Chin Na

The Chin Na can be considered the Chinese Grappling, my approach to knowing this art was thanks to my master of the time (but that for me is still my master Tony Ligorio).

I was intrigued by the manipulations of the fingers with which controlling the head (the thumb) and the tail (the little finger) of the dragon you could control the whole body.

From this curiosity I then began to do internships to deepen and although it is true that it is a martial art, my personal advice is that you must consider it an area to be integrated into your style, something to study in parallel and together with the other martial arts you practice, there’s no point in just doing Chin Na.

From the levers to my fingers my curiosity also seen my strong passion for fighting went further to find in the study of Chin Na the other levers especially to deepen and see some technical differences on the same levers that I studied in Kali because basically the human body is biomechanically and biologically the same.

Now if your interest is self-defense and security manipulation standing but not only of a person is important especially when for you it is necessary to avoid hitting him (strong I mean) and immobilizing him.

For me leverage
is an integration to combat
something to insert into the chain of action it is not always possible to finalize with a lever because the lever to function must:

In action (during the exchange of blows) — > must always be done after hitting, if you try to leverage first you get hit.
In static ( typical threat situation) — > , hit and then do the lever

So the rule is always hit before you do the lever!

Personally I happened to do a lever without first hitting in a real situation but it’s not something you can program happened so it’s not something impossible but I tell you ALWAYS first strike, it is also necessary to “distract” the aggressor by not stiffening the limb to which you want to apply the lever.

Now, always from a personal defense perspective I began to delve into this topic by attending internships and studying some didactics of Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming and some books made very well on this topic by trying the techniques with training partners of which some true fans of this art.

The Chinese term Chin Na or Qin Na describes the joint blocking techniques used in Chinese martial arts to control or block an opponent’s joints or muscles or tendons so that it cannot move, thus neutralizing the opponent’s fighting ability.

Chin Na Su literally translates as a chinese capture and closing technique.

Some schools simply use the word Na to describe techniques.

Chin Na presents both standing and grounding techniques, which is why it can be considered a true Chinese grappling.

Some Chinese martial arts instructors focus more on their Chin Na techniques than others, this is one of the many reasons why one school’s Chin Na may differ from that of another.

Contents

1 All martial arts contain Chin Na techniques to some extent.Chin Na in Chinese martial arts
2 Techniques
- 2.1 Chin Na can generally be classified (in Chinese) as:
3 Some curiosities of Taiji Chin Na and martial applications

All martial arts contain Chin Na techniques to some extent.Chin Na in Chinese martial arts

South China martial arts have more developed Chin Na techniques than martial systems in northern China.

Southern martial arts rely much more on manipulation techniques that make the practitioner be closer to their opponent.

There are over 700 traditional Chin Na techniques found in all martial arts.

In the White Crane non-Temple style there are only Chin Na techniques from 150-200. Along with Fujian white cranes, styles such as Northern Eagle Claw (Ying Jow Pai) and
Tiger Claw
(Fu Jow Pai) have the Chin Na as their martial goal and tend to rely on these advanced techniques.

Since Chinese culture has influenced countries such as Japan and Korea, Chinese martial arts have also influenced their indigenous styles.

The Aikido and Jiu Jitsu developed in Japan, and then the Hapkido found in Korea, had taken their Chin Na techniques from Chinese martial arts.

You can see that many of Chin Na’s original Chinese techniques resemble those found in other grappling-based arts as well as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Depending on the school and the teacher, Chin Na is “assembled” in different ways.

Some Chin Na systems resemble the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu because of their focus on sockets and levers on the ground.

Another style may be more like Judo because of their focus on Rou Dao’s location (Chin Na’s soft techniques).

The next school might look more like Hapkido because of their focus on the wrist and small joint levers.

There is no universally accepted systemized form of Chin Na, each school varies depending on the instructor’s training and personal preference for focus.

Techniques

While Chin Na’s techniques are trained to some extent by most martial arts around the world, many Chinese martial arts are famous for their specialization in this specialty but as I told you I advise you to integrate this art not to practice only chin na. Styles such as Eagle Claw, which includes the 108 Chin Na, Praying Mantis, Tiger Claw techniques of Hung Gar and Shuai Jiao are well-known examples.

