Internal/external
 
     

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Internal qualities


The terms 'internal' and 'external' apply to all facets of life. Internal is an attitude. It is a principle.


List

This list of examples can aid you in getting a sense of what internal means:

     
External   Internal
     
Yang   Yin
     
Light   Dark
     
White   Black
     
Bright   Shadow
     
Overt   Covert
     
Outward   Inward
     
Outside   Inside
     
Confucian, Buddhist    Taoist
     
Muddy   Clear
     
Questions   Possibilities
     
Answers   Questions
     
Solutions   Side effects
     
Culture   Individual
     
Quick   Slow
     
Exotic   Simple
     
Confront   Avoid
     
Fight   Peace
     
Conflict   Harmony
     
Blame   Resolve
     
React   Respond
     
Amateurism   Mastery
     
Obvious   Hidden
     
Hard   Soft
     
Belief   Experience
     
Oblivious   Observant
     
Known   Unknown/unknowable
     
Understanding   Mystery
     
Candid   Secretive
     
Direct   Indirect
     
Revealed   Concealed
     
Soldier   Spy, assassin, thief
     
Emphasising a single point of view   Seeing that there are many sides
     
Conceit/vanity   Humility
     
Taking yourself too seriously   Humour
     
Over-analysing   Acknowledging the depth of our own ignorance
     
Judgement   Criteria?
     
Gratification   Self-awareness
     
Entertainment   Tranquillity
     
Technology   Nature
     
Samurai (to serve)   Ronin (masterless)
     
Fixed   Free
     
Prestige/status   Anonymity
     
Visible   Unseen
     
Easy   Difficult
     
Display   Disguise
     
Effort   Ease
     
Strain   Comfort
     
Taking sides   Yin/yang co-existing, apparent contradiction of opposites
     
Stretch   Release
     
Quantity   Quality
     
Cost   Value
     
Presence   Absence
     
Basic   Advanced
     
Novelty   Constancy
     
Artificial   Natural
     
Constant   Changeable
     
Compulsory   Voluntary
     
Divided   United
     
Equal   Different
     
Extreme   Moderate
     
Acquire   Let go
     
Foreground   Background
     
Violent   Gentle
     
Normal   Strange
     
Special   Ordinary
     
Part   Whole
     
Public   Private
     
Plan   Improvise
     
Resist   Adapt
     
Compete   Cooperate
     
Separate   Interdependent
     
Wealthy   Modest
     
Look   See
     
Hear   Listen
     
Certainty   Doubt
     
Rough   Delicate
     
Blatant   Subtle
     
Ignorance   Insight
     
Thoughtless   Wise
     
Control   Chaos (no discernable pattern)
     
Speculation   Proof
     
Opinion   Fact
     
Certainty   Illusion
     
Follow   Explore
     
Many   Few
     
Explicit   Implicit
     
Blundering   Stealthy
     
Blunt   Elegant
     
Surety   Ambiguity
     
Limitation   Choice
     
Crowd/group   Intimate
     
Built   Grown
     
Open   Closed
     
Clumsy   Graceful
     
Vulgar   Refined
     
Full   Empty
     
Probably   Maybe
     
Definite   Conditional
     
Dulled   Awake
     
Shown   Discovered
     
Simplistic   Nuanced
     
Ignorance   Awareness
     
Common   Esoteric
     
Tangible   Ungraspable
     
Habitual   Changeable
     
Familiar   New
     
Bored   Interested
     
Stimulated   Curious
     
Superficial   Depth
     
Appearance   Essence
     
Political   Personal
     
Modern   Ancient/old
     
General   Specific
     
Busy  

Rest

     
Fake   Authentic
     
Unbalanced   Balanced
     
Attached   Detached
     
Confusion   Clarity
     
Religion   Spiritual
     
Noise   Silence
     
Agitated   Still
     
Found   Lost
     
Predictable  

Spontaneous

     
Upset   Calm
     
Active   Passive
     
Ego/self   Authentic self
     
Conscious   Unconscious
     
Thinking   Feeling
     
Reckless   Cautious
     
Body   Mind
     
Fear   Understanding
     
Haphazard   Focussed
     
Loud   Quiet
     
Image   Genuine/sincere
     
Rude   Polite
     
Anticipate   Wait
     
By chance   Deliberate
     
Helpless   Responsible
     
Copy   Way
     
Influenced by society   Natural order
     
Urban   Rustic
     
Speaks   Listens
     
Shared   Private
     
Group   Individual
     
Shout   Whisper
     
Large   Small
     
Spectator   Doer
     

Waits to be told the answer

  Figures things out
     

Looks outside for answers

  Figures things out
     
Complicate   Simplify
     
Talk   Quiet
     
Something   Nothing
     
Win   Survive
     
Someone   No one
     
Overdo it   Just enough
     
Moves the opponent   Moves self
     
Knowledge of others   Self knowledge
     
Gossip   Self knowledge
     
The news   Self knowledge
     
Moral code   Principle e.g. yin/yang, change
     
Hard, brittle, bracing   Soft, fluid, loose, pliable
     
Combat is the main concern   Health and combat equally important
     
Straightforward   Significantly more detailed and sophisticated
     
Favour military-style warm-up exercise   Strength is built using unconventional means
     
Hard on the body   Gentler with the body
     
Uses existing body habits   Body must be trained to move in a manner that is unfamiliar
     
Mechanical   Organic, natural
     
Jerky   Smooth
     
Typically focuses on striking or grappling, seldom both   Striking and grappling trained together
     
Force versus force   4 ounces of pressure, stickiness, sensitivity
     
Favours the younger, stronger student   Age is less of an obstacle
     
Fighting/competition   Incapacitation is the aim
     
Aggression/emotion   Composure
     
Forcing   Allowing, leading, misdirecting
     
Speed   Spontaneity and timing
     
Isolated limb use   Whole-body movement
     
Using the 'core'   Whole-body movement
     
Extended   Close-quarters
     
Linear   Circular
     
Contract   Release
     
Planning   Listening, sensitivity, adaptation
     
Struggling   Flowing
     
Blocking   Blending
     
Holding   Releasing
     
Resist   Yield
     
Technique   Application
     
Numb   Sensitive
     
Being in your head thinking about what to do next   Being in the body and sensation-oriented
     
Denying your vulnerability   Feeling your vulnerability
     
Contracted, locked musculature   Loose, fluid and relaxed musculature
     

Works the joints

  Works tendons, ligaments, fascia and muscles
     

The list could continue indefinitely...

 

Purity emerges from impurity and light is born from darkness.

(Huanchu Daoren)
 


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Page created 21 May 1996
Last updated 04 May 2023