Internal Versus External Chinese Martial Arts Practice

This is a big topic in Chinese martial arts that I have wanted to tackle for some time. The beginner in Chinese martial arts (and even the more experienced practitioner) may be confused by this division, and such misunderstanding can stunt one’s development in Chinese martial arts practice as a whole and keep them from the deeper insights of their chosen system.

I have practiced on both sides of this debate. I will lay out my point of view right here in the very beginning of this essay: there is no substantive truth to this separation of internal and external. Clinging to such false dichotomies will ultimately rob us of the full experience and fulfillment of Chinese martial arts practice.

In the modern practice of Chinese martial arts one will quickly run into the division of “external” (wàigōng, 外功, “outer achievement”) and “internal” practice (nèigōng, 內功, “inner achievement”). Internal and external are two halves of one whole; two sides of the same coin. They must go together to have any meaningful achievement in Chinese martial arts. If one side is missing or not fully developed, one’s understanding and achievement will be incomplete. Without external foundation, internal focus is largely a useless and empty pursuit. Without internal, external skills are shallow and fade quickly with age or injury.

 

Origin of the External / Internal Separation in Chinese Martial Arts

Traditionally, when martial arts where still being used regularly for life and death combat, people did not think of “internal” (nèi jiā, 內家, “internal family”) or “external” (wài jiā, 外家, “external family”) martial arts, there was just martial arts! This separation of internal and external martial arts is really a big mistake in thinking that can give us a false impression of martial arts practice from the very beginning. Such a perspective can really hinder our growth and correct understanding.

Another thing we have to understand is that these are relatively recent terms, popularized about a hundred years ago, compared to the thousands of years of Chinese martial arts history. They were promoted by writers and martial scholars as tools used for the ease of conversation and teaching, which have now been taken by many practitioners, and even teachers, to be true reflections of how martial arts were created, how they are practiced, or how they should be applied. This is simply not accurate. The popular common division of internal and external did not really arise until the era of the Chinese Republic (1912–1949). These divisions were promulgated as convenient classifications for discussion and intellectual analysis but have no real solid foundation in truth. They don’t reflect how Chinese martial arts were actually practiced when they were depended upon as warrior skills.

 

The Mistake of Division: False Dichotomies of Hard & Soft, Internal & External in Martial Arts Practice

First, we must understand that these are not divisions on the purpose or function of martial arts. The original intent and purpose of all martial art was for fighting. This is simply the historical fact. There are many reasons a person may take up martial arts today, some of those reasons are combative, some are not. Regardless, we do not serve our cultivation and development well to deny or reject the traditional truth. The original, primary motivation of martial arts practice was not for health or personal and spiritual cultivation, but for combat. So, if all Chinese martial arts come from fighting, be they “internal” or “external” methods, what does this division of terms really mean?

It is really just a matter of our focus in training, and we should also remember this can change from one moment to another. “External” martial art must move to “internal” focus otherwise it can never reach a high level. “Internal” must have “external” training or it can never properly manifest the principles of the movement into the physical word; there must be some outward expression or else it is only an idea, not martial art.

A practice such as Taijiquan can be (and often is) practiced exclusively on an external level. This is done not only when one uses too much physical force, but when we are concentrated on the technical quality of movements or with how movement looks, its outward form, rather than its function. This is externally focused training. However, all martial arts require a basic level of technical proficiency and all martial artists need a body which possesses the basic level of strength, flexibility and vitality which is required of their activity. Additionally, mimicking movements is often the first stage of learning.

Martial arts like Shaolin, Karate, Taekwondo, or Kickboxing can be practiced as internal when we focus on body structure, alignment, body connection and efficiency of motion. I sometimes call this the how, rather than the what. This can be thought of as internal focus. Therefore, we can think of there as being a “what” aspect of our movements and a “how” aspect. External is the what; internal is the how. Certainly, all internal martial arts systems have their own flavor of techniques and strategy (more of the “what”), but ultimately, they are much more concerned with “how” we accomplish those things. So, this separation is really a made up dichotomy, a falsely conceived duality. Internal and external have to both be present in any complete martial arts program. Internal is built on the external, and external has to move to the internal to be a high-level practice.

For example, Taijiquan without a foundation of physical strength, flexibility and conditioning is hollow and empty. Shaolin practice has a low ceiling without a shift to internal understanding. Taijiquan is capable of tremendous strength and power, and likewise Shaolin can be extremely soft and supple.

Sometimes, hard and aggressive physical action and mental attitude is required. Sometimes softness in mind and body is needed. The martial artist needs to know how to intuit and respond appropriately to what is presented. To do the wrong thing at the inappropriate time can be calamitous. If one is not capable of manifesting both internal and external qualities appropriately, their skill is one-sided and limited.

Internal practice is often mistaken (unfortunately sometimes even by its adherents) as some kind of magical and esoteric practice. I will not deny that there are certain teachers today who present the practice as such. But I suggest much of this arises from ignorance and/or to cover a lack of real depth of understanding, skill and achievement.

“Internal” does not mean anything magical, it is simply attention to subtle properties and qualities of body and motion. Internal practice is really concerned with investigating deeply how we hold the body, structure and alignment, how we move it through space. How does the body feel as it generates power and absorbs force? How do we use the body in the most efficient way to manifest these combat principles? These are matters of internal practice.

