The middle way.

[RickB]

Aside from the first being more a principle of the body and the second a principle of the mind, what is the interplay (differences, similarities, justaposition, etc.) between relaxing completely and extending ki?   ???Platitudes, cliches, and doctrinaire-based answers are welcome, but I'm really looking for original and creative responses based on personal experience(s).  

[Adam]

... but I'm really looking for original and creative responses based on personal experience(s).  

Being neither original or creative, I'll just start by saying that a principle of the mind can have a profound effect on our physical structure.

I'll have to get back to this later, after I steal some creativity from others.

Good topic Rick!

thanks,
Adam

[J. Nachtrab]

Platitudes, cliches, and doctrinaire-based answers are welcome, but I'm really looking for original and creative responses based on personal experience(s).  

See, now you've just got me wondering whether my thoughts are just re-hashed platitudes, cliches and/or doctrinaire responses.  I didn't realize there were cliches about this.

[JonCStrauss]

Aside from the first being more a principle of the body and the second a principle of the mind, what is the interplay...between relaxing completely and extending ki?

Howdy,

It has been my experience that you can't have one without the other, and that too much of one also cancels out the other.
In a parallel example to Ki-Aikido, in order to do calligraphy well, one needs to develop a high level of "relaxed concentration."  Your hand can't be limp, nor should it be tense.  You have to be able to hold the brush firmly and move it where you want to, and yet do it without tension or worry.  My teacher had a very calm yet active style with the brush that I'm still working to emulate.  The goal is to find the maximum level of "flow" (check out Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi) where correct form and thoughtless movement find a balance.  This happens effortlessly when body and mind are one--and with a fair amount of good training.
We've all seen Ki tests where folks are too relaxed and they get pushed over or moved because they were thinking too small, too "local."  There is no connection to their environment (dojo, tester, audience) due to laziness--for want of a better word.  Then there are those who narrow their concentration in an effort to _Extend Ki_ (known in these parts as "extending face") and send so much of their thought/focus forward or whatever direction the test is in that they are far from relaxed and easily disturbed.

Yes, somewhere in the middle is best.

Now if I just had a map that showed me how to get there....

Peace,
JCS
RMKS at CSU

[RickB]

Aside from the first being more a principle of the body and the second a principle of the mind,

Mark Rubbert Sensei addressed this matter in his last advanced class.  He pointed out that my "aside" was the essential context for understanding this interplay and thus should not be "put aside" when encountering the question.    What underlies my question is the union of mind and body.  Relaxing completely is what you "do" (or, from a different context, what "happens") with the body and extending ki is what you "do" (or what happens) with the mind -- when mind and body are unified.  Of course, he didn't simply vocalize this verbal construct, he demonstrated it on the mat.  And that reinforced another aspect of this -- this type of understanding cannot be fully comprehended with the "thinking" (language) part of the mind ; it can only be "fully experienced" with the mind and the body.  Not that this is the last word on the subject, of course.  

[Saint Louis Ki Society]

Wow. Is that really what I said? I'm not sure I agree. Mind and body are one. Can extending Ki be only a thing of the mind? Can relaxation be only a thing of the body? I don't think so, but it's difficult to explain.