On Sun, 6 Apr 1997, Ben and Vic wrote:

Second question:  What, exactly, makes up chi?  I have a friend that 

[snip]

	Anyone watch Walker Texas Ranger this week?!? Anyway, chi is the Chinese
version of "ki." The energy force in all living things. Fun fact: Lucas
wrote Star Wars with the help of a book called "Akido and the Perfect
Sphere." Now you know where "The Force" came from.

	Well, I don't really understand it myself, and I've only picked 
up a little from my kung fu class, but I'll give it a try...
	First thing, yeah, 'chi' is the Chinese equivalent of 'ki' (or 
vice-versa, actually), but the Chinese have a far more developped and 
complex system develloped around it (which I don't really understand).
	Anyway - let's see.  It's stored in that place two inches below 
your navel, who's Chinese name I can't spell (Danten? <shrug> whatever).  
There's yang chi and yin chi; I think guys produce the yang chi naturally 
via there testes, while yin is produced by different means.  Certain 
foods affect it, too: red meats and such are high in yang chi, for 
instance.  Gah, I'm messing this up, aren't I?
	What else.  A balance is important between the two, since an 
imbalance either way is a bad thing; meditation and the more 'internal' 
martial-arts are supposed to be good for the yin.
	Ummm... travels through the body via meridian lines.  The natural 
extensions of the body (top of head, bottom of feet, palm of hands) are 
entry/exit points; this is why an open palm is supposed to be better 
than a closed fist.  There's an odd 12 hour cycle to the concept, too - 
this is where the fabled Dim Mak comes from, since an interruption of the 
flow at the right place at the right time with a precise strike is 
supposed to be able to lead to various effects (paralysis, death) once 
the cycle completes itself.  This cycle thing is, I believe, the reason 
that during many excercises (especially Ch'i Gong) the tongue is held up 
against the roof of the mouth.
	Well, whatever.  There's more, but I'll probably mess it up 
terribly.  There's a wonderfully complex system of thought develloped 
around the concept in Chinese martial arts/medicine/mysticism, whatever 
you want to call it or wether you chose to believe in it.  There's 
probably a few good texts out there that give a better idea of it than my 
messed up try...

	-Mike