On Wed, 2 Apr 1997, Shadow Dancer wrote:

Okay...I've recently started trying to learn Japanese, and I noticed 
something right off the bat.  The learning kit I have has no 
reference to any kanji with the "l" consonant sound.  Is this the way 
it is, or am I missing a whole bunch of stuff?

The Japanese 'r'-sound is actually somewhere between 'l' and 'r' - any
kana with an r/l is usually transliterated to an 'r.' Note *usually*,
because if an imported or coined word is supposed to end with an l, then
'ru' is used and should be translitereated into an 'l,' probably with no
vowel; if it's supposed to end in r then the previous syllable is
lengthened.

The single best example I know of comes from _Iczelion_:
	"Iczer" <- Ikuzah
	"Iczel" <- Ikuzeru

Second question:  What, exactly, makes up chi?  I have a friend that 
says that this trick I have for arm-wrestling is focussing chi, but I 
don't know for sure.  His comment confuses me, as I think that it is 
only a trick...

Don't put it past him. :) Chi is usually described as life energy or vital
energy; many of the Eastern martial arts - particularly the 'soft' and
'inner' styles - incorporate internal chi focusing.
	Tai chi chuan is one example of a 'soft' martial arts style; the
flowing movements of the exercise forms are meant to loosen the body up
and allow chi to flow more freely.

	'Chi' is a Chinese term; the Japanese equivalent is 'ki,' but the
Japanese character can refer to spirit, soul, or mood (as I understand
it). *That* is why moods become important in such series as Ranma 1/2 when
the characters are using ki techniques - Ranma and Ryouga draw their
strongest ki from different moods; Ranma must remain calm (keeping his ki
cool) while his opponent becomes angry (ki becomes hot) in order for the
Hi-ryuu Shoutenha to work properly (Ranma's cool ki forms a tornado around
his opponent's hot ki).