Chin Na

Chin Na or Qinna is a
term describing techniques used in the Chinese martial arts that control or lock an opponent's joints or
muscles/tendons so he cannot move, thus neutralizing the opponent's fighting
ability. Also ''chin na su'', su meaning ''technique'' .
Chin na su literally means ''technique of catching and locking'' in Chinese. Some schools simply use the word ''na'' to describe the techniques.

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'' , which includes 108 different chin na techniques, ''Praying Mantis'' and the "Tiger Claw" techniques of ''Hung Gar'' are well known examples. Though they do not use the Chinese name of Chin Na, many of the Japanese martial arts also utilize techniques of locking, trapping and breaking.

Chin Na can generally be categorized as:

#"Fen Jin" or "Zhua Jin" . "Fen" means "to divide", "Zhua" is "to grab" and "Jin" means "tendon, muscle, sinew". They refer to techniques which tear apart an opponent's muscles or tendons.
#"Cuo Gu" . "Cuo" means "wrong, disorder" and "Gu" means "bone". Cuo Gu therefore refer to techniques which put bones in wrong positions and is usually applied specifically to joints.
#"Bi Qi" . "Bi" means "to close, seal or shut" and "Qi", or more specifically "Kong Qi", meaning "air". "Bi Qi" is the technique of preventing the opponent from inhaling. This differs from mere strangulation in that it may be applied not only to the windpipe directly but also to muscles surrounding the lungs, supposedly to shock the system in to a contraction which impairs breathing.
#"Dian Mai" or "Dian Xue" . Similar to the Cantonese "Dim Mak", these are the technique of sealing or striking blood vessels and "Qi" points.

''Chin'' means to seize or trap, ''na'' means to lock or break, and while those actions are very often executed in that order , 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 as well as the use of offensive and defensive as an adjunct of chin na training in some styles.