Chin Na can generally be classified (in Chinese) as:

1) “Fen jin” or “zhua jin” (dividing muscle/ tendon, grabbing muscle/ tendon). Fen means “divide”, zhua is “grab” and jin means “tendon, muscles, tendons”. They refer to techniques that tear apart the muscles or tendons of the opponent.

2) “Cuo gu” (wrong bone positioning). Cuo means “wrong, messy” and gu means “bone. Cuo gu then refers to techniques that put bones in the wrong positions and are usually applied specifically to the joints.

3) “Bi qi” (breathing seal). Bi means “close, seal or close” and qi, or more specifically kong qi, which means “air”. “Bi qi” is the technique to prevent the opponent from inhaling. This differs from mere strangulation in that it can be applied not only directly to the trachea but also to the muscles surrounding the lungs, presumably to shock the system into a contraction that alters breathing.

4) “Dian mai” or “dian xue” (seal the vein/artery or the cavity of the pressure). Similar to cantonese dim dim, these are techniques for sealing or hitting blood vessels and points who.

5) “Rou dao” or “rou shu dao” (soft techniques) which generally refers to techniques deemed safe for sparring and/or training purposes.

Chin means grab or trap, Na means block or break, and usually those actions are very often performed precisely in this order (trap and block/intr and spez), actions can be performed distinctly in training and self-defense: a trap is not always followed by a block or break, and a block or break is not necessarily set by a trap.

“Chin Na” means “Sequestration Control”

Ps. Below you will find the names of many techniques and clearly and I understand that if you have never seen and attended a Chin Na internship these terms will sound strange not associating them with any meaning and technique but the goal of this article and approach this discipline to start integrating it.
Pee who practices Kali Filipino many of these levers are part of the 30 levers that start from the head to the fingers of the hands, and it is interesting to find similarities and approaches. As I told you the levers of Chin Na you find them in all the martial arts that use levers and manipulations.

Now as you can see there are hundreds of techniques but my advice is to start learning the Chin Na (Qin Na) to control and neutralize your opponents with these 34 finger techniques, hands and joint locking techniques.

The white crane nods with its head
The white crane twists the neck
Raise your elbow
The white crane covers its wing
Hands hug a guitar
Single and multiple finger holdings
The butterfly
through the flowers
Double split finger
Small hand wrap
Small hand wrap 2
Forward wrist pressure
Press your wrist up
Turning around heaven and earth
Turning the elbow of the body
Forward turn elbow
Two children worship the Buddha
The great rock twists its wing
Arm wraps around the neck
Pressing the shoulder with one finger and stretching the neck for water
White crane crosses the bush
The big python spins its body
Rotate the sky
Low finger press
Turn up
Lock and turn the joint
Small finger wrap
Large hand winding
Low internal wrist press
Forgive me for not going with you
The child loves the Buddha
Wrap your elbow backwards
Elbow press upwards
The lion shakes its head
A Hand to Support Paradise

Now hone your Chin Na arsenal!

Then learn these techniques are useful to control and neutralize your opponent with 30 techniques always to your fingers, hands and locking techniques but this time joint.

Press your thumb
Small finger hook
Twist your little fingers
Hooked finger
Back Wrap Hand
Low outward wrist press
Feudal Lord Invites to Dinner
Crazy chicken breaks his wing
The Hero Shows Courtesy
He carries a Pole on his shoulder
Hands holding a broad beam
Forward up
Elderly man carries fish on his back
Watch the skies and shout
Strength to bow
Finger division
Split the top hook
Split the bottom hook
Reverse wrist press
Wild chicken spreads its wings
Push the boat to follow the flow
Wrap your elbow tight
Wrap your elbow wide
Support your elbow up
Heaven turns and the earth rotates
Twist up backwards
Go back to grab the bee
Roasted Peking duck
Pull your head to kill a chicken
The hand grabs the dragon’s head

Now study and learn these techniques that serve to control and neutralize your opponent with 43 techniques of counterattack of hand, leg and chin. Check the dragon’s head

Check the dragon’s tail
Send the devil to heaven
Turn the body to grab the monkey
Walk with me
Wrap your elbow up
Crush your elbow down
The Old Man Promoted General
Right right cross elbow left
The elderly man bows politely
Both hands catch the killer
Twist your arm and press your neck
The arm holds the dragon’s head
20 Leg control techniques and fighting techniques
10 Chin Na Techniques Vs. Chin Na Techniques

Now to be able to apply and to make your Chin Na (Qin Na) work in a real situation,you have to master the technique so that it becomes an immediate natural reflex.

