The Chinese arts are the most difficult to classify because China is the largest of the countries, and has great varieties of people, climates, terrain, philosophies, and so on. About the most consistant thing in chinese arts is that the Chinese are a people who value their mystacism and secrets. But we can break the Chinese arts into some sub-catagories to understand them better. These can be good exercise, especially for the physically unfit. It usually takes more time for an Internal Art to be applicable in a self defense situation, than an External Art.
External arts are more likely to show immediate self defense application.
The Southern Chinese Arts use low, powerful stances. The length of the attacks varries greatly between schools. These classes tend to be structured to ritualism. But the breakdown is sometimes hard to fathom, and less clear. The DO arts tend to teach a philosophy involving their beliefs in the art.