

Internal energy explained (well some simple stuff anyway)

This article focuses on explaining how science can be used to explain some aspects of our arts in particular the demonstration and development of 'internal energy'.

'Internal energy' is one of the mysteries touted almost exclusively by the martial arts and related disciplines. Routinely martial artists, particularly in the softer styles, are exposed to 'internal energy' development exercises and practices. It can be difficult to explain, most often we are presented with examples instead. These may include the ability to resist pain using 'keiko', absorb the energy of strikes with an 'iron shirt', be infinitely heavy, move and throw people without touching them, and use the energy meridians within the body for 'vital point' (kyusho) strikes and knockouts blows. 'Internal energy' is something of an all encompassing definition for which no complete western explanation exists, though we can gain important clues from our study of the brain and basic physiology. Our knowledge of anatomy helps explain the conditioning of 'iron shirt', and 'kyusho' techniques are partly explained by the nervous system and its natural defenses (like passing out to conserve blood loss during 'apparent' major trauma).

'Internal energy' is often referred to as Ki, Chi, Prana etc..- I'll use the term 'Ki' generically since this is what I am most familiar with. 'Ki' is something vigorously debated amongst martial artists for some time and probably will be for many years to come, just visit any martial arts internet chat room or list to find scores of material on this. For some arts it's defended with religious like fervor and yet for other artists it's scoffed at over a beer. In offering some explanations for a few examples of 'Ki' development, I hope to accomplish three things:-

1) For the internal energy enthusiast: I hope to offer scientific validation for your training methods, know that in doing this I cannot possibly explain away 'Ki', and can only offer the encouragement that you are pushing the boundaries of what modern science can explain.
2) For the skeptic: Here is some scientific proof that 'Ki' and the training methods to develop it are not just for tofu loving tree huggers but can actually help you with your training. Please don't throw out the traditional martial arts in favor of YouKanDo they still have much to offer the serious student. 3) For all: I encourage you to try these simple experiments and decide for yourself if the proffered explanations are useful for your training or helpful in providing insights into your martial arts and/or internal energy training.
A simple training exercise and test for internal energy often used within the softer disciplines of aikido is the 'unbendable arm'. This example is suitably simple to explain and might yield clues to how other exercises work.

Unbendable Arm: A specific example

An arm that is unbendable has many uses with in the martial arts, for aikido its helpful for conserving energy and momentum whilst rolling (after being thrown), its also an important tool to help soft block or redirect strikes and can be extended to holding weapons such as the bokken correctly.

As an example of 'Ki' development a practitioners arm is presented whilst a partner uses applies force to try and bend it. During a successful test the practitioner remains calm whilst the partner strains to bend the arm with little success. The figure below demonstrates the test pictorially with the practitioner.

In the diagram (courtesy of Westbrook & Ratti, "Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere") an aikido student (wearing black hakama pants) presents an arm for bending, his partner then tries to bend the arm by applying downward force at the elbow and upward force at the hand. Using extension of 'ki' the practicioner keeps his/her arm unbendable.

The test is first performed with the arm tensed (to provide a strength baseline) and completely collapsed (no mind baseline), in both these cases the arm is usually easier to bend that when practicing 'Ki extension'. A successful test is where the arm is harder to bend in the final example. This test is often used in demonstrations of 'internal energy' and can look quite spectacular. In many cases children are able to pass this test with adult partners.

How to pass this test

"'Ki' is universal energy" say the Aikido and 'Ki' master, "Allow the force to flow through you" says Yoda, "Root the energy of your opponent to the ground" say the Tai Chi and Kung Fu masters. Visualization is an important key to passing this test and the above are good examples of that. A favorite teaching analogy is to imagine your arm as a fire hose, completely flexible when empty but when energised with water ('Ki') rushing out the nozzle (your fingertips) it becomes really strong and difficult to bend.

Use this technique to energize your arm and imagine spraying an object some meters distant. Now when your partner tests maintain this visualization to pass the test, in so doing you learn to cultivate your 'Ki' extension through your arm and finger tips to make your arm unbendable.

At its most basic level students are tested slowly to help the student pass, at higher levels the test is more sudden or applied without warning. The intent of the higher level tests are to see how well Ki extension is maintained during stress.

How it works

There are several underlying physical principles that make this test work, the most obvious are all related to our muscular and skeletal systems.

The bending of our arms are (simplistically) controlled by
a) The biceps, which contracts the forearm
b) The triceps, which extends the forearm.

These muscles work in opposition with each other to control the arm effectively. Hence when an arm is tense both the biceps and triceps are activated, in effect the biceps are helping someone bend the unbendable arm. When relaxed however the bicep no longer aids the applied force - only the triceps become engaged, the net effect is your relaxed power is stronger.

Many students initially pass the test but when there is a small bend in the arm, suddenly become tense, imagining they are failing the test... and of course they do. Muscles however have considerable elasticity in them and so this small movement is a natural part of our physical makeup and hence when the small movement is ignored (rather than focused on) the test can be passed.

Finally if we consider the arm as a rigid limb (without the elbow) then mechanical analysis (see Figure 3) reveals the peak stress is not at (A) the elbow joint but in the upper arm above the elbow. Hence our physical structure suggests that for the arm to be bent, enough force to break the upper arm is required (Thanks to R. Adamec for the simulation)

Conclusion

This paper has introduced the concept of Ki as practiced in the traditional martial art of aikido. Unbendable Arm, a specific example of Ki development as practiced in aikido, was described and an alternative using basic science was presented. While the analysis cannot be generalized across all internal arts practice it nonetheless has demonstrated that some aspects of Ki can be explained using science for examples that are sufficiently simple.

More Griffith Aikido articles