(last updated: 12/28/17)Many individuals who lack the ability to manifest their internal chi to assault opponents offset this weakness by using technology. From melee weapons, traditional firearms, and items such as flamethrowers or electrical batons, a wide variety of options are available to individuals unable to utilize such themselves.
Most technology is operated on a basis of skill. That means that any weapon, whether it be a sword, a bomb, a laser, or even something more exotic, is affected greatly by its operator's skill in using it. So while a headshot from a rifle may be as lethal to a trained fighter as it is a normal civilian, it is much more difficult to land a perfect shot on someone whose skill vastly outstrips the aggressor. This rule generally holds right up until large siege vehicles or sheer numbers get involved, on which even a trained artist can get ground down.
Most conventional weaponry such as bullets, bombs, knives and swords are typically the realm of physically focused fighters, and are represented with a high physical competency. Energy weapons such as lasers, forcefields, magnetic weapons and flamethrowers involve a keen understanding and application of many of the same dynamics that govern chi users, and as such specialists in such weapons will typically have a high chi competency, even if their spirituality is not as strong.
It is important to remember that an element generated by martial arts and an element generated by technology are roughly commensurate. At similar output levels, a flame generated by a flamethrower will generally be no less hot than a flame generated by a chi user. The only difference is in skill of application.
Some weapons may use specific categories of abilities, such as chi grenades, psychic swords and the like. While a grenade, which is initially a physical object, may normally be represented as a physical attack, if it uses chi as a power source it will still be more effective being used by a chi specialist. These attacks are generally also defended against in ways similar to conventional martial arts.
The strength of technology and cybernetics is such that mundane people may occaisionally be modified or empowered by those competent with technology to become measurable threats to trained fighters. Generally, the strength of being highly technologically competent comes with being able to perform such modular feats. Many technologically focused fighters, while not normally able to perform great feats of endurance, agility or strength are usually intelligent or great tacticians, and are able to approximate most feats that they set their minds to.