Kao Jin - Bump - Is Great for Close-Up Self-Defense
Kao Jin is often called "Shoulder" energy.
It's more accurate to call it "Bump."
Kao Jin is a whole-body force expressed through body-to-body contact at very close range.
It's a structural takeover of someone's space.
If you "shoulder" someone, the shoulder is just the delivery point. The engine behind it is the ground connection and aligned structure.
Kao Jin can be performed with many parts of the body, including the shoulder, the chest, torso, hips, and legs.
Kao is whole-body force that enters and displaces an opponent by using body contact to take their line, break their balance, and move their mass without relying on arm extension.
You get your body where his body doesn't want you to be by entering his space. There is no wind-up and no visible effort. A good Kao steals your opponent's vertical integrity.
Chen Ziqiang is very good at Kao. He uses it -- often with his chest -- to unbalance his opponent long enough to take him down another way.
One of my favorite uses of Kao is the leg bump. Put my thigh behind my opponent and bump his thigh. It destroys his structure and he loses control of his center just long enough to open a window of vulnerability. It doesn't look dramatic, but suddenly his structure is wrecked.
The leg bump does a few important things -- it removes his ability to organize his center over his base. It hits the "load-bearing" part of his body. When the leg that's supporting weight gets displaced suddenly, the nervous system panics.
Bump is a whole-body movement. Like most of the Taiji "energies" (methods), it starts with the ground path. If someone is moving into you, it's like a head-on collision. Your power is multiplied by his movement, and it feels like he has run into a wall.
Watch the video at the top of the page to see me and my students working with Kao Jin.
--by Ken Gullette
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Author - Instructor
Ken Gullette
I have practiced martial arts since 1973 and began studying the internal arts in 1987. My goal is to cut years off your development time by coaching you in the real skills for high-quality Tai Chi, Xingyi, Bagua. To see more about my bio, click the "About Ken" link on the menu at the top of this page.
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