Many report experiencing the elusive force called ch’i (qi) on a personal level in profound ways. Indeed, anyone off the street can be given some fairly straightforward exercises that give rise to sensations that many will define as the flow of ch’i. Moreover, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which has demonstrated efficacy, is based largely on ch’i following some general rules of behavior identified through empirical study over thousands of years. This extensive body of empirical and anecdotal evidence engenders passionate advocacy by some who search for an esoteric approach to mastery of T’ai Chi Ch’uan. On the other hand, skepticism logically follows the failure of the scientific method to adequately describe and measure the nature of ch’i.

Confucian tenets on the sacredness of the body hindered the evolution of surgical practices in TCM, thereby limiting the development of anatomical studies essential to a biomechanical perspective of movement. Without the perspective of functional anatomy, or the analytical tools of physics, the descriptions of the underlying principle of T’ai Chi Ch’uan had to draw on another paradigm. Accordingly the paradigms of traditional Chinese medicine and Taoist philosophy tend to dominate the original thinking about the mechanism’s by which T’ai Chi Ch’uan operates through the body.

The fact that today’s players often use dialogue with mystical connotations does not necessarily mean that the effectiveness of T’ai Chi Ch’uan is based on magical powers instead of solid scientific principles. Somewhere in antiquity men with a real genius for movement and martial arts evolved the insights upon which the modern forms of T’ai Chi Ch’uan are based. Supernormal accomplishment is not supernatural, that’s why it is called kung fu, literally, “skill achieved through persistent effort.”

Discussions of ch’i are complicated by the fact that it is not a well-defined term. Ch’i is a word with many and varied colloquial usages, as well as being a key term in theories of many scientific, philosophical and spiritual disciplines. Any metabolic or psychospiritual transformation of energy may be characterized as ch’i. The term ch’i is used colloquially to represent manifestations of the invisible energy behind observable effects.

The actual existence or nonexistence of ch’i as a measurable force with an objective reality is, in my opinion, by no means critical to its role and importance in T’ai Chi Ch’uan. To clarify this ambivalence towards the existence of ch’i, it is necessary to first make a distinction between a normative theory and a positive theory. By viewing ch’i in the context of a positive theory, we can avoid endless controversy over scientifically proving its existence.

A normative theory is prescriptive, i.e., it asserts that the world should behave in a certain way because the theory is true. Thus, a normative theory assumes the existence of ch’i, which causes the phenomena we observe to behave in a certain way. It asserts causality.

A positive theory is descriptive, i.e., the world behaves as if the theory were true - regardless of the actual mechanisms causing the observed behavior. Said differently, a positive theory of ch’i doesn’t require that ch’i actually exists, only that the phenomena we are observing act as if ch’i exists. The actual causal mechanism for the phenomena could be something totally different, without diminishing the value of the theory.

The principles for the proper development and circulation of ch’i in T’ai Chi Ch’uan are also consistent with the relevant laws of physics as applied to the biomechanics of T’ai Chi Ch’uan postures/movement. Effective T’ai Chi Ch’uan does not actually have to rely on an esoteric analogue to cold fusion. Whether or not it is possible, it isn’t necessary to draw more power from mystical sources than is already intrinsic in the biomechanics of well-executed body alignment and movement. While the search for objective identification and measurement of ch’i is a potentially illuminating exercise, it’s success is by no means essential to the continued importance of ch’i in a positive theory on the underpinnings of T’ai Chi Ch’uan.

Whether one corrects a faulty posture in T’ai Chi Ch’uan by relieving blockages to the flow of ch’i or by bringing the body into alignment with the appropriate principles of physics/body mechanics, the results should be the same. An esoteric and a scientific paradigm of T’ai Chi Ch’uan will be complementary if one focuses on outcomes.

Many of the ideas in T’ai Chi Ch’uan can only be comprehended fully when they are felt/manifested in one’s own body. Never-the-less, some ideas seem easier to talk about in terms of ch’i (and the rest of the panoply of terms from Taoist internal alchemy), while other ideas communicate well in terms of physics/biomechanics. A familiarity with both schools of thought is helpful and there is no particular reason to insist on only one paradigm in developing a conceptual framework for understanding T’ai Chi Ch’uan. If we think in terms of a positive theory of ch’i, the esoteric and the scientific paradigms are two sides of the same coin.