Also known as nei jia quan or nei chia ch’uan. Those fighting systems that base their power on cultivating chi, the mind, total relaxation, longevity, and meditation rather than the purely physical means of the external martial arts. Although there are internal aspects to some of the external Shaolin martial arts, in China the term “internal martial arts” usually refers to the three Taoist martial arts of tai chi chuan, hsing-i chuan, and ba gua chang.