Saturday

Internal martial arts

The inner school of martial arts practice is called 'neijiaquan'.

To learn the internal arts, a student must stop using force, stop blocking, struggling and tensing-up.
They must cultivate balance, rhythm, timing, sensitivity and stickiness.
And remain calm.

Instead of force, the internal arts employ whole-body strength and a different kind of striking power (jing).
These systems are more difficult to learn than the external arts, but are far kinder to the body.
Physical, emotional and mental health are as important as combat skill.
There is no competition, aggression or macho behaviour.

No comments: