In old china would western boxing be considered a internal martial art?

[Black Jack]

To ponder in your grey mush.

In old china would western boxing....aka the sweet science...be considered a internal martial art?

Discuss

[lkfmdc]

I know a lot of Hsing Yi people find western boxing when done correctly has many if not all of the same body mechanics, and William CC Chen says he finds a strong link between it and tai chi...

[Chang Style Novice]

I still don't really know what the hell 'internal' is supposed to mean anyway.

And I'm a taiji hippy.

[David Jamieson]

internal?

[lkfmdc]

I've seen some quite good "internal" over the years and my estimation is that it is simply the study of how to most efficiently use the body to generate force and complete tasks, nothing mystical about it at all...

the chi freaks just ruin it for everyone

[Meat Shake]

Im a super freak! Super freak! Im super freaky...

[Starchaser107]

wheras meatshake ruins it for everybody.

[Chinwoo-er]

~study of how to most efficiently use the body to generate force and complete tasks~


As oppose to which style of TCMA ??

[Chang Style Novice]

PRC wushu

[lkfmdc]

some would say all kung fu is internal, all kung fu is external, but of course you'd have to be talking about real kung fu...

an interesting read is Tim Cartmell's intro to Sun Lu Tang's Hsing Yi book where he talks about where the term "Nei Jia" or "internal" came from and how it is basicly a fraud

there, that should add some controversy to what is an extremely mild post for me

[count]

I can't speak from old China but it seems to me that it's training methods and practitioners that are internal or external and arts is a subjective term. So in my opinion even if there are some similarities in some of the mechanics and power generation, boxing would not be considered internal martial arts. Some boxers may fight with internal qualities but I doubt the training that got them there can be considered internal.

[Shooter]

Black Jack, being that 'internal' is a relatively recent designation for certain methodologies, and everyone has a different set of criteria for what constitutes an internal MA, boxing would be 'judged' on its training methods rather than its practicality. JMO of course.

Personally, I'd make the comparison between boxing and my understanding of TCC.

1)-Does the training start the beginner with standing postures?

2)-Does it have an integrated breath-work component?

3)-Do its tactical theories and ideas carry over to everdyday life?

4)-Are its tactical and strategic applications predicated off of the opponent's intent?

5)-How readily does its fighting method move from the ring to the real in addressing a wider range of attacks and situations?

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

i think

Some boxers may fight with internal qualities but I doubt the training that got them there can be considered internal.

what about the ends and the means and all that? i mean, how you got there is more important to defining how you fight as opposed to where you got?

personally i try not to mess with the internal/external labeling, but i sure do like the way my wudan and boxing flows togeather.

[Fu-Pow]

Originally posted by lkfmdc
some would say all kung fu is internal, all kung fu is external, but of course you'd have to be talking about real kung fu...

an interesting read is Tim Cartmell's intro to Sun Lu Tang's Hsing Yi book where he talks about where the term "Nei Jia" or "internal" came from and how it is basicly a fraud

there, that should add some controversy to what is an extremely mild post for me

I think the concept "internal" was ruined for me when I saw Chen Xiao Wang doing a move almost exactly like "Mummy steals the corpse" from Hung Gar in the latest edition of "Journal of Asian Martial Arts." There are distinctions between "internal" and "external" but they are not as disparate as people make them out to be.

[count]

Originally posted by GunnedDownAtrocity
i think

what about the ends and the means and all that? i mean, how you got there is more important to defining how you fight as opposed to where you got?

personally i try not to mess with the internal/external labeling, but i sure do like the way my wudan and boxing flows togeather.

Don't worry about the ends GDA, I'm sure your sometimes morbid curiosity has already led you to the conclusion that the end are the same for all of us. Some of us face a messier one though.

Boxing blends with any fighting art. Good sport too.