Quote Originally Posted by Oso View Post
the point is that there isn't really any difference.

'do watcha like'

(and I'll buy a beer for the first person who can tell me the musical group that line is from)
Digital Underground (Make that a red stripe )

Aeturnal

Internal is commonly associated with soft, passive-aggressive movements.

External is commonly associated with brute, assertive-aggressive type movements.

However, an External emphasis also refers to how something looks, while an Internal emphasis also refers to how something feels and functions.

What your thinking of as Nei Jia (Tai Chi, Xingyi, Bagua etc) are systems that are predominately composed of passive-aggressive training methods giving a soft and gentle look to the practice. However, the person playing it may only understand the look of the movements (an external expression), rather than the feel and function (an internal expression).

Likewise, a Muay Thai fighter may emphasize a passive-aggressive defense and focus on spiraling the spine to produce power, thus making such an expression of Muay Thai " soft" and "internal" in principle.

Internal and External is a matter of principle emphasis, and is not exclusive to individual systems.

Tai Chi, Xingyi, and Bagua fighters that I know do heavy bag and focus mitt work, while karate guys I know practice slow to refine the kinetics of individual techniques.

Mantis is balanced. The internal and external emphasis is matter of how you wish to train.

Hope it helps,
M.Dasargo