Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

Stop the Exaggeration - Nobody Knocked Anyone Ten Feet Through the Air

critical thinking critical thinking in martial arts studying martial arts studying tai chi Aug 30, 2024

I've always been an advocate of an important concept in the internal Chinese martial arts. That concept is simple:

Keep it real.

The first thing you might think of are the fraudulent claims about "qi powers" that some teachers claim to possess. That actually is a bunch of malarkey, but I'm talking about a different issue this time.

I've read it in books. I've heard it said in podcasts. I heard someone say it again just today when I listened to a podcast. You've probably read it or heard it, too. It goes something like this:

"This master (insert the name here) did push hands with a student (or hit the student) and sent him flying back THROUGH THE AIR TEN FEET!"

I have a simple answer for this claim: "No, he didn't."

We need to stop saying it. Why should we stop? Because it isn't true.

We tend to exaggerate. But our martial arts are pretty good. We don't need to exaggerate to make our art, our teacher, or ourselves look good.

From the edge of the red (by my left foot) to the ...

"SkepDoc" Dr. Harriet Hall Dies at Age 77

acupuncture alternative medicine critical thinking in martial arts tai chi clinical trials Feb 07, 2023

Dr. Harriet Hall, known as the "SkepDoc" and a former guest on my Internal Fighting Arts podcast, died unexpectedly on January 11, 2023 at the age of 77. She had been in poor health including heart issues for the past three or more years. I was very sorry to hear the news. She was an intelligent person with integrity.

Dr. Hall was a critic of "alternative" medicine that so many people involved in Taijiquan seem to believe in. She did a lot of good work bringing critical thinking skills to the discussion of science and medicine. As Dr. Steven Novella wrote about her:

"....Harriet has been tireless in her efforts to help educate the public about how science should inform the practice of medicine, and how medicine, and even common sense, can go horribly wrong when we abandon good science as our guide. Among her many contributions, Harriet is remembered for coining the phrase, Tooth Fairy Science, which nicely crystalized and communicated one of the many core problems with alternative sc...

50 Years Ago the Amazing Kreskin Gave Me a Lesson in Critical Thinking

critical thinking in martial arts Sep 05, 2022

50 years ago tonight, on Sept. 5, 1972, the Amazing Kreskin helped me improve my critical thinking skills and become more of a person who needs real evidence before believing something. You know, a skeptic.

Kreskin was very famous at this point. He appeared on major TV shows doing his act as a mentalist and a "mind reader." I was on the student newspaper at Eastern Kentucky University and I arranged an interview with Kreskin after his performance.

I was 19 years old and believed in ESP, all kinds of psychic phenomena, channeling the dead -- I believed it all. When my buddy Eddie told me his karate teacher could slice his arm with a knife and not bleed, I believed it. But Kreskin helped change that.

In his performance on stage, he would read the minds of people in the audience, or so it seemed. He called people on stage and claimed to hypnotize them. He called a group of students up and I was one of them. It was really exhiliarating to be part of the show with...

We Lost an Important Critical Thinker: James Randi Dies at Age 92

$5000 chi challenge chi challenge critical thinking in martial arts Oct 22, 2020

James Randi has passed away. He was a magician and a critical thinker who inspired many of us as he debunked supernatural BS, including chi powers. He had one million dollars in escrow that he offered to anyone who could prove, in a double-blind setting, that they could perform any supernatural acts that they claimed to do.

Richard Mooney was one of the martial artists who claimed to knock people down without touching them. He was featured in a martial arts magazine many years ago now, with photos showing his students falling to the ground without being touched.

Mooney tried to claim Randi's million dollars, but it was a double-blind test. Around 18 people were chosen, and none of them knew what Richard was going to do. One by one, they stood behind a screen as Mooney tried to knock them down without touching them. None of them even flinched.

In a double-blind trial, video of the event was given to judges who also did not know what Mooney was attempting to do....

Eight Questions to Ask Chi Masters Who Demonstrate Supernatural Powers

chi powers critical thinking in martial arts qi powers Aug 24, 2015

Do you know what a skeptic is? The word has been given a bad name by people who want you to believe their crap so they can take your money.

A skeptic is someone who simply asks for evidence -- solid evidence -- before believing an extraordinary claim.

I am a skeptic.

If someone wants to sell me a used car, I expect some evidence that the car is not going to break down when I drive it off the lot.

If a doctor wants me to take a medicine, I ask for information on the side effects and exactly why I need the medicine and how it will help me.

If a martial artist or a "chi master" claims that he can knock people down without touching them, or have a push hands partner hopping and bouncing away with the slightest touch, I am going to demand evidence, and video is not evidence.

You will not get evidence from anyone who makes money off of fantasy. You will not get evidence from con artists and swindlers. Here is what you get:

1. You are told "you just don't understand."

2. You are ...

Someone Said I Am Too Critical

chi powers critical thinking in martial arts qi powers Jan 14, 2010

I got a Google Alert on a blog post that I found interesting. The post sort of brushed aside people like me who are skeptical and require extraordinary proof of the existence of chi. When a "chi master" does a miraculous feat with his chi, I always want to find out how he cheated. In my opinion, too many in the world of tai chi turn their heads, or say "well maybe it's true because you can't explain everything that happens in nature," or "Western science is biased against chi," or things like that. A lot of folks say, "I've felt and seen strange things I can't explain, so maybe it's true."

Today, another tai chi teacher told me that I was too critical. I admit I'm critical of people who make extraordinary claims that crumble under a test from a skeptic. I'm guilty.

A couple of weeks ago, there was a biography about Houdini (photo at left) on a cable network. He was a magician and escape artist -- one of the fascinating people of history -- and in his final years, he exposed many f...

Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

Stop the Exaggeration - Nobody Knocked Anyone Ten Feet Through the Air

"SkepDoc" Dr. Harriet Hall Dies at Age 77

50 Years Ago the Amazing Kreskin Gave Me a Lesson in Critical Thinking

We Lost an Important Critical Thinker: James Randi Dies at Age 92

Eight Questions to Ask Chi Masters Who Demonstrate Supernatural Powers

Someone Said I Am Too Critical

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