Sober-Minded and Sharp-Eyed; Energetic
Qigong, with a long history, is one of the valuable national cultural legacies in China. With its practice in medicine and keeping fit, qigong's fascinating effect is arousing more and more scientific workers' attention. It's mechanism is still mysterious, but generally speaking, practices often felt sober-minded, sharp-eyed and energetic after practice. How does this peculiar effect be caused? Is it of science or not? To explore the mystery of this mechanism, we make the following experiment:
1. Experimental Object
Practicing method and time are in Form 1
Form 1
Experimental object: university students; number: 20; sex: male; average age: 20: name of practice: Zhan Zhuang form of Yi Quan; time for practice: 30 minutes in group arranged by the coach twice a day in the morning and extracurricular activities free practice in the evening.
2. Experimental Method
Experimental instrument is the photoelectric colorimeter of model 721 made in Shanghai. In the way of using sodium carbonate. The principle follows this.
The synthesis and disintegration of nucleoprotein keeps working with no stop. Uric acid is the catabotite of nucleic acid. By accurate method, the content of uric acid of the urine excreted by a person can be measured, then we may get a general idea about the biochemical metabolism inside the body. There are several methods of determining the content of the uric acid, one of which is to use sodium carbonate.
Under alkaline condition, uric acid can be oxidized to be CO by phosphotungstic acid, while phosphotungstic acid being reduced to be tungsten blue. The process of reaction follows.
uric acid + H6PW12O40 -> allantoic cord + tungsten blue + CO2
According to the reaction, its optical density can be measured with photoelectric colorimeter, then compare with the optical density of uric acid in the standard urine, thus we can calculate the content of uric acid of urine.
3. Originality and Illustration of Practicing Method
Originated in the guiding method of keeping fit in ancient China, Zhan Zhuang Form of Yi Quan is the crystallization of experience accumulated in the long term struggle against sickness by the working people. In the past is used to be accepted as the basic skill in preliminary practice of Xing Yi Quan and was quite welcomed in Wushu preliminary practice of Xing Yi Quan and was quite welcomed in Wushu Circles. This method can cure and keep fit as shown by the practice, it has existed for a long time. It reaches its aim not depending on medicine and other external elements, but on adapting brain nerves (consciousness), promoting the blood inter corporeal circulation and metabolism to exert fully internal elements of each individual. In this way may it prevent and effect the sickness. This method consists of 12 actions, the third of which offers much better effect. The specific action essentials follow.
A. Leg Actions
Two feet paralleled with a distance as wide as that of two shoulders, two knee joints lightly curving forward not over the tiptoe.
B. Head, Trunk and Upper-Body Actions
Head keeps straight, see forward at a horizontal level, then close two eyes slowly. The tongue props the upper palate, upper body keeps straight naturally with two arms raised to the level of shoulder just like hugging a ball.
C. Breath Requirement
Use nose to breathe naturally. Under the circumstance of submitting to naturalness, breathe long, thinly, slowly, evenly and rhythmically. Don't breathe strongly.
D. Thought Requirement
Concentrate on the Lao Gong acupuncture point, feeling the original sense of warmth, expansion, coolness and numbers. In one word, relax the whole body, concentrate the thought of breathing naturally and curve every joint slightly.
4. Experimental Effect
A. The self-conscious effect after practice as follows.
Form 2
number of people: 20; the sober-minded, sharp-eyed, energetic ones after practice: 19; the ones has no effect: 1; the ones not feeling at ease: 0; efficiency: 95%
B. Experimental Routine and Result
Take 20 practices randomly from the experimental class after a week's practice (6 practices who have warmed up before are exclusive). Then draw 0.1 ml urine of every practicer before practice. Ten minutes' practice later, every one empties his bladder, another 20 minutes' practice later, draw another 0.1 ml urine. Make the experiment according to Form 3.
Form 3
standard determining determining empty tube
tube tube 1 tube 2
standard uric acid 3.0
solution (1/1000)
deluted urine 3.0
before practice
(1/100)
diluted urine after 3.0
practice (1/100)
distilled water 3.0
14% Na2CO3 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
phosphotungstic 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
acid reagent
optical density 0.005 0.015 0.01 0
Mix the solution in each tube. Within 15 - 20 minutes carry out the calorimetric analysis by 660 - 760 mm.
Calculation:
Cd = Dd x Cs / Ds = ? (mg/me)
(Cd means the uric acid concentration to be measured. Dd means the optical density shown in determining tubes. Cs means the uric acid concentration of standard urine. Ds means the optical density shown in the standard tube). Cd 100 total urine = ? (mg/total urine).
The content of uric acid after practice is
(Dd x Cs / Ds) 100 x 1.4
= (0.0015 x 1.01 / 0.005) 100 x 1.4 = 424.2 (mg/total urine)
The content of uric acid after practice is
(Dd x Cs / 0.005) 100 x 1.4
= (0.01 x 1.01 / 0.005) 100 x 1.4 = 282.8 (mg/total urine)
Then the balance between the two contents of uric acid before and after practice is.
424.2 - 282.8 = 141.4 (mg/total urine)
That proves, after one practice, the content of uric acid of urine is reduced greatly, when one practices, the nucleoprotein synthesis exceeds the disintegration in the organism, then the organism is in condition of storing up energy.
5. Discussion and Analysis
The great reduction of uric acid of urine after one practices manifests that the synthesis of nucleic acid is faster than the disintegration of nucleic acid while one is practicing. Then we can draw a conclusion that the synthesis of nucleoprotein is faster than the disintegration. Whether the synthesis of nucleoprotein is accelerated or the disintegration is decelerated when one practices will cause the organism to be in a state of storing up energy, producing better effect on the function of organs of body. In the writer's opinion, the self consciousness of being sober-minded, sharp-eyed and energetic after practices results from this kind of subtle influence. Moreover, the acceleration of nucleoprotein synthesis or the deceleration of disintegration inside the body will do much good to the development and growth of body.
6. Conclusion
A. The self-consciousness of being sober-minded, sharp-eyed and energetic after one's practice is identical to the experimental result. This self-consciousness is of scientific basis.
B. Because of the great reduction of the uric acid content after practice, the synthesis of nucleic acid is faster than the disintegration; according to this fact, we may conclude that the synthesis of nucleoprotein is faster than its disintegration when one is practicing.
C. Simple to practice, easy to learn with no deviation, Zhan Zhuang Gong is convenient for application and dissemination.
D. According to the experimental result, we conclude that long term practice can better the physical conditions as well as remove the tiredness develop, develop one's intelligence to increase the efficiency of study and work, even promote the development and growth of young boys and girls.
Finally, we must point out that our experimental objects are all Jing Gong practices whose biochemical change inside body can't represent that of other kinds of practices. Another point should also be explained that the metabolic change of nucleoprotein can't represent the metabolic change of the substances. Both of the points can only be obtained through accurate experiment.
