Xin Yi (also called Xin Yi Quan) is the oldest of the ‘internal’ martial arts, and possibly something of a precursor to Taijiquan. It was certainly the precursor to XingYi Quan.
There are numerous different regional and family styles of Xin Yi. The basic exercise used to develop the body in the Dai family version of Xin Yi is known as Squatting Monkey. Here Xin Yi practitioner Steve Chan goes through the basics of the exercise. It’s a fascinating look into the fundamentals of ‘internal’ movement.
The Tai Chi Notebook 
We have a few more videos since this one: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ9f0T0Pt7iCaWoYYAMF_uQ/videos
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Good stuff, but sound quality is not the best. Thanks
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In the very old days, many Chinese martial-arts had the term “Liu He” (Six Harmonies) as part of their whole, official name. Xinyi Liu He was not the first art to be a Liu He art, by any means.
Who was the “first” internal would be really hard to say because the basic dantian-centric channel system (the basis of the “internal” martial-arts) is found in the old drawings buried in the Mawangdui Tombs from around 3000+ years ago.
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Thanks for making the video Steve – very generous to share so much info. Thanks, G.
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Geoff, the guy in the hoody in the background, pointed out that you referenced this video. I’m glad you liked the video, and thanks for the plug!
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Another really great video, Graham. The amount of detail and the organization of the explanation and demonstration is excellent . . . this is the first video these guys have done? They obviously have a lot of experience to draw on. Squatting Monkey is definitely worth practicing. I have some experience with some variants, but I learned a lot today from the way they present the work. Again, thanks for putting this on your blog.
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