Healing with inner power...how does it work exactly?

[Ken Cheng]

Healing an internal injury with inner power is an accepted convention of wuxia fiction, but mechanically, just how is it supposed to work? Just how does chi energy regenerate and repair damaged tissue? We hear alot about "opening meridian channels" and all that mumbo jumbo, but how does that translate into revitalizing traumatized flesh?

[K2Grey]

Healing an internal injury with inner power is an accepted convention of wuxia fiction, but mechanically, just how is it supposed to work? Just how does chi energy regenerate and repair damaged tissue? We hear alot about "opening merdian channels" and all that mumbo jumbo, but how does that translate into revitalizing traumatized flesh?

Well, it seems to me that an internal injury doesn't necessarily involve traumatized flesh. Rather, it involves problems with inner energy flow, where dumping more inner power in with the correct method can bring benefits.

I agree that opening meridian channels doesn't do a whole lot to revitalize traumatized flesh, but I don't think there are any examples of people successfully doing that anyway. For example it seems like external injuries like broken bones, grave sword wounds etc. can't be healed with inner power.

[Ken Cheng]

Well, it seems to me that an internal injury doesn't necessarily involve traumatized flesh. Rather, it involves problems with inner energy flow, where dumping more inner power in with the correct method can bring benefits.

Internal injuries in the wuxia world are caused by blunt impact blows, which could have the effect of disrupting inner energy flow, but almost certainly also cause direct, physical tissue damage.

I agree that opening meridian channels doesn't do a whole lot to revitalize traumatized flesh, but I don't think there are any examples of people successfully doing that anyway. For example it seems like external injuries like broken bones, grave sword wounds etc. can't be healed with inner power.

When Gwok Jing was injured by West Poison Au Yeung Fung's Ha Mo Gung and Yeung Hong's dagger in LOCH, the inner power that he and Wong Yung generated seemed to take care of both injuries. At least from this example, it would seem that inner power can also heal tissue-puncture wounds.

[Ren Ying Ying]

from waht' i've heard of TMC (and taoist philosophy), the whole thing revolves around qi. and if qi gets knocked away and unbalanced...very unhealthy. so, i would like to think of internal healing with internal power more of a put the body "feng shui" in place when it gets knocked outta order?

plus, if i recall correctly, someone told me that the meridian channels are in fact somewhat associaled with circulatory and lymphatic system.

[Ken Cheng]

Hmmm. It would seem that "internal injury" as it is defined in wuxia fiction is more a metaphysical phenomenon than it is a physical phenomenon.

It seems to be quite different from what we understand to be internal bleeding or organ damage by the definitions of modern medical science.

[warlock110]

Hmmm. It would seem that "internal injury" as it is defined in wuxia fiction is more a metaphysical phenomenon than it is a physical phenomenon.

It seems to be quite different from what we understand to be internal bleeding or organ damage by the definitions of modern medical science.

should be physical as well, they cough up blood all da time = organ damage... um i think the inner power heals both the enegy flow and the physical damage (probably boost up the regeneration rate)... sounds wack? probably is ... in my head healing = discarting the old broken part/ generating new parts in replacement. and inner power helps the regeneration rate to go faster than normal (alot faster).

i don't know much about medical, but IRL martial art like karate or just kungfu in general, where the guy channel his enegy to break a bricks or a piece of wood. if u take a blow like that it might damage your internal organ. Ofcouse u don't see that happen in martial art competition often because you can see how long it takes them to concentrate on that single blow. Normal fights, the blows are not as concentrated.

I'm not sure if the "inner power" applies to real life, but if u look at it, certain people with the same physical ability (strengh wise)... yet some people are known as "hard hitter" meaning they deliver harder hits naturally... so i don't know why it happens like that. perhaps we do have some sort of inner power

[IcyFox]

This is a (condensed) story I heard some time ago which might help explain this issue.


The origin of accupunture treatment and the accupoint system dates back a really long time ago (probably the 5 Emperors Dynasty). At that time man (at least the Chinese man) had just invented the bow and arrow, so at times the impact was only strong enough to cause a superficial wound on the body.

Then some folks discovered that in some strange cases, the arrow not only did not severely injure the victim, but also seemed to accelerate the process of healing of other parts of the body which seemed completely unrelated to the arrow wound. (It's like you stub your toe to get rid of your headache or stomachache or something.)

Whatever it was, the folks quickly documented this phenomena and recorded all the 'related' parts they discovered, and hence paved way for the birth of accupuncture.


Back to the inner power healing, probably the guy uses his inner power to target the certain 'related' accupoints to bring about a similar effect as the arrow. The 'qi' probably stimulates the point, forcing the body to respond to the stimulation by working at a faster rate to heal the wound.


Anyway I'm just guessing.

[Laviathan]

Healing an internal injury with inner power is an accepted convention of wuxia fiction, but mechanically, just how is it supposed to work? Just how does chi energy regenerate and repair damaged tissue? We hear alot about "opening meridian channels" and all that mumbo jumbo, but how does that translate into revitalizing traumatized flesh?

Simple. Because Qi = Blood.

