The history of martial arts is vast. It spans millennia and involves multiple cultures. However, as of today, it is generally acknowledged that a martial art can be classified as either "external" or "internal". All these forms were originally designed with martial intent (i.e. fighting skills). As they evolved, however, some arts began taking on different dimensions such as spirituality, rule-based competition, and physical health. Today, popular external styles are karate, jiu-jitsu, and kickboxing, whereas commonly cited examples of internal styles are tai chi, bagua, and xingyi[D3] . What dimensions are emphasized really depends on a given school and the primary teacher.

Internal martial arts, especially in the Western hemisphere, have become severed from their martial heritage. Although some styles like to claim that they remain true to this fighting heritage, no one these days gets hurt by going to a tai chi class. And if you never get hurt learning a fighting skill, you're not really learning to fight - you're going through some kind of simulation. An external artist will always triumph over an internal artist simply because the former trains to fight while the latter merely, at most, imagines they're fighting.

We may decide from all this that the external is therefore superior to the internal. This, however, would be a very shortsighted conclusion. They are superior if your objective is to hurt someone, but we don't live in an era where villagers are forced to either learn to defend themselves or perish violently at the hands of marauding bandits. Nor do competing armies regularly fight each other in hand-to-hand combat anymore. Training for decades in order to defeat the mythological bogeyman hiding in an alleyway waiting to "jump us" is also a very questionable use of one's time, effort, and money. Alas, there is still an enemy out there. A very big one at that. It is called stress and a stiff body! This is not a hypothetical assailant. It is present every single day of our lives. It's a very real enemy that has very real negative consequences.

Very good health and personal development benefits can be derived from external arts, but over the years, the body gets ground down, tired, and stiff. But health should be a long-term goal. It should be something we want to bring into our old age. We should,in other words, be aiming for health and longevity. This essentially means we should strive to retain our natural youthful health as much as possible. Observe how a toddler, even a baby, moves - supple, stretchable, and naturally energetic. These very young people are excellent role models for us.

For those interested in these things, the best choice is to practise an internal art that has been optimised for health and longevity. We do need to exercise caution when choosing such a style, however, as it remains an easy hiding place for charlatans who teach flowery, empty exercises with fancy names. Look for a teacher who is skilled at applying principles as opposed to teaching static choreography. If principles are understood, then exercises can be adapted to various body types, ages, and personality types.

Peter Matulis started training in internal martial arts in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1991. His school's motto is Life celebrating - Life enhancing. His teachings are informed by yiquan, liuhebafa, tai chi, and qigong. More information is available online: https://oasis-internal.art/