Nei chia

Nei chia (內家; pinyin nei4jia1) denotes the internal, or 'soft' family of Chinese martial arts . Traditionally, the three arts Tai Chi Chuan, Bagua zhang (Ba Gua Quan) and Hsing Yi (Xing-i) are regarded internal.

This classification was first identified in the 1920s by the Chinese philosopher Sun Lutang. According to this classification, the principles defining an internal martial art are:

1. Mind is emphasized over brute strength.
2. Develop and control inner qi (ch'i).
3. Movement principles applied from Taoist Yoga.

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