khafra comments on Open Thread June 2010, Part 2 - Less Wrong

7 Post author: komponisto 07 June 2010 08:37AM

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Comment author: khafra 09 June 2010 07:37:51PM 1 point [-]

I like the idea of scientifically testing internal arts; and your idea is certainly more rigorous than TV series attempting to approach martial arts "scientifically" like Mind, Body, and Kickass Moves. Unfortunately, the only one of those I can think of which is both (1) explainable in words and pictures to a precise enough degree that "chi"-type theories could constrain expectations, and (2) has an unambiguous result when done correctly which varies qualitatively from an incorrect attempt is the knockout series of hits, which raises both ethical and practical concerns.

I would classify the other two as tacit knowledge--they require a little bit of instruction on the counterintuitive parts; then a lot of practice which I can't think of a good way to fake.

Note that I would be completely astonished if there weren't a perfectly normal explanation for any of these feats; but deriving methods for them from first principles of biomechanics and cognitive science would take a lot longer than studying with a good teacher who works with the "chi" model.