Who Switched from External to Internal Martial Arts and Why?

[YouKnowWho]

How will you apply your "internal" when you use "foot sweep" on your opponent?

[Dale Dugas]

No such thing as internal and external.

There is only the body which has both components.

Wang Shifu, I have neophytes on ignore as dealing with their deluded views is tiresome.

There is not separation of the body.

The mind commands
the body responds
the energy follows

As I have said before. Whole body=mind, body and energy.

[Miqi]

No such thing as internal and external.

There is only the body which has both components.

Wang Shifu, I have neophytes on ignore as dealing with their deluded views is tiresome.

There is not separation of the body.

The mind commands
the body responds
the energy follows

As I have said before. Whole body=mind, body and energy.

Saying that one undefined term equals another undefined term doesn't explain anything - much like saying "qi equals energy" or "whole body power equals mind, body, energy". In no way does that define what "whole body power" is. It does, however, rather conveniently make "whole body power" into a metaphysical concept that therefore doesn't have to be demonstrated - it only has to be 'believed'.

I say, conversely, that whole body power is simply a mechanical way of using the body, which can be demonstrated, and shown to be different to other ways of using the body by clearly showing that more of the total physical machine is used in the technique. The most obvious example would be a jab that comes from the arm only (not whole body), and jab that utilises torque and pressing forward from the back foot, as per yiquan.

Being physically large and clumisily putting that weight behind a technique is not 'whole body power', however - it's 'whole body weight power' which is something very different - much like just stepping in with a punch.