Just a personal opinion on an age old debate, please dont take this as anything more.
IMHO the distinction refers mainly to the contexts under which the styles developed. This however is i believe mainly geographical.
Most so called 'internal' styles all underwent the major part of there development within each others eyes. In other words they all had the chance to mix and share ideas and to compare methodologys and theorys.
This is quite similar to the way which many southern shaolin systems are closely related or how Hakka arts often have various similaritys to one another.
XingYi, Taiji, Bagua where all practiced and popular within the same geographic region and as such a lot of cross polination has occured and the methods are frequently mixed with each other.
Its well known that many of the old masters of Xingyi Taiji and Bagua used to train together and even live togther. They also of course shared knowledge and shared students. It would be silly to think that such periods would not have an effect on the arts and in my opinion this 'effect' has been that they are now very closely related.
They are all certainly distinct systems in there own right but the fact remains they have also shared a *lot* in terms of codevelopment.
I think another fairly easy place to lay blame is on the very respectable Master Sun Lu Tang. Who in one of his early books in an effort to discribe the relationship between the 'internal' arts discribed them all as members of the Nei Ja family.
The internal systems are not 'special', they are not 'high level' or 'refined' any further than any other system. They are of course imo excerlent methods of combat and extrodinary training systems in there own right but to try and pretend have they have some kind of 'secret' that other arts dont have is blatantly rediculous and elitist.
They may have there own special focusses and methods but what art doesnt?
These same methods however help to define them as styles and its these same methods which are commen to the 'internals'.
Its becouse of this that the internals often use a similar method of moving the body and a similar useage for the various shaps which they choose to imploy.
Anyway im by no means trying to say this is what internal 'is' as to be honest its kind of futile in many ways. Ive met pleanty of very good Taiji players who excel in using hard power and ive also met pleanty of so called 'externalists' who where clearly using more than just muscle to generate force.
In the end a fighting system is just that, no point trying to put in a box and label it.
Last edited by jon; 07-12-2003 at 04:42 AM.
Up and down, forward and backward, left and right, its all the same. All of this is done with the mind, not externaly.
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Shaped dragon and looking monkey, sitting tiger and turning eagle.
"I wonder how they would do against jon's no-tension fu. I bet they'd do REALLY WELL."
- Huang Kai Vun