Martial arts are often divided into two categories: internal (soft) and external (hard) systems.

Students frequently ask:

• What is the difference between internal and external martial arts?
• Which one is more effective?
• Is one better for combat?
• Which type does Imperial Combat Arts teach?

The truth is more nuanced than most people realize.

External martial arts focus primarily on:

• Physical strength
• Speed and explosiveness
• Conditioning and endurance
• Aggressive forward pressure
• Muscular power generation

These systems emphasize visible athletic development. Movements are often sharp, direct, and forceful. Training typically includes heavy conditioning, striking drills, impact training, and explosive footwork.

Examples commonly classified as external include:

• Boxing
• Muay Thai
• Wrestling
• Many Shaolin-derived systems
• Tiger-style Kung Fu

External systems are highly effective and develop formidable fighters. They train the body to generate force quickly and decisively.

Internal martial arts focus on:

• Relaxed power
• Structural alignment
• Breath control
• Sensitivity and timing
• Balance and center

Rather than relying primarily on muscular tension, internal systems generate power through leverage, alignment, and coordinated body mechanics.

Training often includes:

• Slow, deliberate movement
• Awareness of posture and structure
• Control of breath
• Gradual increase in speed over time

Examples commonly labeled internal include:

• Tai Chi (Taijiquan)
• Bagua (Pakua)
• Xingyi (Hsing-I)
• Snake-style Kung Fu

Internal systems develop a different kind of strength — one that is less visible but often extremely efficient.

In traditional Chinese philosophy, Yin and Yang are not opposites in conflict — they are complementary forces.

Every Yang contains some Yin.
Every Yin contains some Yang.

The same applies to martial arts.

No effective fighter is purely external.
No effective fighter is purely internal.

An explosive striker must still have balance and structure.
A relaxed internal stylist must still generate decisive force.

The debate over which is superior misses the deeper truth: both are necessary.

This is the wrong question.

A purely aggressive fighter without control can overcommit and expose themselves.
A purely relaxed stylist without developed physical conditioning may lack stopping power.

Effectiveness comes from balance.

• Power without structure collapses.
• Structure without power lacks authority.
• Aggression without awareness is reckless.
• Awareness without action is passive.

The highest level martial artists learn to shift between internal and external expression as needed.

Within the Eight Animal framework, different styles emphasize different points on the internal–external spectrum.

For example:

• Tiger represents strong Yang energy — aggressive, powerful, conditioning-heavy training.
• Snake represents strong Yin energy — fluid, precise, efficient, and timing-based.
• Eagle blends structure and force.
• Mantis emphasizes accuracy and sensitivity with sharp external execution.

Students train across all eight aspects before specializing.
​
This ensures they are not limited to one mode of fighting.

Many schools identify strongly with one side of the spectrum:

• Some emphasize hard conditioning and visible strength.
• Others emphasize internal flow and philosophical depth.

Both approaches can produce skilled practitioners.

However, limiting oneself to only one side can create blind spots.

Modern fighters often discover this when transitioning between rule sets or facing unfamiliar styles.

At Imperial Combat Arts, training integrates both internal and external development.

Students work on:

• Strength and conditioning
• Striking and impact tolerance
• Structural alignment
• Breath control
• Balance and movement efficiency
• Tactical awareness

Rather than choosing between “hard” or “soft,” we train both.

Students first develop physical capability, then refine efficiency and control. Over time, the distinction between internal and external disappears — replaced by seamless adaptability.

内外相合，外重手眼身法步，内修心神意氣力
"Train both Internal and External. External training includes the hands, the eyes, the body and stances. Internal training includes the heart, the spirit, the mind, breathing and strength." - Chinese Proverb

Internal vs external martial arts is not about superiority.

It is about spectrum.

Every fighter naturally leans toward one side. The goal of training is not to eliminate that tendency — but to balance it.

A complete martial artist understands when to be explosive and when to be relaxed.

When to drive forward.
When to yield.
When to overpower.
When to redirect.

True skill lies in the ability to shift.

​-Marek Aquila
​Founder, Imperial Combat Arts

It’s a pattern I’ve watched for nearly three decades.

An adult begins martial arts training with enthusiasm. The first year is transformative. Strength increases. Flexibility improves. Coordination sharpens. Techniques feel new and exciting. There is constant visible progress.

Year two builds on that. Skill refines. Conditioning improves. The student begins to understand structure, timing, and distance in a deeper way.

Then somewhere around year three, something subtle happens.
Progress slows.
Not because the art has failed.
Not because the student lacks talent.
But because the nature of growth changes.
Most people mistake this shift for a plateau.

The first phase of training produces dramatic improvements because everything is new.

• Neurological pathways are forming.
• Basic strength and endurance are increasing.
• Technical errors are obvious and easy to correct.
• Confidence grows quickly.