It’s not something simple and requires a lot of training to develop the ability to use it in the right context.

In a situation of self-defense or sparring, there is no time to think before reacting, and your opponent will not cooperate with you.

Choose a small number of practical techniques and fully understand their application, only then you will respond to an opponent with an effective Chin Na when the time comes.

It must become a natural reflection!

The techniques that I have inserted you are over 150 and inserted in turn in several hundred applications for each type of situation.

This program focuses on interception, trapping and sealing the opponent and keeping a sense of distance to avoid a counterattack, successfully performing the most practical Chin Na.

Wrap your arm around the dragon’s neck
The butterfly through the flowers
Back turning, pressure on the wrist forward
Wrist press upwards
Low internal wrist press
Hands propose a wide beam
Support your elbow up
The King of Paradise supports the pagoda
Elbow press upwards
The big python spins its body
The lion loves the Buddha
Wide elbow
Low outward wrist press
Luo Han bows out
Small elbow
Old promoted General
A Hand to Support the Skies
Pressing the shoulder with a single finger and stretching the neck for water
The spiritual dragon sways its tail
Wrap the elbow backwards
Push the boat to follow the flow
The lion shakes its head
Send the devil to heaven
Small hand-to-head
The sparrowhawk (hawk) shakes his wing
Turning up backwards
The old man carries the fish on his back
Twist your wings with both hands
Forward up
The white crane nods with its head
White crane twists its head
Two children worship the Buddha
Wild chicken breaks its wings

Some curiosities of Taiji Chin Na and martial applications

There is some overlap between Chin Na theory and technique with the branches of traditional Chinese medicine known as Tui Na and the use of offensive and defensive QiGong as an addition to Chin Na’s training in some styles.

Most often the Chin Na is related to the practice of Taijiquan which although today it took on a therapeutic aspect was originally developed for combat in ancient times.

His fighting theory is to use the soft against the hard and use the circle to neutralize the square.

To achieve this, the body must be soft and the movements must be smooth and natural.

Taijiquan (
Tai Chi)
also emphasizes the cultivation of Qi, or internal energy.

In Italy there are several representatives of the highest level of this discipline and on the use of energy systems such as the M. Flavio Daniele.

The focused mind brings the Qi to circulate in the body. For this reason, Taijiquan can be used to maintain health and improve longevity.

That is why, since 1940, Taijiquan has become publicly accepted as one of Qigong’s best practices for health.

Unfortunately, in my opinion for this discipline, probably due to the excessive emphasis of its health aspects, the essence of the martial applications of Taijiquan creation was gradually ignored.

Several times I talked about this with my partner’s mom who is a Tai Chi teacher in Havana at one of Cuba’s largest schools during one of the classes I practiced with her.

It is very upsetting to see that, even in modern China, most Practitioners of Taijiquan do not understand this martial essence of Taijiquan.

Of course, they do not understand the martial power (Jin) and the theory of the use of the mind to lead the Qi to give energy to the maximum.

As a result, the martial applications of each movement began to slowly disappear.

To make the art of Taijiquan complete, I believe it is our responsibility and obligation to re-study its martial applications. Only from this study will we be able to recover its lost essence and find the root of its creation.

Only then can its health benefits be fully understood.

One type of Taijiquan martial application is the Qin Na.

I hope that, through this short article, general Taijiquan practitioners will be inspired and encouraged to discuss and find the true essence of their art that remains a martial art.

My approach in the study of Chin Na has always been to learn techniques of control and joint break not to learn a dance, and it is beautiful the therapeutic study of martial art but this is a side of that kind of practice and you always have to respect its essence.

