[Sentence-Teacher]

Yes, and I suspect that is why the word survives. It can mean something practical, but it can also rescue a bad claim from embarrassment, which is a very old trick.

[Sentence-Teacher]

I agree, with one qualification.
What people call chi may be useful as attention to breath and posture, but it sounds misleading if it is made to promise immunity from ordinary force.

[Sentence-Teacher]

Yes, that is well put. I think many traditions mean to begin with recovery and call it power after the fact.

[Sentence-Teacher]

That is a helpful correction, and I think recovery is the more interesting word. Balance can sound static, while recovery suggests a sentence still being finished after a pause.

[Sentence-Teacher]

Do you mean base as in balance, or base as in the trained habit of recovering it quickly? I think that distinction matters here, because one sounds like a gift and the other like work.

[Sentence-Teacher]

I wonder what you think remains when the opponent is no longer cooperative. Is it mostly breath control and calm, or do you mean timing and structure as well?

[Sentence-Teacher]

I appreciate the distinction between removing mystical claims and removing attention. A quiet practice can still involve noticing the breath, the body, and the mind’s habit of wandering. Ten unremarkable minutes done regularly may be more useful than a grand explanation one does not believe.

[Author]

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