Superhero Ki

Chinese Medicine, Western medicine, Yin Yang

When Spider-man first appeared in 1962 he got his powers after being bitten by an irradiated spider. But when Spider-man gained his powers in the 2002 film the spider had become genetically modified. The source of Peter Parker’s powers changes because each generation develops its own cultural mythology for the prominent technology of the time.

The cold war required superheroes to be nuclear. Today they are the result of genetic manipulation. At the start of the Nineteenth century fear of the advances in science were picked up by Mary Shelly to allow Victor Frankenstein to animate his monster.

The world of Ki is not without it’s superhuman martial artists; able to disable an opponent by zapping them with Ki from their fingers. Every culture takes an idea into popular conciousness and creates stories and fables of them. Super-heroes are harmless fun but there is always a danger that a public perception becomes an irrefutable truth.

Ki has become an urban legend having entered Western conciousness simply translated as energy or life-force. That Western science has missed something important has been grabbed enthusiastically and an industry created. It is this cultural misconception that is used by critics to dismiss the true power of Chinese medicine, shiatsu and other Ki therapies. It is easily dismissed as an unscientific, new age idea that has no place in modern health care. It is only when someone takes the trouble to look beyond the hype that they can understand the full meaning of this simple word.

Tony Brown @ September 12, 2007