Although it is connected in oral tradition to the Shaolin arts, the Chi-
nese grappling system of qinna(ch’in na) probably existed as a discipline
long before the Shaolin Temple. After all, China had a long period of civil
wars, invasions, and excursions, as well as battles between city-states. War
means conflict, and conflict results in the development of fighting skills.
The traditional narratives of Bodhidharma (Damo), a Hindu monk who is
credited with bringing Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism to China early in the sixth
century A.D., claim he taught bone-and-marrow-washing qigong (ch’i
kung) exercises at Shaolin Temple. Tradition notes that he claimed to be a
reincarnation of the legendary Yellow Emperor in order to increase his
credibility with the monks. He is claimed to have introduced, in addition
to Indian qigong methods, new forms of meditation and fighting methods
(including qinna) to the monks, but the historical record seems to favor the
idea that the monks already possessed effective fighting skills. However,
tradition avers that since qinna techniques are extremely effective but non-
lethal, they were more compatible with the Buddhist ethos than were other
martial disciplines. Therefore, monks at the temple researched, developed,
and trained in them. These techniques were passed on with the various
martial styles taught at the temple. Qinna influence has been suggested as
a factor in the development of specialized weapons for seizing the weapons
of opponents that were said to have originated with the Shaolin Temple.
Qin (ch’in) means “to seize” and nameans “to hold and control”;
thus, qinnacan be translated as the art of seizing and controlling. Its tech-
niques are generally categorized into muscle tearing, bone or skeletal dis-
placement, sealing the breath (or chokes), pressing the veins and arteries to
cause damage or unconsciousness, and cavity presses and meridian attacks,
which apply pressure to points associated with the accumulation or circu-
lation of qi(ch’i;vital energy). The last two are considered dim mak (Can-
tonese, death touch; pinyin dianxue, spot hitting). Because of their useful-
ness, these techniques have been merged into other fighting skills since the
beginning of Chinese martial arts. In fact, practically all the countries of
Asia have some techniques of qinna mixed into their indigenous arts.
In the famous Chinese boxing style taijiquan(tai chi ch’uan) and the
not so well-known liuhe bafa,neutralization is usually done with a circu-
lar motion, and the grappling techniques are usually round and smooth.
Often the opponent will be controlled before realizing a technique is being
applied. In coordination with circular stepping, circular qinna will be used
to pull an opponent’s “root” (solid contact with the ground) and to exe-
cute a throw. The influence of this type of movement can easily be seen in
the Japanese wrestling arts, especially in the grappling employed in ninjutsu
and in aikidô.
Kojiki,the Japanese record of ancient history dating from the eighth728 Wrestling and Grappling: Japan