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Descriptions and instructions regarding Ki development are all just metaphors folks. They're pictures used to aid me in identifying and strengthening what I feel to be going on within my body as I perform the various exercises. I use metaphors to give my feelings illustrative substance that I may continue to draw on and further build on as I continue to learn and grow. When the feeling has been reinforced to the point where I can summon it at will I dispense with the metaphor, it's no longer necessary as the feeling itself becomes the reality without need of external support.
Aikido is simply the method I have chosen to engender the growth and strengthening of my Ki. That Aikido technique has varied applications is a nice side benefit; but my primary goal has become, over years of training, Ki development. I make no secret of this. Others have other goals and there's room for all under the tent. I have my own training to tend to in addition to the nurturing of my students so I leave the "whose right" debate to the people who have vested interests in being right. Not my problem.
Debating over Ki metaphors is like trying to debate the blueness of the sky on a sunny day or the sound of music. All are intimately entwined with the feelings of the observer and, hence, subjective in nature. Scientific analysis of Ki is just another set of metaphors attempting to describe the underlying reality, no more or less correct than any other descriptive endeavor. I use whatever metaphor supports my progress and growth. Rigid doctrine has no place in my art.
08-18-2008 01:40 PM 