It is an exciting stage. And for many people, it is enough.
​
But early progress is largely structural and neurological adaptation. It is not yet mastery.

Around the third year, the fundamentals are familiar.

• You know the stances.
• You know the basic strikes.
• You know the drills.
• You can spar competently.

​
And this is where many adults unconsciously shift from growth to maintenance.
Training becomes familiar.
Intensity becomes predictable.
Weaknesses are avoided instead of confronted.
It doesn’t feel like quitting.
It feels like “staying consistent.”
But consistency without progressive challenge becomes stagnation.

​Adults carry responsibilities, injuries, careers, families. That is normal.
But adults also carry ego.
Children fall down and laugh.
Adults fall down and interpret it as failure.

So after a few years, many adults begin protecting their competence rather than expanding it.
They:

• Avoid sparring with stronger partners.
• Avoid styles that challenge their strengths.
• Avoid positions where they feel exposed.
• Stop training their non-dominant side seriously.
• Reduce risk — not strategically, but psychologically.

​
The result is technical comfort, not continued development.

Some try to escape the plateau by increasing intensity.
More rounds.
More conditioning.
More exhaustion.

But fatigue is not the same as refinement.
True advancement at this stage requires:

• Slower technical breakdown
• Pressure testing under controlled stress
• Studying subtle timing shifts
• Improving economy of motion
• Eliminating wasted movement
• Expanding adaptability

​
This kind of work is quieter.
It is less flashy.
It demands humility.
And it is harder to sell in modern gym culture.

One reason many adults plateau is because they train the same patterns repeatedly for years.
The body adapts.
The mind adapts.

The challenges become predictable.
In our curriculum, progression is not simply about doing the same thing harder.
It is about entering new environments within the same system.

A student may begin with Tiger, developing direct power, conditioning, structural strength, and forward pressure. Tiger demands commitment and physical honesty. It builds intensity and rooted aggression.

Later, that same student may enter Snake, where power gives way to precision. The breathing changes. The rhythm changes. The center of gravity shifts. Speed replaces brute force. Subtle timing replaces collision.
The attributes that once carried them forward may now become limitations.
That friction is intentional.

Training Eagle forces integration — combining striking, seizing, balance disruption, and rapid transitions. It demands awareness of angles and grip, not just impact.

Training Bear tests rooted power and structural heaviness in a different way than Tiger. It asks for compression, weight, and the ability to smother rather than explode.

Each system exposes blind spots created by the previous one.
We do not abandon earlier training.
We refine it under new constraints.

Instead of isolating one style and repeating it indefinitely, we layer attributes over time.
Power meets fluidity.
Speed meets structure.
Root meets mobility.
​
Instead of plateauing, the student is required to reorganize.
This does not make the path easier.
It makes it deeper.

Martial arts are not built in three years.
They are not even built in ten.
Early years build structure.
Middle years build refinement.

Later years build efficiency and understanding.
The third-year plateau is not a ceiling.

It is a doorway.

If you are looking for novelty, you will eventually grow bored.
If you are looking for depth, you will never reach the bottom.

The martial artist who is willing to rotate, adapt, and rebuild themselves through new systems does not stagnate.

They evolve.

And for those who are ready to move beyond comfort and into deeper study, the Gate is always open.

-Marek Aquila
​Founder, Imperial Combat Arts

Release, Momentum, and Directed Power
​
The Lunar New Year marks more than a calendar shift.
In the traditional 60-year cycle, each year combines an animal with one of the Five Elements in either Yin or Yang form.

This year is the Yang Fire Horse.

Horse represents movement, drive, endurance, and independence.
Yang Fire represents visibility, intensity, outward expression, and ignition.

Together, they form a year of acceleration.
​
But acceleration without structure is instability

​The previous years have been contraction cycles.
Discipline.
Restraint.
Internal building.
Structure forming under tension.
Like drawing a bowstring back further and further.
The Yang Fire Horse is release.
The arrow is leaving the string.
However --
Release does not guarantee arrival.
An arrow may not reach the target.
Wind may shift.
The archer may misjudge distance.
The bow may have hidden weakness.
This is the year consequences reveal preparation.

Yang Fire is not subtle energy.
It rises upward.
It spreads quickly.
It exposes what is dry and unstable.

Feng Shui principles during Fire Horse years traditionally emphasize:

• Clearing clutter (Fire spreads through excess)
• Strengthening foundations (Fire exposes weakness)
• Avoiding impulsive expansion without structure
• Maintaining disciplined routines

Fire rewards clarity.
It punishes chaos.
Horse adds speed to the flame.
​
In martial terms:
If your stance is correct, you advance rapidly.
If your base is unstable, you collapse quickly.

In combat structure, the Horse stance (Ma Bu) is foundational.

