OK, first of all, there are many transliterations of the different oriental languages words for an 'inner force.' Chi, qi, ki, or my normal one, gi, are just a few of what I would say are the most common. That is why I asked what I did in my first sentence, and qualified it as I did.
Now my thoughts on what you call internal versus external. Neither you nor anyone else is required to agree, disagree, or even comment.
I believe what you are referring to as internal, is one aspect of gi. I think gi is attainable by anyone. In fact, many probably exercise some gi without realizing it. I think it is enhanced by breathing exercises and meditation. It is not mystical in the sense the word mystical is usually used, since as I said, I think anyone can attain the use of gi. I also think there is a faith factor; if you don't believe in it, you will probably never attain its use.
I believe that those who practice a martial art can become very proficient in that art without gi; a good athlete is just that, a good athlete who can use many martial art tools very well. But I also believe they would be better with gi. Since I believe that way, I would never discount a person who does not have gi, or believes that they don't. My art is Hapkido, we tend to move into an attack so we must be both fast and accurate. I used to tell students that they should not discount a martial artist who learns an art which employs blocking, punching and kicking. If that is all you train, you will probably be very good at it. All that to say I would never look down on someone who uses external (as you put it) methods to employ their martial art.
As I believe, gi allows one to focus power, apply unexpected strength, increase speed, and 'inner balance' (for lack of a better term). It allows one to remain calm no matter the external circumstances. It allow fluid movement. When I was practicing my art regularly, if you had put me in a stressful situation, I would automatically begin controlled breathing, without even realizing it. That would help in use of my gi.
As I said, I believe gi is not mystical nor magic. So unless you have learned how to attain and apply gi to a degree I haven't seen nor experienced before, you cannot pick up a strange implement (in your example, a sword) and automatically know all possible applications of that implement as a weapon against a previously unknown fighting-trained opponent. If you have truly achieved that, please enlighten all of us as to how you achieved that, so those of us who wish to do so, can also learn.
If what I have said so far sounds right to you, let me know. If not, then I have no further comments in this thread since we are too far apart in our beliefs.
Very good post, thank you. Iām sorry that we got off the wrong foot. If you have posted this from the start I would have given you a comprehensive reply, like what Iām doing now.
I also believe in chi, and I also believe that practising chi is absolutely essential. However, most of the time I refrain from expressing my views on it on this forum because chi cannot be measured, seen, smelt or heard, so it would be difficult to discuss chi with someone who has never felt it or who believes it does not exist. I may also be accused of spreading āliesā or āuntruthsā about martial arts or taijiquan in particular, if not by XS (he believes in chi), then by other people.
Practising chi is beneficial to every martial artist, whether external or internal or hybrid. There are people who practise it to acquire a skill to withstand bladed objects (heard it, but never seen it) and there are also people who practise it to attain better health (know of it, but I never practise it that way).
I started training chi only recently, when I realised that I cannot ignore it any longer. Why? Because I realised that how I focus, direct, or spread my chi, affects my body in quite a material way as to make quite a big difference in my performance during push hands practice. If i focus my chi completely in my dan tian, my body becomes especially stable (like a wall), but mobility is greatly affected. If i focus my chi on one hand, that hand becomes especially strong, but sluggish and heavy and my movement with that hand is easily detected by the opponent. However, if I spread my chi evenly throughout my body (one aspect of āinternalā balance, so to speak), my movements become light, nimble and fast, and my response and reflex times are highly improved. It has come to a point where I must consciously make sure this spreading of chi is done even before first skin to skin contact with my push hands partner.
Anyway, just my 2 cents on chi. I quite dislike discussing it on an internet forum, for the reasons I have stated above. But the heaviness and lightness of parts of the body caused by the difference in concentration of chi can be easily demonstrated in person. The difference in your view and my view is that, as you said you believe internal is one aspect of chi, but I believe chi is one aspect of internal.
Agree! Such as:
- Buddhism stay at home, it's called "å
家(Nei Jia) - internal". Taoist travel around, it's called "å¤å®¶(Wai Jia) - external".
- Beginning MA person is called "å¤å®¶(Wai Jia) - external". Advanced MA person is called "å
家(Nei Jia) - internal".
For example, if you have
- computer science degree and you are a programmer, you will call yourself "å
家(Nei Jia) - internal" programmer.
- mathematics degree or business degree and you are a programmer, you will call yourself "å¤å®¶(Wai Jia) - external" programmer.
In other words, "external" is a term that you use to look down on somebody in order to feel superior yourself. It's not a friendly or polite term at all.
For the avoidance of doubt, I never advanced the superiority of either internal over external or external over internal. I also donāt believe my posts reflect such view. My view is simply that:
1) when training, we need to know whether our training falls into external or internal, so that we can maximise the benefits of our training. For example, in my response to Billās post above, I said his empty mind training falls into āinternalā, but if iām an external martial artist, I would personally prefer to train the external methods rather than mix internal into it. However, this is simply my personal preference, because like I said, I have no knowledge of and cannot comment whether such ācross trainingā is more beneficial than simply specialising in either external or internal. Billās post enlightened me and made me realise I may not be correct in my approach. It may well be that what works for one person may not work for another.
2) if we know how the externalists and the internalists work, this will lead to a better understanding on how to counter them
3) knowing external and internal also leads to a better understanding of our own body and how it acquires skills, so we can practise in a manner that leads to maximum benefit per minute spent
