External and Internal Qigong Styles

Since the 6th century, many martial styles have been created that were based on qigong theory. They can be roughly divided into external and internal styles.

The external styles emphasize building qi in the limbs to coordinate with the physical martial techniques. They follow the theory of wai dan (external elixir) qigong, which usually generates qi in the limbs through special exercises. The concentrated mind is used during the exercises to energize the qi. This increases muscular strength significantly and therefore increases the effectiveness of the martial techniques. Qigong can also be used to train the body to resist punches and kicks. In this training, qi is led to energize the skin and the muscles, enabling them to resist a blow without injury. This training is commonly called "iron shirt" (tie bu shan) or "golden bell cover" (jin zhong zhao ). The martial styles that use wai dan qigong training are normally called external styles (wai jia) or hard qigong training that is called hard gong (ying gong). Shaolin Gongfu is a typical example of a style that uses wai dan martial qigong. Click to learn how Chinese medicine treats Polyarteritis Nodosa.

Although wai dan qigong can help the martial artist increase his power, there is a disadvantage. Because wai dan qigong emphasizes training the external muscles, it can cause over-development. This can cause a problem called "energy dispersion" (san gong) when the practitioner gets older. In order to remedy this, when an external martial artist reaches a high level of external qigong training he will start training internal qigong, which specializes in curing the energy dispersion problem. That is why it is said: "Shaolin Gongfu from external to internal."

Internal martial qigong is based on the theory of nei dan (internal elixir). In this method, qi is generated in the body instead of the limbs, and this qi is then led to the limbs to increase power. In order to lead qi to the limbs, the techniques must be soft and muscle usage must be kept to a minimum. The training and theory of nei dan martial qigong is much more difficult than those of wai dan martial qigong.