Yang Fire Horse years demand:

1. Root before you move
Momentum without structure leads to injury.

2. Commit fully once you release
Hesitation wastes power.

3. Accept visibility
Fire Horse years make things seen — success and weakness alike.
​
This is not a year for half-effort.
It is a year for clean direction.

In the 12-animal cycle, compatibility shifts under Fire influence:

Horse-born individuals – Strong momentum year. High energy. Must avoid burnout and overextension.

Tiger & Dog – Traditionally aligned with Horse. Fire increases leadership and forward movement.

Goat (Sheep) – Creative expansion possible, but pacing is important.

Dragon & Monkey – Opportunity through bold action. Risk must be calculated.

Snake & Rooster – Strategic patience required. Avoid reactive decisions.

Ox – Slow steady grounding balances Fire energy. Build methodically.

Pig – Maintain stability. Avoid chasing intensity.

Rat – Opposite Horse in the zodiac wheel. Focus on preparation and measured response.

These are symbolic reflections — not predictions.
​
The true outcome is determined by discipline.

For martial artists, Yang Fire Horse energy translates clearly:

Increase conditioning.
Refine structure.
Commit to direction.


This is a year where:

• Weak habits burn away.
• Strong systems accelerate.
• Complacency becomes visible. 

​
The bow has been drawn for years.

Now the arrow flies.
​
Whether it reaches the mark depends entirely on how you trained before release.

Fire reveals.
Horse advances.
Root your stance.
Control your breath.
Release cleanly.
Momentum favors the prepared.
--

-Marek Aquila
​Founder, Imperial Combat Arts

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Congratulations Sifu Cangiano for achieving an entry level Instructor Rank at Imperial Combat Arts!

Sifu Cangiano trains at Imperial Combat Arts in 8 Animal Kung Fu, Wu Tang, Shuai Jiao, Muay Thai, Boxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Combat Grappling, Melee Weapons, and Firearms!

Sifu Cangiano teaches at Imperial Combat Arts and accepts private students in Alamosa County and surrounding areas of Southern Colorado!

Congratulations Sifu Chavez for achieving an entry level Instructor Rank at Imperial Combat Arts!
Sifu Chavez has a background of several years in Krav Maga and continues her training at Imperial Combat Arts with 8 Animal Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Boxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Combat Grappling, Melee Weapons, and Firearms!
Sifu Chavez teaches at Imperial Combat Arts and also accepts her own private students in Alamosa County and surrounding areas of Southern Colorado.

The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu  was written 506 B.C.E. and is the most translated book in human history. The Tao Te Ching can be considered the core book to Taoism. This ancient text outlines a philosophy that stresses one’s connection to nature and the universe.
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Congratulations Sifu Polinsky for achieving an entry level Instructor Rank at Imperial Combat Arts! Sifu Polinsky continues his training in advanced martial arts with 8 Animal Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Boxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Combat Grappling, Melee Weapons, and Firearms!

The Art of War by Sun Tzu was written in the 5th Century B.C.E. and is the oldest military treatise in the world. This epic book has shaped the face of all warfare and tactics in the world, and is required reading for U.S. soldiers to this day. ​The chapters of this book are each devoted to an aspect of warfare and how it applies to military strategy and tactics.

CHAPTER I - LAYING PLANS
​1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance to the State.

​2. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

​3. The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one’s deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.

​4. These are:
(1) The Moral Law;
(2) Heaven;
(3) Earth;
(4) The Commander;
​(5) Method and discipline.

5,6. The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.

​7. Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.

8. Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death.

9. The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage and strictness.

10. By method and discipline are to be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.

11. These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.

12. Therefore, in your deliberations, when seeking to determine the military conditions, let them be made the basis of a comparison, in this wise:--

​13.
1) Which of the two sovereigns is imbued with the Moral law?
(2) Which of the two generals has most ability?
(3) With whom lie the advantages derived from Heaven and Earth?
(4) On which side is discipline most rigorously enforced?
(5) Which army is stronger?
(6) On which side are officers and men more highly trained?
(7) In which army is there the greater constancy both in reward and punishment?

14. By means of these seven considerations I can forecast victory or defeat.

15. The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat:—let such a one be dismissed!

16. While heading the profit of my counsel, avail yourself also of any helpful circumstances over and beyond the ordinary rules.

17. According as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one’s plans.

18. All warfare is based on deception.

19. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

20. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.

21. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him.

22. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.

23. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them.

24. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

25. These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.

26. Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose.
​
CHAPTER II -WAGING WAR

​Congratulations Sifu Genender for achieving and entry level Instructor Ranks at Imperial Combat Arts! Sifu Genender continues his training in advanced martial arts with 8 Animal Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Boxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Combat Grappling, Melee Weapons, and Firearms.