Author's Preface: This essay is a trap. Boo! What makes a martial art internal? What makes it external? This has been debated endlessly around the internet with no clarity in sight. For many, "internal" martial arts means something related to qi, breathwork, intent, and secret Jedi-like powers. Some groups would then claim some other systems do not have energy training, therefore such arts are “external.” But peel away enough of the onion and you find many of those teachings lurking in the most blatant of external methods. What is going on?
The Chinese Connection The current use of “Internal” vs. “External” martial arts today tends to interpret an “internal” tradition as one that includes breathwork and qigong. Depending on the community you enter, the loudest group are the Neijia (內家), a small subset of Chinese traditional martial arts said to possess this sort of training. Proponents will sometimes even talk as if no other tradition trains in this way. Such proponents will hold up arts such as taijiquan, baguazhang, and xingyiquan with philosophical connections to Taoist practices to support their assertion. Sometimes, such practitioners even have that attitude that Taoist cultivation is somehow better than Buddhist cultivation practices. After all, the “nei” (內) in the “Neijia” means “internal” which means if it isn’t Neijia, it isn’t “internal.” Right? However, the deeper teachings of other traditions outside of xingyiquan (形意拳), baguazhang (八卦拳), and taijiquan (太極拳) reveal various forms of “internal” training of this type. Shaolin chuanfa (拳法) and many of its descendent lineages have breathwork and visualization training in spades. Okinawan karate (空手) lineages, Japanese lineages of Aikido (合気道) and Bujinkan ninpo budo, Penjek Silat, Kali, Systema, even Western lineages all transmit these teachings in some form or another. (See: Mind, Body, Kickass Moves for a sample plate). Explaining “internal” in this way does not bring clarity. Something was lost in translation: first, the Chinese destroyed many traditional martial lineages during the Cultural Revolution, driving masters underground or out of the country; second, Americans with little understanding of Chinese culture misinterpreted what “Neijia” means; third, the Internet amplified this confusion. We ended up with this distinction, “Internal vs. External”, drawing flamewars and trolls everywhere it goes.
Peng and Ground Path Schools There’s an old, old story. A new student starts training. The teacher sends him off flying with some mysterious power. When the student asks how the teacher did it, the teacher responds, “with qi.” Unsatisified with this explanation, some American practitioners systematically explained what makes the Neijia special by describing it in terms of “Ground Path”. In the early 1990s, one practitioner, Mike Sigman, described how “Peng” works mechanically. Peng creates an unbroken kinetic chain from the hands to the feet. He called this the “Ground Path.” If you ain’t doing that ground path thing, you ain’t doing internal martial arts. This is a purely physical interpretation. Newtonian force links through the legs, pivots around the waist, skips the shoulder to the elbow and out the hands. Because all the force vectors cancel out except where you’re pushing or striking, it looks like someone can push or punch without visible telegraphing. At speed, the other person looks like they bounce off such a practitioner. One-inch punches falls naturally out of of this mechanic. Because arts such as Shaolin chuanfa do not, at first glance, appear to use this body mechanic, this became generally accepted as what makes internal arts “internal.” However, something’s missing from the movements of pure Ground Path exponents. It doesn’t look all that graceful. But martial arts is supposed to be effective, not pretty, right? And what about all those arts that include this mechanic? Bajiquan (八極拳) comes to mind. Various lineages of Aikido and Bujinkan ninpo budo practitioners use this effortlessly. In his book, Hidden in Plain Sight: Tracing the Roots of Ueshiba Morihei's Power, Ellis Amdur traces the transmission and development of these Ground Path ideas from medieval Chinese into various Japanese ryu. It wasn't as if these were top-secret techniques. They were independently discovered or leaked by those searching for power. And what about all those Badass Jedi Powers people seem attracted to? Magically speaking, myths and superstitions point to some underlying truth of reality. Why are there people intoxicated with the idea of Badass Jedi Powers? Defining “internal” as exhibiting “Ground Path” seems like a good idea, but it turns out to be limiting. Ground Path trains an important, fundamental skill, however it is by no means all there is to internal martial arts.
Origins of the Neijia In the early 1900s, a man named Sun Lu-Tang wrote about the the difference between “internal” and “external” martial arts. Sun Lu-Tang was one of the literati elite. He was trained classically, memorizing Confucian works and sought out works from Taoist and Buddhist canon. Like all literati, he understood the power of words and how people used them. He knew history, as the Chinese used to tell them. Being a scholar, he classified martial arts within China that originated largely from the Chinese. Shaolin, and many derivative arts tend to preserve training methods that came from outside of China. Thus, for Sun Lu-Tang and his cohorts, the “nei” in “neijia” means internal -- that is, “domestic.” “Weijia”, then, refers to “foreign” arts, such as Shaolin or the arts imported by the Muslim Chinese. English-speakers have interpreted that to mean, “internal” refers to qigong. Since many other martial arts also have breath work and meditations, this does not make sense. Sun Lu Tang, and his literati cohorts were really talking about “domestic” vs. “foreign” martial arts -- domestic arts that derive largely from Taoist thoughts. Xingyiquan, even though it has strong ties to Muslim lineages, expresses the notion of Taoist five elements theory. Baguazhang expresses the notions of I-Ching. Taijiquan expresses the notion of Yin and Yang.
Moving from the Dantian A more sophisticated interpretation comes from the teaching, “move from the center.” Sometimes that’s conflated with, “move from the dantian.” It’s taken to mean, moving with your whole body and adding power from the dantian. The “dantian” does not show up in acupuncture diagrams. The name itself, dan tian (丹田), means “cultivation field (田) for the Golden Elixir (丹).” Since manuals refer to breathing into the space two finger-width down from the navel, practitioners will decode it to the acupuncture point, CV-6 “Qi Hai” (氣海, Sea of Qi). More experienced practitioners will say, that’s just the front gate. The dantian cavity actually sits just in front of the spine. Some practitioners will say, you breath down into that space and fill it up. You can then bring it out to power your movements. Others will use more sophisticated breathwork and attempt to blend energies of opposites, such as fire and water. They might, for example, deliberately bring up jing and “burn it” in order to provide fuel for movements. All of this have varying effects, some beneficial, many detrimental. Others have tried weigong (外功) methods. For example, one might practice Yiquan (意拳) by manifesting balls of energy to support the body structure. Since these balls of energy manifest outside of the body, this would be “weigong.” Since most people can’t see it, that is as good as being an “internal martial arts.” Right? Still others will say, true “internal” martial arts is neigong (內功) and not qigong (氣功). “Qigong” is a term in use for the past two hundred years or so. “Neigong” is a much older term that preceded “qigong.” Some would tell you, “neigong” relates to cultivation practices that lead you transcendent states, such as igniting an active Kundalini. If you don’t have the K burning through you, it ain’t “neigong.” Right?
Alchemy One last interpretation: all of these various techniques, body movements, energy work, and paradigm are merely side paths. What makes these traditions “internal” relates to neigong-as-alchemy. That is, the practitioner cultivates the harmonization of yin (陰) and yang (陽). “Moving from the dantian,” then, is a code word for forging the dan (丹), the Golden Elixir and then dissolving the boundaries of duality. From indifference, one stokes a warm fire of inspiration. From obsession, one cools the insanity of zeal. Refine the vessel to refine the spirit. Receive the spirit to realize the vessel. Commune with the unseen, cavort with the fae, the adventurer is tested and beloved of the gods. Walk among the wretched, the blessed, and the untamed alike. Then go home for dinner. Thus, the internal martial artist quietly walks the dual mandala of spirit and mind. Namaste
