How Internal is your External?

[Ravenshaw]

How internal is your external martial art? And how external is your internal? I've had (some) experience on both sides and this is what I've come to realize:

There is only so much external to learn. You condition your body, you learn the gross body movements and there you go: external. I have trained for only four years and already my focus in training has shifted from just doing to movements repetitively to incorporating concepts such as the six harmonies (body coordination and positioning), breathing correctly (so I don't tire myself needlessly), etc. The more I train, the more my skill depends on these internal concepts, and the more I see that I have yet to learn.

And they do not seem mystical or spiritual at all to me, but quite practical. For example, why would you want more tension in the arm that has completed a block than the simultaneous attack?

It just seems to me that internal concepts are less about learning how to throw a hadoken blast and more about applying proper mechanics to external movements. But, then, what is an "external" martial art and what is an "internal" martial art? One doesn't make much sense without the other.

*edit*

As a side note, some might consider the six harmonies external, but a point that I try to make is that there seems to be very little difference between internal and external... one just talks about chi and the internal organs more. Just my observations...