When we talk about the balance of internal and external, we also have to understand that this doesn’t mean they have to always be equal all the time. Balance is a fluid and continuous process of movement. A young and strong martial artist may spend more time cultivating external skills and attributes. This would not necessarily be inappropriate for their stage of life and development. As the practitioner becomes older, when raw speed and strength are waning, this would definitely be an appropriate time to focus more internally.

Sometimes we are more energetic, sometimes we are more tired. We may be sick or injured, or we may feel healthy and vigorous. These things will change over decades, years, months, weeks, or even days. With time and experience a practitioner should be able to recognize and work appropriately with whatever is going on in their body and mind.

The truth many internal Chinese martial artists refuse to acknowledge, or were never taught, is that the first step in any martial arts training (including Taijiquan and Baguazhang, for example) is to train the bone and soft tissues (muscles, tendons and ligaments). The idea that we can develop a high-level of combative martial arts skill without basic muscle strength and reflexive skills is simply a fantasy. At the same time, contrary to what many young people may think, the speed, strength and resiliency of youth do not last forever. If all our skill is based upon those temporary attributes, it is a precarious foundation and, at some point, the house of cards will topple.

“Internal” means using the body core. It’s as simple as that. Internal means using the body; external means focused on using the arms and legs. But this is a terrible separation to make because your arms and legs are also part of your body. The “external” martial artists know that when you punch, if you use your leg power your punch is more powerful. But how do you use leg power in the punch? How is your upper and lower body connected? The answer is, through the torso! So in order to perform any striking at a high level, it has to utilize internal principles, because your upper and lower body are connected via the torso of your body. So, high-level striking must always adhere to “internal” principles.

Internal or external is really an expression of attention and intention in our practice. I suggest you can (and should in order to have a complete practice session) practice both in a single class or training session. Internal martial art is not really a style or division of martial arts practice. It is how one is focusing on their martial art practice. Depending upon how deeply one examines the methods and body movement, they can practice “internal” or “external” martial art practice, regardless of their system, style, or its time and place of origin.

There is sometimes an elitist attitude in modern practice circles that internal is better, more sophisticated. This is pride and ego. One isn’t any better than the other. It is all about appropriateness in that given moment of life, and this is not a fixed quality. Internally focused study may not be appropriate for a young child. They may not have the attention, maturity, or analytical understanding to get results. An individual at this stage is often better suited by more external practice to develop a solid base of physical qualities that will help them in the future.

Again, external without internal is not able to reach the highest levels and the skills will fade with the body. Internal without external is simply weak and hollow. In classical Chinese philosophy this is the balance of yīn and yánɡ (阴阳); opposite and complementary forces. They represent the aspects that make up a whole.

Internally focused practice can also be developing the mind and emotions, where external is cultivating the body. Certainly, a warrior needs a strong body. They also need a strong mind and emotional stability. We have to know something about our own mind and emotional processes and how they work. If a martial artist is not emotionally stable, for example easily triggered to anger, this will not serve them well in combat.

We should also understand that martial arts study is an intellectual pursuit as well. One should understand, intellectually, the history of their tradition, how it is structured and how the overall training scheme works. This is especially true for teachers. If we do not have some knowledge or understanding of the art’s time and place in history, we can miss the primary principles and intent of the method’s creators.

Yet, at the same time we have to remember martial art is not only an intellectual pursuit. To be martial we have to have a body that is trained and capable of manifesting our art into the physical world. Martial art is a kinetic art. The body is the vehicle through which we express the principles of martial art into the world. Again, we encounter the balance of opposite and complementary forces. One cannot be well-rounded without this balance.

Finally, another division we often make is the separation of mind and body. The division of mind and body is conceptual and false. We divide these aspects, and think of them as different, for ease and for discussion purposes, but ultimately, they are not real. One cannot be without the other. We cannot divide them. What happens in the body affects the mind, and the state of one’s mind is reflected in the state of the body. Mind and body are not the two parts of one whole because you cannot, truly, have parts of a whole. There is a whole, or there are parts. All of the individual constituent parts come together and function as the whole, so in function they are no longer separate, but one. As life is actually lived, the mind and body cannot be separated. This is the same with internal and external, hard and soft. We created them for convenience, but have forgotten this fact and now too often take them as solid truths.

 

Conclusion

The debates of internal and external are rather silly because they conceptually divide the world, our experience, with divisions that don’t really exist in reality as people live it. You could say that internal/external is a matter of focus, of instruction, or a state of mind or being. But really even this is going too far.

The separation exists only in our own ideas. It reflects the compulsive need of human beings to label and classify. The whole of our life, and by extension our martial art practice, is one unified whole. As long as we chase separations round and round, we will not attain the higher levels of the arts, nor do I believe we will experience true contentment and fulfillment in our lives.

The truth is, any complete system will have hard and soft, internal and external aspects. We often treat these as solid, separate divisions, but these lines are crossed all the time. For example, we think soft goes with internal and hard goes with external, but internal movements can be hard and firm, and external movements can be soft and supple.

These concepts, these boxes of internal and external, are too rigid to reflect lived reality and will block a practitioner’s progress to higher levels of practice. In the end, internal and external really come from the practitioner, not the style or system. Furthermore, no one can teach internal martial arts. There is really no such thing as an “internal martial arts teacher.” In the end only you can teach its subtleties to yourself. The teacher can be invaluable in giving you the intellectual and verbal teachings, make external demonstrations of movements, correct your physical movements, teach you drills and exercises, provide advice, and point you in the right direction. But all this is still only on the external level. At the end of the day, only you can teach yourself internal martial arts.