Most people talk about the difference between internal and external and in recent years, people have been proud to call their style “internal”. In reality, there is no such a thing as internal martial art or external martial art.
Martial Art has no styles; method has
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Internal family styles seem to have a different method to it however as you have taught we should not “toss”. External styles seem to try to maximize power by going the opposite direction by trying to maximize the potential of tossing. Such as relaxing the limbs to throw weight effectively and transfer of momentum into the target and adding quick contractions of muscles for bursts of power. This is not how internal family schools produce power however like you have pointed out. Are you saying sifu Chen that we should get rid of the distinctions of neijia, internal family and weijia, external family schools?
Neijia and waijia refer to methods of training. Many people believe there is something else. It is the “Something else” that causes people to waste many years of training to arrive at no results. All martial arts are the same in trying to get speed, power and accuracy. Different systems try to do this in different ways. For that reason, internal (neijia) and external (waijia) are just names to distinguish schools, nothing else. However, they are very good and distinguishing names.
@ Chen: Amen
A mountain is a mountain. It doesn’t matter if you go up from south or from north. However, if the mountain is Mt Everest and you decide to go up from the south, a guide from the north side probably won’t help because he might not know the route from the south.
Same as we study Tai Chi. Tai Chi is a martial art. But a master from Shaolin temple specializing in kicking doesn’t know Tai Chi, can’t teach Tai Chi.
Very well said, Master Chen and Pingwei. Thanks for the explanation.
There is a difference. External is muscular and internal is hydraulic.
Tai Chi is more than forms and applications. It is principles and more principles and more even deeper principles and more even deeeeeeeeeeper principles that transform into you doing fifty things in order to do a “push”