by rojcewiczj on Wed Mar 17, 2021 1:30 pm
For me, internal external is only as useful as the terminology relates to practical differences in technique/combat method. Internal/External is essentially just a way to say this/that, similar to saying yin/yang; It doesn't really matter which is yin or which is yang, only that one is this and the other is that.
That being said, the way I use "internal" is to talk about how we generate power. When you have a distance, if your outside moves to cover that distance (your limbs), that is an external movement. When your inside (torso) moves to cover a distance, that movement is internal. When you move through the distance that your opponent is in, you encounter resistance. If you are trying to cover the distance with your arms, you'll feel you need a lot of strength in your arms to move through your opponents resistance. If you are moving through the range with your torso, you'll feel that your leg/core strength, coupled with your mass/structure, allows you to move through much greater resistance with less effort.
Practically speaking and according to my methodology, internal training is to expand the range of the torso movement so as to be capable of moving through a greater range, cover more distance, and overall move through your opponents resistance much easier than external methods.