Qi is connected with blood. Blood transports nutrients, constitutional elements, cells and different substances as hormones within the human body. For an injury to heal, the blood must supply the right amount of cells, nutrients etc to regenerate and repair the damaged tissue. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, blood is guided by the Qi. An injured person may suffer from a broken Qi flow, so his blood can't efficiently heal the body. In the body there are different energy vessells, storing large mounts of both Pre-Heaven and Post-Heaven Qi. If one is able to open the meridian channels and release the Qi from the vessels, and guide the Qi to the area which needs attention, the injury can be healed.

So, it's no "mumbo jumbo", it's ancient Chinese knowledge.

[IcyFox]

Because Qi = Blood.

Nay that's incorrect. But it's OK. They're closely related anyway.

[Laviathan]

Nay that's incorrect. But it's OK. They're closely related anyway.

That's my point, they are closely connected, you can stimulate the blood through Qi and vice versa.

[IcyFox]

That's my point, they are closely connected, you can stimulate the blood through Qi and vice versa.

No no no... I know I'm being fussy about this kind of things, but I pay great attention to the equal '=' sign.

By saying Qi = Blood, it means that Qi is blood.

I know what you mean, but my experience with programming languages causes me to stare hard at this kind of minor stuff.

[ech33]

qi is not blood. qi is the essence of the human body, it`s overall, not specific.

when healing was done, there r 2 ways, touched and non-touched healing.

using touching will gave more power in terms of healing as the energy transferred "internally"

while non-touched only focus on external parts of the injury. if u r not too sure and never had the experience wz qi/chi healing, try this example. rub both of hands till it`s warm. then 2 test wz a colleague of urs. 1st, touched any parts of ur colleaugues body wz that hand of urs and try to visualize. 2nd, place that hand of urs to any part of ur colleaugues body, slightly few centrimeters aparts untouched, and try to visualize.

and then ask ur colleagues what he felt.

[TommyH]

In all of the TV adaptions I see it always involves the blood flow and opening up the meridians so the blood could flow. I think this process helps heal the body faster.

[Pacifian]

In all of the TV adaptions I see it always involves the blood flow and opening up the meridians so the blood could flow. I think this process helps heal the body faster.

Not if you are bleeding, people close the meridians to prevent blood from flowing out from these areas.

[ech33]

of course it involves that, and the technique will be used using touching as the healing power transferred r to open the meridian of the affected part in order to allow the blood to flow correctly as well to allow the damages "blood" to be spit out.

[Ardor]

qi is not blood. qi is the essence of the human body, it`s overall, not specific.

when healing was done, there r 2 ways, touched and non-touched healing.

using touching will gave more power in terms of healing as the energy transferred "internally"

while non-touched only focus on external parts of the injury. if u r not too sure and never had the experience wz qi/chi healing, try this example. rub both of hands till it`s warm. then 2 test wz a colleague of urs. 1st, touched any parts of ur colleaugues body wz that hand of urs and try to visualize. 2nd, place that hand of urs to any part of ur colleaugues body, slightly few centrimeters aparts untouched, and try to visualize.

and then ask ur colleagues what he felt.

Can anyone translate this post for me?

Anyway, isn't qi literally breath? When we breathe, does not the blood carry the oxygen and carbon dioxide around?

[kyss of the sword]

the body's underlaying force that aids healing is qi, qi is not some force for destorying, it is all the forces in the body, including healing. more qi means more force.

[ech33]

qi is not something that u breath "normally". qi is the life force of a human, the essence since we were born, but we never it existed until u find out about it just like now.,

inside our oxygen which driven by blood, is indeed contains qi, as well as every part of our body, internally or externally, depends on how well u train it.

so, have u tried to do those 2 test? too sceptical or what?

[LuNaR]

how does giving internal energy to some1 heal them?

[Snafu3721]

In more modern times, it is believed that internal energy is correlated to blood flow and metabolism. A chi gong master who studied both western and eastern medicine told me that internal energy allows an individual to actually speed up the healing process by "forcing" your body to regenerate at a faster rate than it normally would.

For example, our bodies heal faster at night when we are sleeping due to chemicals and metabolic changes in our body. When one learns chi gong, it is said that one learns to control the body's unconscious functions. Most martial arts practitioners today will tell you that when practicing chi, it feels like entering a trance or meditative state. Hence, you are basically telling your cells to be more efficient at the cost of using more ATP.

In fact, there was an experiment done on Chi masters in Asia where they measured their biological electric pulses and found that chi masters can consciously increase or decrease the rate at which synapses fire electric signals.

The studies done on these topics reveal that under "perfect" conditions (meaning perfect diet, no external stress, and a constant balance of chi), our bodies should be able to heal itself to the point where new cells constantly replace old ones-- up to the point where an individual's body should not age at all...

That could explain why people like LQS and TSTL never age. Or how XLN's "simple" lifestyle and mindset allows her to preserve her youth.

I am not a doctor, but I do practice Chinese medicine and martial arts. I have found some of these theories to be very persuasive. In fact, I have had experiences that almost sound "wuxia." I'm sure there are many posters in this forum who can provide more extensive details and perhaps some personal theories (and experiences) as well.