What is Ling Kong Jin: The Empty Force

Demonstrations by Qigong (氣功) and Taiji Quan (太極拳) masters who can move their students from some distance away, are not uncommon, and they are not limited to Chinese martial arts practitioners. This type of force in Gong Fu and Taiji is referred to as Ling Kong Jin (凌空劲), which is best translated as Empty Force. This refers to force that seems to be generated out of thin air.

Typically, in these demonstrations, the master is able to knock people down by swaying his or her hand. Or making people jump by making up-and-down gestures with one hand. A common factor is that these demonstrations are conducted with the master’s own students.

I have seen some amazing displays in more than 50 years of martial arts training. And I have also seen masters attempt to demonstrate Ling Kong Jin at my tournaments. While they might amuse the novice, these demonstrations are often ridiculed and shunned by experienced masters.

YouTube has many examples of these types of demonstrations. And often these end badly for the demonstrator when the person on the other end is not as cooperative as one of their students. Many get beaten up, and, in my view, deservedly so.

The sad part is that these demonstrations harm the reputation of Chinese martial arts, since Qi (氣) – Intrinsic Energy, is often presented as something mystical and supernatural. You hear comments when Chinese-style fighters fare badly, such as, “Why don’t you use your Qi?” How sad this is.

There are masters with awesome skills who can use Jin (勁) – Force, which is different from Qi, to topple or throw people with such ease that it seems as if they are using an invisible and irresistible force. These skills are based on the supreme manipulation of physics and momentum.

Unfortunately, little can be done to restrict the spread of these junk demonstrations. They create controversy, and controversy generates clicks on the Internet. Force has long been scientifically defined. And while sound waves and electromagnetic fields can cause objects to move, and can also affect people, it still requires the application of some type of force.

Grandmaster William C. C. Chen, and other great teachers, while acknowledging the role of Qi, rely on the efficient use of body mechanics to generate force. I have been moved by the most subtle soft touch, but when my body was already in motion. My movement was the cause, and the application was the effect. This demonstrates Newton’s First Law of Motion, also referred to as the Law of Inertia. It states that an object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will remain in motion at a constant velocity, unless acted on by an external force.

You will often see Push Hands demonstrations where a student runs at the master and is catapulted several feet in the air. If the student’s action is subtle, although they might still be uprooted, the effect will be much less dramatic. I stated above “My movement was the cause, and the application was the effect.” This cause-and-effect brings into play Newton’s Second Law of Motion.

Newton’s Second Law is more quantitative and it mathematically calculates what happens in situations involving a force. The equation of this law is the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. When a net external force causes a change in motion, this is equivalent to a change in velocity, which causes acceleration.

Physics is the fundamental science of matter, energy, and the nature of reality; mechanics is a specific branch of physics that focuses on the behaviors of physical bodies under force. While some things in martial arts border on the mysterious, if we look deep enough, we can rationalize them through the understanding of physics and body mechanics.