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Chin Na or Qinna (擒拿, pinyin: qín ná, Wade-Giles: ch'in2 na2) (Kum La - in Cantonese) is a
Chinese 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 (actually traditional Chinese: 術; pinyin: shù). Chin na su literally means technique of catching and locking in Chinese. Some schools simply use the word na to describe the techniques.
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The recent understanding that grappling is as important as striking, has also caused some Kung Fu systems to focus on their Chin Na techniques, even expanding the system by incorporating/developing new ones. This is one reason why Chin Na of one school differs from that of another. There are over 700 traditional techniques and countless more being developed/adopted, depending on the specific school.
Qin Na Rou Dao is also accredited in the creation of Jujutsu. It is stated in numerous Japanese and Chinese documents, that Chen Yuan-Yun (Chin Gempin or Chen Yuan-Pin; 1587-1674) was the first to bring the "ju"/“soft techniques” (柔道 Rou Dao) into Japan during the early-mid 1600's. (“Collections of Ancestor’s Conversations Volume 2.” Which is a Japanese document).
Reference: “Honcho Bugei Shoden” (also referred to as “Kanjo Shoden”) written by Hinatsu Shigetaka in 1716 states the following: Recently, Chin Gempin (Ch'en Yuan-pin) came to Japan and stayed at the Kokusa monastery, where he met three ronin (lordless Samurai) Fukuno Hichiroemon, Isogai Jirozaemon, and Miura Yojiemon. Chin Gempin told them that in China, there is an art of seizing a man, which he had seen practised and that it was practised in such and such a fashion, however, he had not learned ALL the principles. On hearing this, the samurai made investigations (which means investigating into this Chinese art, not developing techniques on their own) and afterward became skillful and founded the Kitoryu school of Jujutsu. The same story is repeated in the following Japanese documents: Honcho Seji Danki, Bujutsu Ryusoroku, Roi Shintoryo Hisho, Kitoryu Kempohi, Kitoryu Toka Mondo, Owan Meisho Zue, Zoin Kinsei Kijindenas, and more (all Japanese documents).
Kano Jigoro the founder of Judo, studied at Kitō-ryū,[1][2] which is documented in accrediting Chen Yuan-Yun for developing their system. The Chinese art that Chin Yuan-Yun introduced, and the Samurai Kitō-ryū investigated, was Qin Na Rou Dao (Chinese techniques found in styles such as Shuai Jiao, at the time called "Jiao Li", etc). This logically explains why Kano's Judo and China's Shuai Jiao share so many similarities (Shuai Jiao/Jiao Li being the much older system). Both were influenced by Qin Na, and both becoming "sports", causing them to focus on the softer techniques.
Many Judo/Jujutsu practitioners dispute these facts and use the few records of Yukisenjo-Monogatari, Kuyamigusa, and Hitotsubashi-Joken; as documentation that “jujutsu" existed before Chen Yuan-Yun’s contributions. The idea that jujutsu ryus existed prior Chin Gempin's influence is quite possible, but there is insufficient physical evidence and documentation that proves this. The overwhelming majority of documentation proves that Jujutsu (and Judo by default; due to Kano's involvement in Kito Ryu, etc.) was influenced heavily by the Chinese Qin Na arts.
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 (Yīng zhua quán 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 Na can generally be categorized (in Chinese) as:
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.
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