Introduction to Internal Martial Arts

Internal martial arts, also known as 'soft' martial arts, are those which concentrate on cultivating and using the power of the internal energy called 'chi' rather than the conventional muscular power of so called external or hard martial arts.

The most widely known internal martial art in the west is Tai Chi, but other examples include Bagua Zhang, Xing Yi Quan, Dacheng Quan and Liuhe Bafa Quan. In addition to this most styles of Chinese kung fu have some kind of internal element, even though they are primarily external. An example of a kung fu style with a particularly strong internal aspect is Shaolin White Crane style kung fu.

Some people would tell you that all Chinese martial arts are both internal and external. According to this view internal styles like Tai Chi begin with studying and cultivating chi and then move on to manifesting this as external muscular strength at the advanced levels, whereas external martial arts like Wing Chun kung fu begin by learning the external physical forms and using them with external muscular power, and then move on to learning about chi at the advanced level. In the end they would both therefore attain a balance of internal and external.

The whole concept of chi can be difficult to understand, but when you practice internal martial arts you gain an awareness of chi through experiencing it, rather than through an intellectual understanding. Basically chi is described as the vital life force, somewhat like the Prana of Indian yoga. Some modern practitioners describe chi as being a magnetic phenomenon, similar to the descriptions of the 'astral light' of the soul given by western esoteric philosophers like Mesmer and Levi.