As I told you before the “Qin” (Chin) in Chinese means “grab or catch”, in the way an eagle takes hold of a rabbit or a policeman catches a murderer (Qin Xiong). “Na” means “hold and control.”

Therefore, Qin Na can be translated as “grab and check”.

In general, to have effective and efficient combat capabilities, almost all Chinese martial styles include four categories of techniques.

The first category includes techniques of hitting, drilling, pushing, pressing, etc.
The second category is to use the leg to kick, sweep, step on or stumble. In these techniques, the contact time between you and your opponent must be very short, and the attack power is usually explosive and harmful.
The third category is called “Shuai Jiao” (wrestling), and contains the abilities to destroy the opponent’s root and balance, throwing it down. Often these techniques are mixed with the sweeping or leg-breaker, and the body swings or even spears.
The fourth and final category is the Qin Na, containing grabbing techniques specialized in controlling or blocking the joints, muscles or tendons of the opponent.

However, you should understand an important fact. In a combat situation, the above three categories are often applied together and cannot really be separated.

For example, while one of your hands is grabbing and controlling your opponent, the other hand is used to hit a vital cavity.

Another example of this is that you often use grabbing to block your opponent’s joints while you launch it for further attack.

For this reason, it is sometimes very difficult to clearly discriminate against each other in a real situation.

In fact, many Chinese martial artists believe that since there are many other non-grabbing techniques, such as pressing or hitting cavities or nerves, which can make the opponent numb in a part of the body (or even render it unconscious) Thus providing control of the opponent, these techniques should also be recognized as Qin Na.

You can see that as long as the techniques are able to immobilize an opponent, it doesn’t matter if the cause is a joint blockage, numbness or loss of consciousness – all can be classified as Qin Na.

In summary, Qin Na’s gripping techniques control and block the opponent’s joints or muscles/tendons so that he cannot move, thus neutralizing his fighting ability.

Pressing Qin Na techniques is used to numb the opponent’s limbs, causing him to lose consciousness or even die.

Pressing Qin Na is usually applied to Qi cavities to disrupt normal Qi circulation to the organs or brain.

Pressing techniques are also often used on nerve endings to cause extreme pain and loss of consciousness.

Qin Na’s attack techniques are applied to vital points and can be very lethal. Cavities on Qi channels can be attacked or certain vital areas affected by ruptured arteries.

All these techniques are used to “grab and control” the opponent.

Therefore, Qin Na techniques can generally be classified as:

“Fen Jin” (divide muscles/tendons)
“Cuo Gu” (put out of place or break bones)
“Bi Qi” (block your breath)
“Dian Mai” (Dim Mak, in Cantonese) (break of veins / arteries) or “Duan Mai” (break or block of veins / arteries)
“Dian Xue” or “Dian Mai” (Dim Mak, cantonese) (pressure of the primary channels of Qi)

Within these categories, Fen Jin also includes “Zhua Jin” (grabbing the muscle/ tendon) and Dian Xue also includes “Na Xue” (grabbing or pressing the cavities).

In general, the division of muscle/ tendon, incorrect bone positioning and some breath waterproofing techniques are relatively easy to learn and the theory behind it is easy to understand.

They usually require only muscle strength and practice to make control effective.

When these same techniques are used to break bones or injure joints or tendons, it is usually necessary to use Jin (martial power).

Sealing the vein/artery and pressing the cavities requires a detailed knowledge of the location and depth of the cavities; times of the circulation of the Qi; development of Yi (mind), Qi (internal energy) and Jin (martial power); and special shapes and techniques for hands.

This usually requires the formal instruction of a qualified teacher, not only because the knowledge is deep, but also because most techniques are learned from sensing and feeling.

Many of the techniques can easily cause death, and for this reason a master will normally pass this knowledge only to students who are moral and reliable.

Now my advice is to start learning Chin Na because as the fight teaches you to control and manipulate an opponent on the ground, but chin na’s study is very preparatory to learn how to manipulate a person standing and to identify points of control and imbalance.

This study is very important if you deal with security, personal defense or you are a Filipino Kali practitioner and dumog is an area of Kali that you are passionate about.

Stay Tuned! Have a good workout!

Street Fight Mentality

Andrea