How to know if a Martial Art is Internal or External or Soft or Hard
Martial Arts can be divided into many categories. Country of origin, grappling styles such as Judo or Jiu Jitsu, competition styles such as Taekwondo, Muay Thai or Sumo.
Most Martial Arts have an element of both. External is also known as Hard. Internal is also known as Soft.
“Hard” doesn’t mean it is harder to learn, it is just interpreted as more physical.
External or Hard Martial Art
An external or hard Martial Art is one that uses a large amount of physical activity. These involve fast and explosive movements and a focus on strength and power. External styles include the traditional that focus on application and fighting and modern styles that are adapted for competition and self defence.
Examples of external traditional styles are Karate, Taekwondo, Judo, Ju Jitsu, Muay Thai and Kung Fu. Examples of less traditional styles are Kick Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts and some forms of self defence.
Traditional external styles begin with a training focus on muscular power, speed and application, and generally integrate their softer internal training at a more advanced level once someone has progressed through several years of training. Most martial art styles are classified as external styles.
Internal or Soft Martial Art
An internal or soft Martial Art is one that uses focus on the practice of awareness of the spirit, mind, qi or chi(breath, or energy flow). Physically it relies on the use of relaxed leverage rather than muscular power or tension. Chinese Internal Martial Arts are also considered to have many health benefits.
Most internal Martial Arts are Chinese and include the most common art as Tai Chi Chuan (Supreme Ultimate Fist). Other internal styles include Baguazhang, and Xingyiquan.
The internal styles often contain aspects of slow and precise movements. They also include disciplines such as stance training and meditation such as Zhan Zhuang. There is a high focus on Qigong, also known as Chi Kung. Qigong is a form of controlled repetitive breathing and meditation. Many internal styles have partner training, such as pushing hands which involves no strength, just softness and sensitivity.
At an advanced level after several years of training internal Martial Arts are often performed quickly in self defence.
Sitting on the fence
Some Martial Arts such as Wing Chun and Aikido could be considered as sitting on the fence.
Wing Chun Kung Fu could be considered as more of an internal Martial Art as it relies on sensitivity and the application of techniques in a relaxed soft manner. Although it has the fast characteristics of a external style.
Japanese Aikido can also be considered as internal as it relies on using the opponents energy with little force. Hence the translation of “Way of Harmonizing Energy”. Although the throwing techniques could be considered external.
Most have Internal and External elements
As you can see above most Traditional Martial Arts have an element of both.
If a person practices Martial Arts for many years it if often a natural progression to start off learning an External style then over time when a person becomes less physical and more spiritual then move onto an Internal style.
Children and young adults would probably gain more excitement pleasure taking part in Taekwondo. Mature students would probably gain more fulfilment practicing Tai Chi.
Although in the world of Martial Arts anything is possible.
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