Watch out for Chinese Chopsticks

Looks to me like he's merely throwing into a thin sheet metal surface; I didn't see anything here that looks supernatural at all.

With a thin, rigid surface, you can whip all sorts of things from nails to pencils with relative ease. Notice he's only about 12 feet away from his target? Why, it'd be like throwing paper clip wire into drywall.

If chi is doing the work, as the astoundingly gullible (or sycophantic) interviewer believes, let's see him do it into wood. Even plywood.

Basically, the guy's got an arsenal of tricks that demonstrate leverage, impulse, and conditioning... I don't see anything here that truly defies belief...except perhaps the total disregard for test conditions and skepticism. The practitioner is either ignorant or a fraud. Fortunately, he found an interviewer who doesn't know the difference.
 
For myself, I always took "Chi" to be a magical, explanation for that which occurs on an entirely physical level. The one inch punch, throwing chopsticks through whatever, etc. can all be accomplished by anyone with the amount of practice necessary to optimize body mechanics. When I played baseball, I hit the ball maybe 4 out of 10 times. And, of those 4 times, only perhaps once would everything come together perfectly and allow me to hit the sweet spot. To me, a punch thrown with "chi" is the exact same type of thing; it imparts the same sort of feeling as my body and the bat working in perfect unison to hit the ball out of the park. If that makes any sense!


Its just physics and, to me, its a shame that so many people have equated it with magic or spiritual energy or whatever.


edited to add: I do think that the concept of chi may very well have a kind of psychosomatic (probably not the right word given the context) effect for the practitioner. In essence, it could help him, through deep focus and visualization techniques, to make his throw, or a strike, perfectly- effectively using his "mental energy" to complete a move. But, its still a function of physics and, in my opinion, the idea of chi as some kind of magical power results from an imperfect understanding of physics and physiology and not from some esoteric well of mental energy.
 
oh.. you can throw a paper clip into a drywall? lol im new
and yeah, with the second look, that looks more like wood-coated aluminum foil

have you guys tried throwing chopsticks before?
 
Listen to yourself before someone who is skeptical about things that are not a part of his or her studies, and until you have been toe to toe with a true master of Qi-gong which is a complete discipline in and of itself, try not to close your eyes to other points of view. Chopsticks and steel tube aside, I have seen first hand the power in complete focus, and that is what the art of Qi-gong is.
Just my opinion, for s's and g's....
Quilp
 
quilp said:
Listen to yourself before someone who is skeptical about things that are not a part of his or her studies, and until you have been toe to toe with a true master of Qi-gong which is a complete discipline in and of itself, try not to close your eyes to other points of view.
Click to expand...

Been there, done it. Doesn't work. Please explain why you think it does.

Generally it isn't the skeptic who closes his eye to other points of view: it's the unquestioning believer. ;)

EDITED TO ADD: If you're describing QiGong as a methodology to condition the body against pain, deliver an efficient delivery system of strikes in empty-hand fighting, etc., then fine. And I apologize. But if you're promoting what that video clip shows as superhuman feats, using a mystical energy form no one can produce when called on it, then you're hoodwinked by some showmanship.
 
kimjune01 said:
have you guys tried throwing chopsticks before?
Click to expand...
Not chopsticks, but certainly have done wooden skewers, which are about the same length but a fraction of the mass. They stick quite well into a variety of surfaces.

And a metal skewer--heck, you almost can't miss sticking these. It's one of the easiest things to throw; if that sounds like a grand claim, please go get one of those $4 packs at the grocery store and try it at a cardboard surface. Get the nine-inch ones... the footlong metal skewers bend too much. Throw them like a knife, and watch how they stick!
 
I've seen a guy on TV throwing chopsticks into a plywood wall while standing on eggs.

Later I met that very guy and found out he is the one who taught my matrial arts instructor.

When I talked with him about the TV Show he didn't give the impression that it had been that hard. He was rather relating it as a funny story, standing on the eggs and all. For him that seemed to be just a publicity stunt.

So it is possible to do that, if you just have the time to train enough.
If you train enough, you can stand on eggs (they're pretty stable, you just have to put your feet right on top of them and keep them from toppling over - sounds easy right?) or you can throw chopsticks into a plywood wall (just have to hit them dead on with enough power).

Concerning "chi", "ki" or whatever you want to call it, it is just a way of explaining how things work. In the western hemisphere we use other terms or a combination of terms to describe just that. How about: muscle memory, flow, momentum, speed, dexterity etc...

So "chi" IMO is just a way of trying to put a name on things. In the western hemisphere this non-scientific terminology is now hardly found outside of religious communities. Hence the confusion about, and rejection of the concept.

Ookami
 
That is what I would have said although it would not have sounded as good, thank you for saving me time. I was going to explain that it is a philosopical question, and answer, rather that a dictionary quote. "Qi" is all things to many people and a joke to others, the truth is where you find it, or visualize it as the case may be. Either way I have seen, in person what the people who use it can accomplish, whatever set of dogmic rules/montras they use to train their minds, it works.

Quilp
 
i think the chi tricks are just magician stuff invented by shaolin monks to get money from idiots watching

u know that spear trick, where one monk puts a spear under his chin, and then bends it with the spear going through his neck?
the damn monk just puts force in a lateral position instead of directly on the sharp tip of the spear. All their tricks are like that, if u understand anything of basic newtonian physics u see right through 'em
bruce lee once said; "give me the spear, it'll go right through"

here in europe we had the same kind of travelling circus conmen, with fake mermaids, quack potions, etc.
 
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