The Star Wars Holiday

May the Fourth be with you.

It's funny to have almost an official Star Wars Holiday. In fact Star Wars is so big now that when Larry Wilmore had to explain a joke he was making about Donald Trump saying "Two Corinthians" he explained it in terms of someone talking to Star Wars fans about the Farce, when they should be saying the Force.

In other words, Star Wars is now what you use to explain religion... not the other way around. That's insane.

The same is true of Chi. A lot of times when talking about Chi you might say, it IS like the Force or... it's not like the Force, depending on what context you are talking about Chi. And that goes from Jedi Mind  Tricks and the whole concept of Young Jedi. It is more accessible than "Toh Dai" or disciple.

But when Star Wars first came out.. according to Mandy Chan now, a lot of people in Hong Kong were like, "They stole our idea about the Kung Fu Sifu disciple relationship!"

Many times I have actually explained chi saying, "It's not like the force. It's not like the force."

Because for me. Chi Gung was always something very real, physical and proven. Not something overly mysterious... well I mean it was like that after I started practicing it. When I first started of course I thought about it in terms of movies. Basically after I was able to feel some of this and do some martial techniques with it, I took the mystery out of it myself.

Not to say there wasn't a spiritual side to my Sifu's practice. But even he, having come from Communist China, was not as willing to show or even tell all that he believed openly.

But as I am going around Chinatown collecting more and more stories, I am starting to see that Chi really IS like the force. I mean there are stories from reliable people in recent time in Boston's Chinatown that talk about Chi in a way that goes beyond just circulating it within your body, and even goes beyond just circulating it out to another person. There is something bordering on spiritual. More like what you see in Kung Fu Panda 3. It's there.

But still I'm not going to pull out those stories ina a beginners class. Obviously I will write about it and discuss it on my blog, but I feel like that is different. It has gotten me to start wanting to look back into the Chi Gung aspect of my training. To focus more on it. I mean I haven't been completely neglecting it... but I haven't been striving to be able to achieve anything in a rigorous and disciplined practice either.

When I meditate by myself I believe in a lot of stuff. In a lot of strange things and phenomenon, that might cross right over into religion let alone vague spirituality. Of course there is that sense of mystery and the unknown. Maybe I should start applying that to some of my classes. The reason why I don't is... you know, I'm not sure. Why not start paying with these concepts from a scientific method type perspective? Let's try it.
I have been warned about some problems that could occur.. but I think those problems are no worse than what could happen on a soccer field or playing tag on the playground when you really think about it.

 May the Force be with me.