Internal

[Xue Sheng]

I wanted to post this as what I think is a great description of Internal that might cut down on the confusion and de-mystify it a bit

It is from the book
Xing Yi Nei Gong
Xing Yi Health Maintenance and
Internal Development
Compiled by
Dan Miller and Tim Cartmell
Page 60

Although many teachers on internal arts like to talk about internal power and qi as something fantastic and mysterious (especially in the west), this is almost invariably a result of misunderstanding (on the part of the teacher) or outright deceit (because it is good for business). We, as physical beings, are subject to the laws of physics; mass, energy, and gravity. Our bodies are constructed a certain way, our minds produce real energy and we are all under the influence of gravity, at all times. The internal martial arts (actually any of the higher level martial arts) seek to work with our natural strengths, to utilize our internal (mental energies most efficiently and produce the most effective movement relative to our environment (gravity and outside forces). The result internal power. “Internal” refers to working with our inherent and inborn strengths under the guidance of the mind. Once again, mental direction is the key, one’s actions and reactions are in harmony with the natural laws and inborn strengths, rather than random, inappropriate external reaction to stimuli

There is more to the page but the above gets to what I am trying to say. It is not mystical it is just our interpretation that makes it mystical much like our interpretation of Shen is spirit and we make that spirituality but to the Chinese shen is spirit which is the mind.





To the mods

I was not exactly sure where to put this but since it is discussing the internal side of CMA training, which does include Qi, but not exactly Qigong I thought this was a good a place as any. If you do not agree by all means move it.

 

[mograph]

Here's a thought: once we reach a certain threshold of understanding of a phenomenon, it ceases to be mystical.

Or maybe it's not understanding, but familiarity? In the case of qi, once we become familiar with it, it becomes less mystical, though we may not fully understand it.

 

[Devlin76]

Cartmell has a good article about the differentiation of Internal and Extrnal MA on his website.

http://www.shenwu.com/Internal_VS_External.htm