What is "Energy"?
Ken Harding

Just what exactly is “energy”? Let's consider the word energy in terms of how it's used in the martial arts. There are two opinions: the mystical and the physical.

It should come as no surprise that there are proclaimed ‘masters’ of the martial arts who claim to channel energy into different parts of their bodies, to use it at different times for different purposes. That sounds very impressive and magical, and sets them on a much higher level than their students. Of course, they never define this energy, except by calling it by the nebulous and equally vague phrase: “life force”. But what is that? They tell us that science has yet to understand this force. Yet in this day and age when we have mapped the human genome, unraveled the mystery of DNA, can clone mammals, and have plotted out all the various parts of the brain and understand their functions, it seems like a weak argument to say that scientists cannot find this powerful and all-pervasive life force— a force that uneducated peasants have known about for thousands of years. Ki (or chi) has all the appearance of folklore and legend, not reality.

I shall tell you exactly what energy is. Energy is physical force... pressure... generated by muscular exertion or the momentum of movement— both mechanical actions. No martial art technique happens without movement of some kind. Take away the movement, and you take away the technique. Effective energy is generated by good body mechanics, understanding of timing and footwork, and good muscle control.

Knowing now what energy is, I have a question for you to ponder. Can energy be stored?

If we think of energy like electricity, and the body like a battery... then no, energy cannot be stored. You can’t build it up in your stomach, and then shoot out through your arm into your enemy, knocking him on the ground. Such is the stuff of comic book heroes and bad martial arts movies. And yet there are martial arts that would have you believe this is what they can do. In the thirty years I've been involved in martial arts, and in Budo Taijutsu specifically, I have never witnessed or felt anything that leads me to believe that there is any truth behind that point of view.

There are those who promote the idea that chi or ki can be used to stop or absorb strikes. But these are tricks, similar to those used by circus side show performers, that anyone can learn. It is not martial arts.

If we think of energy as force, generated through physical actions, this gives us another, more realistic concept. Like a spring in a mouse trap, energy can be stored— or at least built up. When you pull back the spring on a mouse trap, and set the lever, you are building up and storing potential energy, which is released later when a mouse tries to eat the cheese. The trap is tripped, and the spring releases the energy that it had been storing, breaking the mouse’s neck.

The body’s structure can be used this way, and that is an area of serious advanced study. The spine can be twisted, the knees bent, the weight shifted, all in ways that build up energy that is not used in that moment, but used in the next. This knowledge is vital, and should be studied after the basics are understood.

Most of all, what is important is clarity of thought in these kinds of matters. If you don’t clearly understand these ideas, or if you have been deceived by someone who sounds very convincing and is trying to sell you on the idea of magic powers, then it is much harder to master these concepts.