This website is dedicated to the Students of Seifu A.S. Umar Sharif, MA. It is also dedicated to the promotion and propagation of the Traditional Afro-Asian Martial and Healing Arts. Our goal is to inform, educate, inspire, encourage, and motivate others to improve their lives by applying The Wisdom of the Ancients.
As your teacher and host, Seifu Sharif [aka: Xia` Xue' Gong] [aka: Tobi Alakoso] is dedicated to helping each of you to remember and nurture the Spirit of Wu-Te and the powers dormant within you.
Namaste’ Students and Fellow Martial Arts Enthusiasts!
Some of you have taken our Chin-Na or RAD (Restrain, Arrest, & Detain) class or studied some form of Chin-Na in some other martial arts system. Hopefully, no matter what system of martial arts you study it teaches you some techniques that would fall into the category of Chin-Na. We spent the few Post talking about Qigong and this is a good time to write a few Posts about one of the ways your Qi development finds direct application. Chin-Na is really about the process of extending your Qi control from yourself to the other. Chin-Na involves and requires at least a basic knowledge and understanding of human anatomy especially of the skeletal and nervous systems. More advanced applications of Chin-Na would also benefit from a knowledge of the internal organs and physiology and functioning of those organs.
In the Me’je Oruka System and Yoruba language So-po ati Pamo (or So-po Pamo) translates to Lock and Hold. If every individual were to put effort into controlling his or her self, we would have no need to control the other. But sometimes, some individuals either lose self-control, or become of a mind that they desire to take control of others without the inherent right to do so. When these individuals appear and circumstances arise So-po Pamo or the application of Chin-Na may become necessary. In Me’je Oruka, So-po Pamo is a stage of tolerance where there is hope that the offending individual when confronted with the challenge that they face will regain their senses and choose to exercise self-control. As Omo Orisa (Children of Orisa) we do not wish to do harm to another and choose to live our lives in Peaceful Space. However, maintaining Peaceful Space also means being willing and able to restrain the misbehavior of others, to arrest harm where we are able, and to detain the progression of that which violates the freedom and well being of the community and its members.
In the Chinese language Chin-Na roughly translates into two words, ‘seize’ chin) and ‘control’ (na). Hence, the major purpose of Shaolin Chin-Na as practiced in our 7 Circles System of Kung Fu is to arrest or stop an aggressive action without necessarily maiming or injuring to a serious extent, although both outcomes are possible. Consider Chin-Na’s placement in our Nine Levels of Self-Defense.
9 Levels of Self-Defense
Avoid
Evade
Redirect
Lock & Hold (Chin-Na)
Induce Pain (Chin-Na)
Inflict Injury (Chin-Na)
Maim (Chin-Na)
Render Unconscious (Chin-Na)
Terminate a Life (Chin-Na)
At levels 1 & 2 there is no physical contact between you and the offending party and this is our preferred way of being. At level 3 a minimal amount of contact will be necessary to redirect the aggressive action but that contact is soft and grazing. Level 3 represents and important threshold in the progression of an aggressive action because we do actually make some contact with the opponent. Let me mention that it is possible to develop you Qigong to a point where you can convert you Qi into a strong enough Jing to deflect an opponents attack without actually making physical contact. But that is a very advanced stage of development. If the Level 3 threshold is crossed the individual may have only one more opportunity to regain self-control before bringing greater pain and harm to themselves.
Level 4 is a doorway to the remaining five levels, a doorway that each student and teacher of the 7 Circles Systems hopes and strives to avoid entering. That is the Spirit of Wu-Te! When contact is made at Level 4 the offending party has failed to regain self-control and arrest their own behavior, they have become a threat and more direct action has to be taken. The power of Chin-Na is taken to a higher level.
Chin-Na or So-po Pamo focuses on grabbing, pressing, and twisting techniques applied primarily to the opponent’s joints, muscles, and nerves. These techniques can cause reactions ranging from mild discomfort to severe pain and even unconsciousness. So Chin-Na begins at Level 4 and can extend its influence all the way through to Level 9 of the Nine Levels of Self-Defense. Although the primary purpose of Chin-Na is to restrain, arrest, and detain the opponent, there are some Chin-Na techniques that are used to maim or kill. From the standpoint of So-po Pamo, Chin-Na, and the Nine Levels of Self-Defense, it is the offending parties choice as to how many levels you are compelled to go. Our words should complement our intention and repeatedly offer the opponent the opportunity to stop the progression progression by restraining their own behavior and relenting in their attack.
Chin-Na techniques are best applied when the opponent moves to make contact with you by grabbing, swinging, punching, pushing, pulling, holding, or even kicking. Although Chin-Na techniques are often practiced without first striking an opponent, in an actual combat or fighting situation the opponent’s attention should be distracted by a strike or movement that causes their mind to be preoccupied with the response to your strike or initial movement thereby minimizing their ability to respond to and effectively resist the application of your Chin-Na technique. Chin-Na also involves the important technique of sticking. By sticking we mean that once you make contact with the opponent by grabbing an arm, hand, finger, muscle, ear, or other body part, you should maintain control over that body part and use it as a departure point from which you can gain greater control and if necessary, inflict greater amount of discomfort, pain, and injury.
Qigong and Chin-Na: The Historical Connection
In 527 A.D. the Indian Buddhist Prince named Da Mo (we currently practice the Da Mo 12 Palm System of Qigong named after him) arrived at the Shao Lin Temple to preach. After years of meditation in a local cave he wrote two books, one of which is his thesis the Yi gin Ching that was written to increase the health and strength of the monks. This text laid the foundations of Qigong practice in the Shao Lin Temple. Seven hundred years after Da Mo, General Yeuh Fei (Sung Dynasty 1130 A.D.) founded the Eagle Claw Style after studying with a student of the Shao Lin Temple named Chou Ton. General Yeuh Fei used the external Shaolin foundation to create his style of Eagle Claw. And Eagle Claw lies at the root of Chin-Na. The success of Eagle Claw troops during the Sung Dynasty period made it eminently clear that the style was worthy of respect.
This month’s View of the Month should really stimulate your interest in furthering your study of Chin-Na (So-po Pamo).
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It is not simply practice that makes perfect. It is perfect practice and consistent practice that makes perfect.
