Magnets and Chi?

[white belt]

Anyone see or try the "Magnetic Qi Gong" course advertised in Black Belt magazine? It is advertised, full page, on page 81 in the February 2003 issue. Normally I would not give something like this much interest, but MATT FUREY and JOHN SAYLOR give glowing, positive testimonials. They are two of the most practical, no BS, hardcore trainers I know of. Saylor is an excellant Judo/Jujitsu Instructor who was national champion in Judo 3x. I met him a few years ago and have studied some of his training material. Very real world. Matt Furey's conditioning and grappling resources are nothing short of to the point and KICKASS! I appreciate anyone who knows what this is specifically about getting me some information.

Thanks,
white belt

 

[cfr]

I dont have a copy. Whats it about?

 

[white belt]

From what I can understand of the ad. it is a type of Qi Gong using magnets (!?).

white belt

 

[white belt]

www.peterragnar.com is the website for the magnet/chi thing. I looked around the site and there is something strange about the whole premise. Anybody out there have opinions or experience with this man? Seems like Don Shimoda walked out of the book "Illusions" or something! www.roaringlionpublishing.com will get you there too. Furey and Saylor stand behind this program????

white belt

 

[rmcrobertson]

Let me quote Crow T. Robot, "Mystery Science Theater: The Movie,"

"And if your hand were made of metal, that would mean something."

 

[white belt]

Hey, that's pretty deep. You aren't doing magnets are you?

white belt

 

[Mike]

Yeah, this site it more than a little odd. Click on 'Testimonials' and there are Furey & Saylor's endorsements. I could typically care less about fringe products, etc. but it does bother me that these guys would put their reputations behind this.

 

[KennethKu]

Endorsement means nothing. Those guys are not infallible. No one can defy the laws of nature and laws of physics.

If anything, I would bet that none of the guys know squat little about the science involved, if there is any at all.

 

[cdhall]

Originally posted by white belt
Normally I would not give something like this much interest, but MATT FUREY and JOHN SAYLOR give glowing, positive testimonials.

I have some news about this and I will post more about it later.
So heads up.
:asian:

 

[white belt]

CDHall,

Thank you for looking into this. I have a lot of respect for Furey and Saylor. I also practice a form of Qi Gong and have a rather practical, non-magical take on the health benefits. There is a lot of HOCUS POCUS being passed around periodically. Take a look at the "Miss Cleo's Hapkido" thread in the Hapkido area for more. Some very reputable people are killing their years of hard work by getting on board the "Mystic Bandwagon". I sure hope Furey and Saylor aren't going to be maligned by any of this.

Thanks again!
white belt

 

[cdhall]

Originally posted by white belt
CDHall,

Thank you for looking into this. I have a lot of respect for Furey and Saylor. I also practice a form of Qi Gong and have a rather practical, non-magical take on the health benefits. There is a lot of HOCUS POCUS being passed around periodically. Take a look at the "Miss Cleo's Hapkido" thread in the Hapkido area for more. Some very reputable people are killing their years of hard work by getting on board the "Mystic Bandwagon". I sure hope Furey and Saylor aren't going to be maligned by any of this.

Thanks again!
white belt

Thank you White Belt.

Because a very good friend of mine so thoroughly endorses Matt Furey I went ahead and contact Mr. Furey via his website regarding this topic and he replied to me.

He told me that I can repeat here on the board that he endorses the use of magnets; he uses magnets himself; he follows his own program and not this one but he did see this program and give kind words because it can benefit people.

I was tremendously impressed that Mr. Furey emailed a reply to me. He seems like a great guy, I know my friend who uses his program is in very good physical condition. I'm looking forward to getting at least one book or tape from Mr. Furey myself this year and now I'll look into this while I'm at it.

 

[rmcrobertson]

Quackwatch.com.

"Skeptic," magazine.

The Amazing Randi.

See also, "placebo effect."

Can anybody show me a scientific study--a real one--of magnets? I'd be interested.

 

[white belt]

So far I don't know of any scientific evidence. That is why I started this thread. But, I'm waiting. Up until now, the only way I could see magnets and Chi being used together is if you hit someone in the head with one and interrupted their Chi flow. That's all the science I have so far.


white belt

 

[cdhall]

Originally posted by rmcrobertson
Can anybody show me a scientific study--a real one--of magnets? I'd be interested.

From what I understand Matt Furey is a walking scientific study. I think the point White Belt was after was that if Matt Furey says it is OK, then that means something.

I bet if you email him he'll give you some info if he doesn't already have it for sale as a book or video.

 

[Sigung86]

I guess I need to get up here more often from the realm of Kenpo ... I guess that I can't believe that anyone falls for this pseudo-science, mysticism.

Dan

 

[qizmoduis]

I've heard it said in various circles that any supposition, regardless of plausibility, will be believed by at least 6% of the general population. That 6% is enough to generate hundreds of billions of dollars every year to line charlatans' pockets as they peddle their latest snake oil cure-all magic.

Magnets have no health benefits, astrology cannot predict a person's personality or future, chiropracty cannot treat asthma. "Alternative medicines" aren't an alternative to anything. Chi isn't anything but mystical nonsense; an eastern version of Uri Geller's spoon bending silliness. Unless any of these things can be reliably tested and reproduced in highly controlled conditions, they have no validity whatsoever, and in many cases are even dangerous.

Unfornately, people believe in these things, because they ARE mysterious. They are glamorous and flashy. They are the easy answers. They are the adult version of Santa Claus. Testing and verification isn't fun. It isn't glamorous. It's work. Critical thinking is work. It's more exciting to believe that the spoon is bent by the power of the mind, or that that guy really IS talking to the dead, or that there really IS a crashed alien spaceship at Area 51.

Many people are so blinded by the flashiness of nonsense that they can no longer see the awesome beauty of the real universe. Or perhaps it is simply too frightening to truly understand how utterly insignificant a human being is when compared against the grand and wondrous tapestry of the cosmos and are forced to retreat to more comforting thoughts.

There is enough wonder and majesty in the universe without imposing mysticism. In fact, mysticism dulls and dilutes the wonder. If you want to see something truly incredible and breathtaking, look a dew-covered spiderweb on a summer morning, or look at the deep-space wide-field Hubble photograph that captured dozens of galaxies in a part of the sky that would be covered by a grain of sand at arms length. That's REAL majesty. Who needs nonsense?

 

[KennethKu]

very beautifully written.