Hi Troy,

"what is the difference between internal and external martial arts?"

That's a great question. However, I wonder if there's anyone out
there who DOESN'T have an opinion on this! There is a really good
book by Alan Hsu called the sword polisher's record. It has a very
thoughtful article on just this question. With regards to your other
question, I have been taught all along that our style is hard and
soft and that it is internal, but I don't think it's possible to get
to internal without passing through the external.

There are some classic internal systems: Tai Chi, Hsing Yi, Baqua,
etc that everyone knows. Of these, Tai chi is called soft and Hsing
Yi is called hard. Tai chi emphasises circularity and Hsing Yi
linearity. The baqua that I have studied is a very nice blend of the
two approaches. You can see the elements and concepts of all three
of these styles in the movements of our system. The hard and the
soft, the circular and linear are all encompassed in what our masters
teach.

The internal and external question gets really interesting. Some
people talk about it in terms of where and how power is developed.
These arguments usually say that if a person is in a relaxed state
when delivering a strike or a block, it is internal power. If a
person has tensed muscles during the same, it is external power. I
think it is deeper than that. My opinion is that coordinated body
movement, where the body's core is the source of the striking energy
and the limbs are coordinated with the core movement,... that is the
beginning of internal power. Strikes that are driven just from the
shoulder, or just from the leg, use the limb muscles more and core
muscles less. I call that external power. People flex a lot and look
good, but the power is more limited than that of internal technique.
One more thing on this: I said coordinated movement is the beginning
of internal power. There is certainly something deeper being accessed
by those who have trained at the highest levels, that goes beyond
whole body coordination with respect to internal power, but I cannot
speak to it.

Just in case you're not bored silly yet, there is one more definition
of internal and external style that I find very interesting. It says
this: Internal styles teach chi cultivation within the martial
movements directly, and external systems teach chi cultivation
through specific exercises. (Standing meditations or chi gung
exercises) Tai Chi is an internal style by this definition, Pak Mei
Pai is an external style by this definition. Pak Mei Pai has been
described as fast Tai Chi, although I think you have to add some
essence of pissed-off rattlesnake to get the right feeling.

Thanks for asking a really interesting question. I don't usually
post, but I enjoy all the great discussion. But this was too good to
pass up. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the group's
opinions on these questions.

All the best,
Michael


--- In LiuSeongGungFu@yahoogroups.com, "Troy Simizon" <tsimizon@r...>
wrote:
>
> I was talking to a friend a few days ago about our system and he
> asked, "is it an internal or external system". Not knowing how to
> answer I told him, "yes it is."
>
> I believe it is a common perception that external systems
are "hard"
> and internal systems are "soft". If anyone has any opinions on
what
> is the difference between internal and external martial arts I
would
> greatly appreciate it.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Troy
>