Lao Tsu talks about a wise leader ‘emptying the hearts and stuffing the bellies of the nation’, and this has many levels of understanding.

The word ‘karate’ often translated as ‘empty hand’ Funakoshi explained the ‘Kara’ part ‘empty’ as empty of (violent) intention and ‘te’ (hand) is generally understood as a term for martial art. Therefore an art of peace.

Draining the chi (ki) from the heart to the belly calms the body, emotions and mind. Filling the belly is to retain and store power instead of losing it. This gives an absence of negative energies like fear and anger and but keeping power to deal with emergencies in a calm manner.

In tai chi it is an important part of ‘song’, letting go of any soft tissue that we are ‘holding’ and stiffening with negative emotion, releasing the joints. The physical, emotional and mental act of using ‘yi’ (intention) to guide and drain chi from heart to belly centres the body, dropping the body weight into the soft tissue in the legs and sharpening the mind to be able to react spontaneously and skilfully to any attack.

If a leader ‘empties hearts and stuffs the bellies’ of a nation it’s to reduce negativity and strengthen the physical, emotional and mental health of the people.