Doug Daulton
9th January 2006, 09:40
The central issue in question on two recently closed threads was/is the legitimacy of claims that Mr. Carbone's Agena sai help the user transfer energy/ki more efficiently and therefore are the best sai for practice. Central to the debate, IMO, was the tone used in marketing materials which seemed to attribute the sai with a … for lack of a better term … "mystical quality". Now before anyone gets bent, I'll make a few things clear.
1) I happen to believe in energy transference as a key part of all martial arts training ... karate, kobudo or other. It is certainly a legitimate in the strictly physics sense of the word … energy. The principle aim of any martial art waza, or even any modern weapons platform (bomb, gun, etc) is to harness energy in the most efficient manner and deliver it the most effective spot to achieve maximum effect, be it lethal, suppressive or both.
2) I have seen some mighty odd things in my time, travels and training. So, while I am generally a dyed-in-the-wool realist/pragmatist, my mind is open to the more spiritual/mystical concept of "Ki" and the idea that budo training gives one the ability to harness and control it in some manner.
And, it is worth mentioning that much of the hard science we take for granted today (i.e. fire, gunpowder, electricity, medicine, radio transmissions, etc.) was at one time considered magical and/or mystical by generations past. So, perhaps Ki is real and we simply lack the means to identify and measure it.
3) I have met, trained with and witnessed demonstrations by a wide variety of people who make claims about harnessing Ki or a similar ethereal energy for martial and/or medical intent. While a few have made me legitimately curious, if not a believer, most have proven to be whole-hearted charlatans playing on people’s romantic ideals and desires for profit, power or both.
In any case, I imagine most thoughtful, intelligent martial artists with any real length of time in study have met similar folks and come to similar conclusions. Unfortunately, we are often the minority. It seems there are droves of folks who want to believe in mystical powers as represented in Kung-fu Theatre on Saturday afternoon, and as a result they create an audience and ripe student base for these fakirs of the budo set.
4) As for Mr. Carbone’s sai, I want to be clear that I have no experience with them or their maker … and therefore have no opinion of my own on them. What I think others were trying to say is that some of the claims made seem rather fantastic, and perhaps this was NOT Mr. Carbone’s intention.
If this is the case, then he certainly should be made aware of the perception of “mystical energy transference”, so he can clarify for the good of his students, if not his sales. Pointing this out is not intended to be punitive, but rather informative and helpful.
If, as suggested by some, this “mystical” language is intentional, then there is legitimate reason for concern if such claims are made and then never supported. If for no other reason, such claims generally sully the reputations and perceptions of all legitimate martial artists who work hard to pass on the arts given them by their teachers.
Now, I’ve said all of this for two reasons:
A) I wanted to put some closure on the debate that sparked the idea for this post.
B) I wanted to open a discussion regarding Ki/Energy transference and invite folks to discuss their experiences, both positive and negative, with the general concept and any related waza.
So. consider the discussion opened. :D Feel free to debate vigorously, but please maintain a sense of decorum and respect for everyone involved.
Regards,
1) I happen to believe in energy transference as a key part of all martial arts training ... karate, kobudo or other. It is certainly a legitimate in the strictly physics sense of the word … energy. The principle aim of any martial art waza, or even any modern weapons platform (bomb, gun, etc) is to harness energy in the most efficient manner and deliver it the most effective spot to achieve maximum effect, be it lethal, suppressive or both.
2) I have seen some mighty odd things in my time, travels and training. So, while I am generally a dyed-in-the-wool realist/pragmatist, my mind is open to the more spiritual/mystical concept of "Ki" and the idea that budo training gives one the ability to harness and control it in some manner.
And, it is worth mentioning that much of the hard science we take for granted today (i.e. fire, gunpowder, electricity, medicine, radio transmissions, etc.) was at one time considered magical and/or mystical by generations past. So, perhaps Ki is real and we simply lack the means to identify and measure it.
3) I have met, trained with and witnessed demonstrations by a wide variety of people who make claims about harnessing Ki or a similar ethereal energy for martial and/or medical intent. While a few have made me legitimately curious, if not a believer, most have proven to be whole-hearted charlatans playing on people’s romantic ideals and desires for profit, power or both.
In any case, I imagine most thoughtful, intelligent martial artists with any real length of time in study have met similar folks and come to similar conclusions. Unfortunately, we are often the minority. It seems there are droves of folks who want to believe in mystical powers as represented in Kung-fu Theatre on Saturday afternoon, and as a result they create an audience and ripe student base for these fakirs of the budo set.
4) As for Mr. Carbone’s sai, I want to be clear that I have no experience with them or their maker … and therefore have no opinion of my own on them. What I think others were trying to say is that some of the claims made seem rather fantastic, and perhaps this was NOT Mr. Carbone’s intention.
If this is the case, then he certainly should be made aware of the perception of “mystical energy transference”, so he can clarify for the good of his students, if not his sales. Pointing this out is not intended to be punitive, but rather informative and helpful.
If, as suggested by some, this “mystical” language is intentional, then there is legitimate reason for concern if such claims are made and then never supported. If for no other reason, such claims generally sully the reputations and perceptions of all legitimate martial artists who work hard to pass on the arts given them by their teachers.
Now, I’ve said all of this for two reasons:
A) I wanted to put some closure on the debate that sparked the idea for this post.
B) I wanted to open a discussion regarding Ki/Energy transference and invite folks to discuss their experiences, both positive and negative, with the general concept and any related waza.
So. consider the discussion opened. :D Feel free to debate vigorously, but please maintain a sense of decorum and respect for everyone involved.
Regards,