In Chinese martial arts, the perspective of arts being “internal” as opposed to “external” likely was developed in the 19th century, when instructors of Tàijíquán, Bāguàzhǎng, and Xíngyìquán decided that their arts shared similar underlying ideas and organizing principles, even though outwardly they appeared different. They wanted to distinguish themselves from arts directly derived from Shaolin martial arts, whom they felt were organized differently at a foundational level. Specifically, they referred to their arts as nèijiā (internal) and the Shaolin-derived arts as wàijiā (external).
The nèijiā are often not as old as wàijiā – precisely because they are generally a reaction to the existing practices prevalent during their time as opposed to the culmination or epitome of them. The term waijiā should, however, not be taken immediately as being pejorative. The subject of what is internal versus what is external is a complex one, but always it is a mistake to conflate the dialectic of good vs. bad with internal vs. external in discussions of martial arts. Indeed, there are skilled and mediocre practitioners of nèijiā and wàijiā both.
In general, however, one can think of internal training as developing a different or nonintuitive reaction or reflex or quality in a specific domain (e.g., strength, speed, balance) whereas external training is concerned with taking the normative expression of a quality and developing it to its logical conclusion. For example, developing the speed of a punch or kick is an external skill, whereas developing relaxation and sensitivity so that one’s own punch is quicker than an opponent’s, no matter what their speeds are in of itself, would be an internal skill. There is generally, in internal training, a focus on inner awareness and awareness in relation to the world that a skill is measured within (e.g., how hard can I punch a moving, reacting, opponent, and what effect does that punch have on him) rather than only its effect in of itself (e.g., how hard I can punch a stationary object).
Often in Tàijíquán practice we are reminded that besting someone is not enough. If the method by which an opponent is defeated does not respect tàijí principles, the result was not a proper expression of Tàijíquán, even if we can push the other person offbalance. Also, body development in of itself is not necessarily external or internal – one may develop skill at Tàijíquán or Bāguàzhǎng, but when you strike someone, the result will depend on your body, its development and organization, irrespective of the art whose tactic you used to do so. So, body development methods drawn from various qigong have their place in both internal and external martial arts. However, training methodologies and intent may differ between the two. Regardless of methodology, different levels of body development and organization provide some of the key discriminators between high-level and lowlevel skill, irrespective of a particular style.
I continue to work on my breath and posture as part of my martial arts practice, to help develop connection between the different parts of my body. In yoga, I continue regular breathing practice to purify and energize the body – helping prepare it for meditation. I view my hatha yoga practice as a spiritual pursuit: I engage in asana (yoga posture) practice to balance out the body and bring my awareness to the way in which my breath can unify body and mind. Doing so, I am aiding the development of my skill at meditation.
