Good point about the "super-human" effects of adrenalin, Robin. It's interesting that there is a distinction made in Qigong between physical chi (which drives the muscles), emotional chi (which powers the heart, nerves and organs) and mental chi (which powers the mind). The fight or flight response could be an example of how basic physical chi can be ramped up to the level of "emotional chi" by experiencing intense emotional shock or life-and-death situation, to apply this Qigong paradigm.

Clint, you might be interested in this discussion The Existence of Chi/Qi? I found on a martial arts forum. To whet your appetite a little:

"According to modern physics, there are four fundamental forces. There is gravitation, electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force. Could there be a force that physicists know nothing about (chi) or is chi one of the fundamental forces in disguise. Do people believe that this form of energy exists? Can anyone produce research that supports the existance of chi?"

"The only way to "prove" chi exists, just like the only to "prove" that "God" exists is by direct, firsthand experience. There is a science to these experiences, obviously, but because it isn't completely materialistic and reductionist, many of the "hard" scientists will give you giggles. But, to be frank, these individuals have not gone through the injunctions in question themselves and so they aren't exactly "peers" in this particular regard. It would be like me laughing at a biologist's theories when I haven't even bothered to look through the miscroscope and observe the "evidence" myself."

"The scientific method, in terms of the truth claims that it seeks, is perfectly capable of acquiring knowledge concerning ch'i and the like. I pointed above what the scientific method entails: an injunction, datum, and peer evaluation. Period. Anyone that adds anything else to that and claims that you *have* to do this to be doing science is belching a lot of hot air ... I'm reminded of the EEG studies concerning the brainwaves of meditators, of cross-cultural anthropological/sociological studies concerning the "perennial philosophy" and overall human development/experience, and I even once recall seeing some special on Kung Fu on Discovery n which a machine was hooked up to a certain martial artist and it would show his image "light up" whenever he used "ch'i".

So, to think science has nothing to add concerning this issue is far from accurate"

In fact, it seems evident to me that there are a lot of things that eastern and indigenous medicine and healing methods seem to address that western medicine doesn't, and there are a lot of phenomenom that modern science hasn't been able to fully explain ... However, what I do get tired of is stuff like the Chi master who does things like "throwing" a willing student without touching them physically, and then goes on to use the arguement that "Some things western physics will never understand" because they want us to believe that what they are doing is "beyond the physical." This is crap. If the effects are physical, such as the person is being projected accross the room, then these physical effects should be measureable somehow, in a consistant fashion. Even if Modern Science is far behind ancient eastern thought in regards to the subject, that doesn't mean that we should take physical effects on "faith alone ... I believe in Chi, and I believe that it has been proven, and that we are learning more and more about it every day. Yet, I get tired of "Chi clowns" who claim superhuman powers from Chi, yet refuse to even suggest that there could ever be any physical evidence to back their claims."