Chin Na
|
|
Chin Na (Wade-Giles: ch'in na) or Qin na (擒拿, pinyin: qín ná) is a Mandarin Chinese term describing joint-manipulation techniques for self defense used in the Chinese martial arts. Also chin na su, su meaning technique. Chin na su literally means technique of catching and locking in Chinese. Other martial art schools simply use the word na to describe the techniques.
Very often involving the study and use of acupressure points to enhance the efficiency of the techniques applied by the practitioner. While techniques along the lines of chin na are trained to some degree by most martial arts worldwide, many Chinese martial arts are famous for their specialization in such applications. Styles such as Eagle Claw (Yīngzhǎoquán 鷹爪拳), which includes 108 different chin na techniques, Praying Mantis (Tánglángquán 螳螂拳) and the "Tiger Claw" techniques of Hung Gar (洪家) are well known examples.
Chin means to seize or trap, na means to lock or break, and while those actions are very often executed in that order (trap then lock), the two actions can also be performed distinctly in training and self defense. Which is to say, a trap isn't always followed by a lock or break, and a lock or break is not necessarily set up by a trap.
There is quite a bit of overlap between chin na theory and technique with the branches of traditional Chinese medicine known as tui na (推拏) as well as the use of offensive and defensive ch'i kung as an adjunct of chin na training in some styles.