below the navel) by physical and spiritual exercise and can flow only
through a relaxed body (the soft aspect).
An alternative approach to these categories focuses on the mechanics
of the application of force. A soft art is one in which the martial artist
yields in the face of an opposing force, either evading the force entirely or
redirecting it without directly clashing. These systems may couch explana-
tions in terms of “borrowing” force from an opponent (which involves ap-
plying force in the direction in which an opponent moves while evading the
attack itself). The movements are rounded or even circular in such systems,
and great emphasis is put on relaxed, or even relatively slow, motions in-
volving the body working as a whole, rather than on using the limbs di-
vorced from the trunk. These systems employ throws, joint locks, kicks,
and punches. Evasion and redirection are favored over blocking.
Hard styles call for a confrontation of force by force, with the de-
fending force generally applied at angles to the oncoming force. The move-
ments are categorized as linear and applied with maximum power and
speed. The limbs are said to operate independently from the rest of the
body. These martial arts tend to favor strikes over locks and throws and
blocking over evasion.
The principal soft martial arts are taijiquan(tai chi ch’uan), xingyi-
quan(hsing i ch’uan), and baguazhang(pa kua ch’uan). As well as being
fighting systems, these arts are regarded as physically and spiritually thera-
peutic, due to the stimulation of qi. Many traditional explanations of the
beneficial effects of these martial exercises rely on Daoist alchemy. In fact,
the internal arts in general have been associated with the boxing of the
Daoist Zhang Sanfeng (Chang Sang-feng) of Wudang (Wu Tang) Mountain.
The most popular hard styles are those that are believed to be derived
from Shaolin Temple boxing systems. Therefore, these arts are associated
with Buddhism. Damo (Ta Mo; Bodhidharma), who, according to tradi-
tion, brought the doctrines of the Chan (Zen) sect from India to the Song-
shan Temple of Henan province, is looked to as the progenitor of the
Shaolin arts. Many of the fighting arts familiar both in China and interna-
tionally are based on these systems. They are regarded as more easily and
quickly learned than the soft arts.
Philosophically, then, the soft or internal arts have been associated
with Daoism, while the hard or external arts have traditionally been con-
nected to the Chan Buddhism practiced at Shaolin Temples, especially the
one in Henan. Attempts to connect the respective styles to wandering
monks, Daoist hermits, or temples are traditional in the martial arts. All
these etymologies reflect shared understandings of the arts by practitioners
but, given the oral traditions on which they rely, may be heavily laden with
mythologizing.120 External vs. Internal Chinese Martial Arts