The Nei chia reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Nei chia

Nei chia (內家; Pinyin nèi jiā "Internal Family") denotes the internal, or "soft style" family of Chinese martial arts. Traditionally, the three arts Taijiquan, (T'ai Chi Ch'uan), Baguazhang (Pa Kua Chang) and Xingyiquan (Hsing-i Ch'uan) are regarded as internal, although other styles also claim the designation.

This classification is said by some historians to have been formulated in the 1920s by the Chinese philosopher and martial artist Sun Lutang 孫祿堂 (1861-1932), although the principles he describes are certainly much older. According to Sun's classification, the principles defining an internal martial art are:

1. Using the mind to coordinate the leverage of the body in relaxation is emphasized in distinction to brute strength.
2. Internally develop, circulate and express qi (氣; py qì or Wade-Giles ch'i).
3. External movement principles applied from Taoist qigong (氣功 py qì gōng or wg ch'i kung, also known as 內功, nèi gōng).

See also: Chinese martial arts, Nei Jin, Taijitu, Wudangshan, Zhang Sanfeng.

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