and internally means the qi circulation and level of qi storage in the body that is related to the breathing.
It is said: “The external styles are from hard to soft and the internal styles are from soft to hard; the ways are different but the final goal is the same.”6 It is also said: “External styles are from external to internal, while internal styles are from internal to external. Although the approaches are different, the final goal is the same.”7 Again, it is said: “External styles are first muscular strength (li) and then qi, while internal styles are first qi and later li.”8 The preceding discussion should give you a general idea of how to distinguish external and internal styles. Frequently, internal and external styles are also judged by how the jin is manifested. Jin is defined as “li and qi,”. Li means muscular strength. It is how the muscles are energized by the qi and how this manifests externally as power. It is said: “The internal styles are as soft as a whip, the soft-hard styles (half external and half internal) are like rattan, and the external styles are like a staff.” The concept of jin will be discussed next.
Martial Power—Jin
Jin training is a very important part of the Chinese martial arts, but there is very little written on the subject in English. Theoretically, jin can be defined as “using the concentrated mind to lead the qi to energize the muscles and thus manifest the power to its maximum level.” From this, you can see that jin is related to the training of the mind and qi. That means qigong.
Traditionally, many masters have viewed the higher levels of jin as a secret that should be passed down only to a few trusted students. Almost all Asian martial styles train jin. The differences lie in the depth to which jin is understood, in the different kinds of jin trained, and in the range and characteristics of the emphasized jins. For example, Tiger Claw Style emphasizes hard and strong jin, imitating the tiger’s muscular strength; muscles predominate in most of the techniques. White Crane, Dragon, and Snake are softer styles, and the muscles are used relatively less. In Taijiquan and Liu He Ba Fa, the softest styles, soft jin is especially emphasized and muscle usage is cut down to a minimum.
The application of jin brings us to a major difference between the Oriental martial arts and those of the West. Oriental martial arts traditionally emphasize the training of jin, whereas this concept and training approach is relatively unknown in other parts of the world. In China, martial styles and martial artists are judged by their jin. How deeply is jin understood and how well is it applied? How strong and effective is it, and how is it coordinated with martial technique? When a martial artist performs his art without jin it is called “flower fist and brocade leg”. This is to scoff at the martial artist without jin who is weak like a flower and soft like brocade. Like dancing, his art is beautiful but not useful. It is also said: “Train quan and not gong, when you get old, all emptiness.”9 This means that if a martial artist emphasizes only the beauty and smoothness of his forms and doesn’t train his gong, then when he gets old, he will have nothing. The “gong” here means “qigong” and refers to the cultivation of qi and its coordination with jin to develop the latter to its maximum and to make the techniques effective and alive. Therefore, if a martial artist learns his art without training his “qigong” and “jin gong”, once he gets old the techniques he has learned will be useless because he will have lost his muscular strength.
Often jin has been considered a secret transmission in Chinese martial arts society. This is so not only because it was not revealed to most students, but also because it cannot be passed down with words alone. Jin must be experienced. It is said that the master “passes down jin.” Once you feel jin done by your master, you know what is meant and can work on it by yourself. Without an experienced master it is more difficult, but not impossible, to learn about jin. There are general principles and training methods which an experienced martial artist can use to grasp the keys of this practice. If you are interested in this rather substantial subject, please refer to my book: Tai Chi Theory and Martial Power, published by YMAA.
Hard Styles, Soft-Hard Styles, and Soft Styles
Chinese martial styles can also be distinguished from the ways they manifest jin (martial power); they can thus be categorized into hard, soft-hard, and soft styles. Generally speaking, the hard styles use more muscular power. In these styles, the qi is led to the muscles or generated in the local area; then the muscles are tensed up to trap the qi there in order to energize muscular power to its maximum efficiency. In order to reach this goal, once the qi is led to the muscles, commonly the breath is held temporarily to trap the qi in the muscles. Then this muscular power is used for attack or defense. This kind of jin manifestation is like using a staff to strike. It is easy for a beginner to manifest hard jin. When this power is used upon an opponent’s body, external injury can be inflicted immediately. A typical hard style is Tiger Claw, which imitates the tiger’s use of strong muscular power for fighting. With hard jin, because the muscles and tendons are more tensed in order to protect the ligaments of the joints, few injuries are caused from power manifestation. Generally speaking, external styles are more likely to be hard styles.
The second category is soft-hard styles. In these styles, the muscles and tendons remain relaxed, and the movements are soft to allow the qi to move freely from the lower dan tian to the limbs. Just before the attack reaches the opponent’s body, suddenly the muscles and tendons are tensed. This kind of power is first soft and then hard. According to my own experience, this kind of power is like the strike of rattan. When this soft-hard power is applied to the opponent’s body, both external and internal injuries can be inflicted. The reason for softness at the beginning is to allow the qi to move freely from the lower dan tian to the limbs, and the reason for the hardening through tensing the muscles and tendons is to protect against pulling and damaging the ligaments in the joints. It also offers the attacker strong physical support for the power, which can be bounced back from the opponent’s body when the techniques are applied with enough speed and precision. Typical soft-hard styles are White Crane and Snake.
Finally, the third category is soft styles. In these styles, the muscles and tendons are relaxed as much as possible to allow the qi to circulate from the lower dan tian to the limbs for striking. However, right before contact with the opponent’s body, the physical body remains relaxed. In order to protect the ligaments in the elbows and shoulders from being pulled and injured, right before the limbs reach their maximum extension they are immediately pulled back. From this pulling action, the muscles and tendons are tensed instantly to protect the ligaments, and then immediately relaxed again. This action is just like the whipping of a whip. Although the physical body is relaxed, the power generated is the most harmful and penetrating possible and can reach to the deep places of the body. Therefore, internal injury or organ damage can occur. Naturally, this kind of jin manifestation is dangerous for beginners. The reason for the penetration of the power is the whipping motion. Theoretically speaking, when you propel a whip forward with a speed (v), and then pull back with another speed (v), at the turning point between forward and backward, the speed at which the whip contacts the target is 2v (Figure 1-4). From here, you can see that speed in whipping is the key to power penetration. This is like a surgical technology from the 1970s in which water from a high-pressure nozzle was used for cutting. Typical soft styles are Taijiquan and Liu He Ba Fa.
Figure 1-4. Whipping Speed
At this point, we can superficially perceive the internal styles or soft styles and the external styles or hard styles. Consider Figure 1-5. The left line represents the amount of muscular power manifested, and the right line represents the qi which is built up. From this figure, you can see that those styles which emphasize mostly muscular power or that use local qi to energize the muscles are toward the left, while those styles which use less muscular power are toward the right. Naturally, the more a style is toward the right, the softer and more relaxed the physical body should be, and greater concentration is needed to build up qi
