Many people new to martial arts are unsure as to the difference between internal and external approaches. While there are no hard and fast rules, in general, external schools focus on physical power and fighting skills. They aim to develop muscular strength and technical expertise. Internal martial arts on the other hand, have greater focus on mental, emotional and spiritual development.
It's more of an approach centered on inner power and is reflected in softer, more fluid movements. These movements are often graceful and beautiful to behold when executed by master practitioners. This grace and beauty can be deceptive however, since the inner power behind them gives them an impressive force. They are unquestionably formidable and can have as much combat utility as the more overtly aggressive external techniques.
Indeed, although the emphasis is on inner development, the internal schools certainly recognize the importance of strength and resilience. Attention is given to hard skills like combat techniques, weapons training, strength and endurance (although schools will vary in how much emphasis is given to these elements). The goal though, is to incorporate hard skills into an overall alignment of body, mind and spirit.
This harmony of inner and outer practice can be a supreme advantage against aggressive opponents who tend to be rigid and unyielding in their approach. Much of this aplomb stems from the internal practitioner's strong qi. Qi is the invisible life energy that animates all living things, and circulates through the human body in well-defined pathways. Internal practitioners work diligently to increase their levels of qi and develop their ability to move and manipulate it.
The overall goal of qi development and other internal exercises is to strengthen the body from within. This supports robust health and the ability to execute techniques with greater poise and skill. Healthy, physically strong practitioners can strike harder and more skillfully, and also better withstand opponents strikes. Optimum health also means these skills and capacities can be maintained well into one's 'retirement' years. Master practitioners remain formidable well into their 70's and 80's.
A key practice for qi development is breath control. Deep breathing combined with visualization is used to gather and direct qi. As part of this, students have to develop the ability to breathe from the lower abdomen. This takes practice since most people's breathing tends to be shallow and restricted to the upper chest. As students become adept at deep abdominal breathing, they become more sensitive to their qi and better able to direct it.
They also begin to gain the ability to detect where their qi is blocked, or where there is too little or too much. They can then remedy these imbalances by directing their qi appropriately. In addition to greater faculty with qi, breath control also enables practitioners to take in more oxygen. This enhances mental and physical energy as well as boosting overall health.
The health-boosting properties are one of the main reasons why so many health-conscious people in the US now practice techniques like Qigong. In trend-leading states like California, many people are reaping the benefits of the greater mental and physical poise that these techniques offer. Even short-term practice can yield subtle but very real results, longer-term practice transforms these results from pleasant to genuinely life-changing.
It's more of an approach centered on inner power and is reflected in softer, more fluid movements. These movements are often graceful and beautiful to behold when executed by master practitioners. This grace and beauty can be deceptive however, since the inner power behind them gives them an impressive force. They are unquestionably formidable and can have as much combat utility as the more overtly aggressive external techniques.
Indeed, although the emphasis is on inner development, the internal schools certainly recognize the importance of strength and resilience. Attention is given to hard skills like combat techniques, weapons training, strength and endurance (although schools will vary in how much emphasis is given to these elements). The goal though, is to incorporate hard skills into an overall alignment of body, mind and spirit.
This harmony of inner and outer practice can be a supreme advantage against aggressive opponents who tend to be rigid and unyielding in their approach. Much of this aplomb stems from the internal practitioner's strong qi. Qi is the invisible life energy that animates all living things, and circulates through the human body in well-defined pathways. Internal practitioners work diligently to increase their levels of qi and develop their ability to move and manipulate it.
The overall goal of qi development and other internal exercises is to strengthen the body from within. This supports robust health and the ability to execute techniques with greater poise and skill. Healthy, physically strong practitioners can strike harder and more skillfully, and also better withstand opponents strikes. Optimum health also means these skills and capacities can be maintained well into one's 'retirement' years. Master practitioners remain formidable well into their 70's and 80's.
A key practice for qi development is breath control. Deep breathing combined with visualization is used to gather and direct qi. As part of this, students have to develop the ability to breathe from the lower abdomen. This takes practice since most people's breathing tends to be shallow and restricted to the upper chest. As students become adept at deep abdominal breathing, they become more sensitive to their qi and better able to direct it.
They also begin to gain the ability to detect where their qi is blocked, or where there is too little or too much. They can then remedy these imbalances by directing their qi appropriately. In addition to greater faculty with qi, breath control also enables practitioners to take in more oxygen. This enhances mental and physical energy as well as boosting overall health.
The health-boosting properties are one of the main reasons why so many health-conscious people in the US now practice techniques like Qigong. In trend-leading states like California, many people are reaping the benefits of the greater mental and physical poise that these techniques offer. Even short-term practice can yield subtle but very real results, longer-term practice transforms these results from pleasant to genuinely life-changing.
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