5 Things you must know when doing combat Chin-na in Kung Fu.

Chin Na are complicated sets of twists, pokes, breaks, and strangleholds that most, if not all, kung fu styles use in combat training.

Applying chin-na techniques in combat is difficult, just look at MMA matches. It normally takes a whole bunch of physical power, training, stamina, and time to apply an effective arm bar or choke in a ring fight. Imagine trying these techniques in a street fight where there aren't any rules or fairness.

If you want to incorporate Chin-na into your combat training then there are 5 things to remember:

1. Never fantasize that you can catch a fist. An attacker won't leave their fist far from your face and keep it there so you can grab it. You'll catch that fist with your face first.
2. Always use "pain compliance". Effectively hurt your attacker first before doing any techniques. They won't just stand there waiting for you.  This is why we do san sau.
3. Learn basic human anatomy. Knowing where to effectively apply your Chin-na techniques on your opponent's body and the devastating results from those techniques is essential to your training.
4. Chin-na requires your entire body to support your technique. This means that every twist, leverage, tear, whatever, requires your entire body's participation to be effective. A good example of this is a handshake. The handshake is neutral until one person pulls the person in.
5. Learn "Combat Flow". For me, you won't be able to do Chin-na at all in combat without practicing and comprehending "combat flow". To smoothly and quickly go into and out of Chin-na techniques requires thousands of hours of fun practice.

Be safe, practice slowly, and always work together.