Internal, or 'soft' Chinese
martial art. (內家
pinyin nei4jia1) Traditionally, the three arts
Tai Chi Chuan, [Ba Gua Chang]
? (Pa Kua Zhang) and [Hsing I]
? (Xing-i).
This classification was first identified in the 1920's by the Chinese philosopher [Sun Lu Tang]?. According to this classification, the principles defining an internal martial art are:
- Mind is emphasized over brute strength.
- Develop and control inner qi (ch'i).
- Movement principles applied from Taoist Yoga.