Chinese Chin Na:

Lately we have been practising Joint Locking Techniques so it is appropriate that we now explain where they come from and how they fit into Martial Arts.In Kung Fu these techniques are known as Chin Na or Quinna.

Chin Na or Qinna is a Chinese term describing techniques used in the Chinese martial arts that control or lock an opponents joints or muscles/tendons so he cannot move, thus neutralizing their 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 (Yīng zhua quán), which includes 108 different chin na techniques, Praying Mantis (Tánglángquán) and the "Tiger Claw" techniques of Hung Gar , Shaolin 8-Animal Kung Fu (Chi Lu Chuan) and Wing Chun are well known examples. Though they do not use the Chinese name of Chin Na, many of the Japanese martial arts (or budo) utilize techniques of locking, trapping and breaking identical to Chin Na. Notable among these are Judo, Jujitsu and Aikido.

The origin of the art can be traced back to the monks from the Shaolin Temple. In line with the Buddhist philosophy, Chin Na techniques can be used to suppress or disable an opponent without killing or causing serious harm. For this reason it is often used by police and security forces all over the world.

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  as well as the use of offensive and defensive ch'i kung as an adjunct of chin na training in some styles.