What Does It Take to Send Someone Flying Ten Feet Through the Air?

What Does It Take to Send Someone Flying Ten Feet Through the Air? Let's Look at the Numbers

chi powers push hands qi powers tai chi Oct 12, 2025

Sometimes, stories are told of long-dead masters, and the story is embellished to the point that the master did push hands with a challenger and "sent him flying back ten feet through the air."

Sometimes, we see photos that are obviously faked, showing students a few feet in the air, flying away from the "master." There are prominent teachers right now who have used these images.

Sometimes, teachers tell us that they have also sent people ten feet through the air while doing push hands.

Really? You launched a full-grown adult ten feet through the air — without a running start, on level ground, doing push hands and using nothing but your internal power?

See the photo at the top of the page? From the edge of the charcoal gray floor to the edge of the blue mat is exactly ten feet. Someone would have to make me fly all the way back to the mat.

It insults the intelligence of the people hearing the claim, reading about it, or seeing the pictures, and it hurts the image of Taiji.

So let's crunch the numbers. Let’s back it up with a little physics — and a touch of common sense.

What It Takes to Send a Person Flying

To knock a 170-pound person (about average size) ten feet through the air, they’d have to leave the ground at roughly 12 miles per hour — about as fast as a sprinter coming out of the blocks.

That means their body would be airborne for about three-quarters of a second, and they’d reach a height of about two and a half feet at the peak of the arc.

In energy terms, you’d need to give their body about 1,100 joules of kinetic energy — the same as being hit by a small car going 10 to 12 miles per hour, or getting hit full-speed by a 250-pound NFL linebacker.

This is explosive force.

Now imagine doing that with a push from your palm or a burst of “chi.”

It’s not happening.

But What About Slippery Floors or Moving Backward?

Even if the floor were slick and the person was already stepping backward, ten feet of airborne travel is still a fantasy. You might see someone slide that far or stumble that far, but not fly that far.

If it really happened, physics says the pusher would need to deliver a level of force that would dislocate joints or break ribs — not something any responsible Tai Chi teacher would do for demonstration’s sake.

I Put My Money Where My Mouth Is

In 2003, I offered $5,000 to anyone who could demonstrate genuine “no-touch” chi power — knock me down or move me without physical contact. The challenge was printed in Inside Kung-Fu magazine for all to see.

It’s been 22 years now, and not one person has taken me up on it. My money’s still safe. And we know why my challenge hasn't been accepted by anone, don't we? Because all these guys know they can't really do it unless the student has been primed and is playing along.

The Real Power of Tai Chi

Tai Chi doesn’t need supernatural claims or this type of "ten feet through the air" embellishment to be impressive. The real “internal power” comes from body mechanics — structure, timing, relaxation, and awareness. When done right, you can off-balance someone so smoothly that it feels like magic.

Uprooting, unbalancing, controlling the center. It’s body mechanics and leverage -- physics, not mysticism. You can break their arms. You can take someone down forcefully. But they aren't flying ten feet through the air.

Let's stop this exaggeration.

If we keep the art grounded in reality, people might actually take us — and Taiji — more seriously.

--by Ken Gullette

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