The Thai police are reporting that Carradine had rope tied around his neck and "other organs"..
today's report is "other organs" = genitals (per CNN's latest revision of their article on Mr. Carradine's death).
the following is a not too detailed description of some theory and practice which may reflect some light on this matter; i knew of this decades ago as a boy, but never practiced this particular area of Qi Gong in any of my so-called "internal" MA training (too young and not sufficiently advanced - even when older). so, just givin' y'all second hand knowledge explained to me by one of my Shifu's (or Sifu's in some dialects). please know that i don't agree with all of the "theory" behind the practice. there is something to Qi (most probably bio-electric energy related to our nervous system), but some aspects of Jieng ("essence") theory i have trouble buying into as i can't understand a physiological basis for some aspects of it.
the binding of the genitals or just the scrotum with or without weights attached is sometimes performed in some Qi Gong (older works transliterate the Chinese characters as "Chi Gung") exercises - both by Shaolin and non-Shalolin Qi Gong practitioners. to my knowledge, Mr. Carradine practiced at least both Shaolin and Tai Ji Qi Gong. if interested, you might be able to actually "Google" and find images of modern day Shaolin monks performing some Qi Gong exercises with relatively HEAVY weights (e.g., concrete cinder blocks, among others) hanging from their bound scrotums. decades ago, was shown very old black and white photos of some of these exercises.
the binding of Genitals has to do with Qi (pinyin transliteration = Chi in Wade-Giles transliteration) and Jieng or "essence". a man's essence (and some of his vitality, energy, and power or Jing)is in his Jieng/sperm; some areas of Qi Gong practice Qi circulation control (this, plus proper breathing, whether Daoist or Buddhist form of breathing, is what is being done when you see someone sitting in a lotus position with their hands forming a circle at their Dan Tien or lower abdomen (for small circle Qi circulation) or with their hands in a classic position by their knees (for one who is more advanced and is practicing large circle Qi circulation) and Jieng "conservation" exercises (non-sexual exercises + sexual abstinence; abstinence at the very least in accordance with one's age, e.g. some Daoists and Tai Ji practioners with Daoist backgrounds abstain from Jieng release for as many days as they are old in years; hence 50 years = no more than one Jieng release every 50 days.
i am unfamiliar with the inclusion of neck binding as part of a Qi Gong exercise, though i am not trained in this area of Qi Gong and so might just be unfamiliar with such.
some of the more esoteric martial arts had both Nei Dan (internal or less active and more stationary/meditative) and Wai Dan (external or moving or more active) Qi Gong exercises would involve certain types of deprivation (reduced oxygen for example - neck binding???) or exposure (pain and temperature extremes, or staring at bright light). the thought was that if one became more accustomed through exposure to the deprivation or the sensation during training (as the case may be), one might handle it better when actually confronted with the same situation in "real life" (i.e., when NOT training).
it sounds like Mr. Carradine may have been doing some variant exercise which also involved partial reduction of blood flow through the carotid sinuses==>lost consciousness==>full weight on noose==>complete strangulation of carotid sinuses (some of you might be familiar with some "strangles' [strangles = carotid sinus compression; NOT chokes = trachea compression/pressure] used by Judoka or in MMA bouts)==>little to no blood to brain==>weight also on trachea==>heart still pumping==>bruising of throat (and possibly larynx) while heart still beating (was this seen during autopsy???)==>eventually brain death due to asphyxiation plus heart stops at some point.
need more info on how neck and genitals were precisely bound and specifics of autopsy findings to know if above is a plausible explanation of an accidental death. were the genitals bound in a fashion consistent with known Qi Gong exercises???
sorry i can't shed more light on his seemingly strange manner of death. however, it may not have been(???) sexual in nature, especially given Mr. Carradine's well known avocation of both esoteric as well as non-esoteric forms of MA and Qi Gong exercise.
in closing tribute, a quote from one far more knowledgeable and wiser than i,
"Avoid rather than check.
Check rather than harm.
Harm rather than maim.
Maim rather than kill.
For every life is precious,
neither can any be replaced."
- blind Master Poh to young Kwai Chang Caine
EDITS
------
Kaine ==> Caine
given ==> givin'
i may not have been clear. Qi Gong actually has very little to do with "binding" of any part of one's anatomy. there are a great variety of exercises of which nearly all have nothing to do with one's "privates".
