Internal Arts Exeter

We are are a small school based in the Southwest of England, dedicated to the study of the Chinese internal practices of Qi Gong, Nei Gong and Nei Dan, and the martial arts of Xing Yi Quan and Ba Gua Zhang.

Our purpose is to share these arts with those who want to explore their potential for self-development and self-understanding, to build a community of practice that supports and learns from itself.

We are part of a wider school that has branches in Europe and Australia, whose members regularly meet for workshops and retreats to continually build our relationships and collective practice.

About Max St John

Max has been studying Chinese martial arts for 25 years with a specific focus on internal practice since 2005.

His initial enthusiasm for learning fighting and combat methods slowly led to a recognition of the potential (and need) for change and self-development that the internal arts (or Nei Fa) offer.

He has trained with many skilled teachers and is privileged to have been studying and teaching within a school that holds unbroken lineages in the internal Daoist arts as taught by some of China's last remaining 'old master hands', and their underpinning practices of self-cultivation handed down through generations of teachers.

Max is also a part-time blacksmith and forest school teacher.