Kodawari Hombu Dojo

The Meridian System of the Body

Part I

An Introduction to the Energetic Pathways

The meridian system of the body¹The meridian system of the body is known as jingluo or 經絡 in Chinese. In Japanese they are called keiraku and use the same characters as the Chinese. or, maybe better said as the energetic system of the body, is a HUGE topic. This is a first in a series that will cover

Within this series of posts on the meridian system of the body, we will be discussing concepts such as qi or chi²fill this in. According to Modern Western Medicine (MWM), these things do not exist. No one has ever found a meridian, an acupuncture point³An acupuncture point being a specific location on one of these meridians. or even the existence of qi or chi in the human body.

The Meridian System of the Body

Please keep in mind that the point of view that is being taken in this series of posts or articles on the meridian system of the body are, primarily, from the combative aspect. While we will be delving into some of the healing aspects of the meridian or energetic system of the body, we are in no way trying to training you to be a healer or overwhelm you with the additional topics that can come into play here. The specific aspect being looked at is to enhance your combative and energetic skills. Even if you are interested in this from a qigong⁴Qigong – 気功 – translates from the Chinese and simply means energy work. The Japanese use the same characters and their wording for it is kiko. or neigong⁵Neigong – 內功 – in Chinese simply means internal work and the use of qi or ki is implied. In Japanese we use naiko or naiko-ho – 内功法  aspect, this will be of great benefit to you.

If you have not read our post on the meaning of the concept of Kodawari, then it is highly recommended that you do so. In understanding this, it will go a long way in setting the framework we will be using on this site and all of the posts or articles made available to you.

What Is In A Name Part IWhat Is In A Name - Part I: Kodawari Hombu Dojo

It seems that many, if not most, martial artists of any rank or experience level learn something new and then want to practice what they have learned at full speed and power. In this case, I very much want to warn you to NOT go this route. The meridian system of the body (or the energetic system of the body) can be greatly disrupted in a negative manner with just the lightest of strikes. In many cases, hitting the points that we will be discussing can put a person to sleep (aka knock them out) quite quickly. And, repeatedly hitting some points without taking corrective actions can cause long term issues for the person being struck. In the course of this series of articles or posts on the meridian system of the body, we will also cover revival and balancing techniques. You are cautioned very highly to take things very slowly and easy so as to not create any serious issues for yourself or your training partners.

In the Japanese and Okinawan martial arts, the use of vital points in striking is referred to as kyusho⁶Kyusho – 急所 – is translated as a vital point, weak point or tender point on the body. In Chinese it would be dianxue – 点穴 or you may also see it as dianmai – 點穴. Both would generally refer to hitting vital or acupuncture points on the body.. Due to a misunderstanding of the Japanese language, you will quite often see the use of kyusho-jitsu. This is INCORRECT. The kanji 実 is jitsu and it means truth, reality, seed, fruit or nut. The kanji that they should be using is 術 or jutsu for kyusho-jutsu. I only point this out because if someone is getting something this simple wrong, what else are they misunderstanding and getting wrong. I will leave it to you to decide that. Also see below (click on either image to enlarge):

The hidden meanings of yin and yang - John Bellaimey

The Deep Meaning Of Yin & Yang

The Five Element Theory

Gyogo-setsu

Listed below are a number of books that are highly recommended and directly related to this topic. The meridian system of the body or the energetic pathways in the body is very wide ranging. These are products that will help to greatly expand your knowledge as you read along with us and learn more about all of the principles and concepts that are involved. Keep in mind that these are books available on Amazon and we are just facilitating the sale of them as an affiliate of Amazon. So, your purchase through us helps to support the Kodawari Hombu Dojo financially at no additional cost to you!

Ayurveda and Marma Therapy: Energy Points in Yogic Healing

$17.84

Between Heaven and Earth - A Guide to Chinese Medicine

$13.99

Fundamentals of Chinese Acupuncture

$54.95

Materia Medica for Martial Artists - Josh Walker

$35.00

The Root of Chinese Qigong 3rd Edition

$31.46

The Spark in the Machine

$17.99

The Web That Has No Weaver - Understanding Chinese Medicine

$20.49

If this topic (or any other topic) is of interest to you, then we would very highly recommend that you subscribe to our Dojo Insider email newsletter. When you do, you are guaranteed to be among the very first to know about all new information and articles posted on the Kodawari Hombu Dojo website. In addition to that, you will be given opportunities and offers that are NOT made available to anyone else. Don’t miss out and sign up today!

A great deal of money has been spent to put the Kodawari Hombu Dojo website together and many features that you have not even seen yet. If you are able to donate just a few dollars to us, that money will be used to directly pay for the many bills that pay for the website and software tools that we use. Anything at all to help offset the costs are greatly appreciated.⁷You can directly access how you can help us by checking out the Support the Jow campaign by clicking here: Support the Jow.

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Support The JowLearn More About The Support The Jow Project and How You Can Help

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• 1
  The meridian system of the body is known as jingluo or 經絡 in Chinese. In Japanese they are called keiraku and use the same characters as the Chinese.
• 2
  fill this in
• 3
  An acupuncture point being a specific location on one of these meridians.
• 4
  Qigong – 気功 – translates from the Chinese and simply means energy work. The Japanese use the same characters and their wording for it is kiko.
• 5
  Neigong – 內功 – in Chinese simply means internal work and the use of qi or ki is implied. In Japanese we use naiko or naiko-ho – 内功法
• 6
  Kyusho – 急所 – is translated as a vital point, weak point or tender point on the body. In Chinese it would be dianxue – 点穴 or you may also see it as dianmai – 點穴. Both would generally refer to hitting vital or acupuncture points on the body.
• 7
  You can directly access how you can help us by checking out the Support the Jow campaign by clicking here: Support the Jow.

• 1
  The meridian system of the body is known as jingluo or 經絡 in Chinese. In Japanese they are called keiraku and use the same characters as the Chinese.
• 2
  fill this in
• 3
  An acupuncture point being a specific location on one of these meridians.
• 4
  Qigong – 気功 – translates from the Chinese and simply means energy work. The Japanese use the same characters and their wording for it is kiko.
• 5
  Neigong – 內功 – in Chinese simply means internal work and the use of qi or ki is implied. In Japanese we use naiko or naiko-ho – 内功法
• 6
  Kyusho – 急所 – is translated as a vital point, weak point or tender point on the body. In Chinese it would be dianxue – 点穴 or you may also see it as dianmai – 點穴. Both would generally refer to hitting vital or acupuncture points on the body.
• 7
  You can directly access how you can help us by checking out the Support the Jow campaign by clicking here: Support the Jow.