Tai Chi Energies Part 5: Zhou Jin is Not Just An Elbow Strike

Tai Chi Energies Part 5 - Zhou Jin is Not Just An Elbow Strike

elbow energy elbow in tai chi energies of taijiquan tai chi energies zhou jin Feb 18, 2026

In the last few blog postd, I have focused on Tai Chi "energies." The next stop on our tour is Zhou Jin, commonly and incompletely described as "Elbow Energy."

And remember, a "Jin" is a method of dealing with force. It isn't really an "energy."

Zhou Jin is not simply an elbow strike. It does not mean throwing an elbow.

Zhou Jin is a whole-body expression of force, and that expression happens through the elbow.

But certain things have to exist for this to be Zhou and not simply an elbow strike.

Here is a grown-up definition of Zhou Jin:

It is rotational force compressed and redirected at close range.

Zhou shows up when distance collapses, arms can't extend and frames are crowded. It is devastating in close-up self-defense.

The power of Zhou comes from the ground, the closing and opening of the kua, torso rotation, spinal compression and rebound. The elbow is just the shortest delivery route.

Zhou Jin is peng under compression.

This sequence of photos is an example of Zhou Jin. In photo 1, I am grabbed and my opponent is preparing to punch my lights out.

I pin his hand, rotate my elbow over his (Photo 2), then use whole-body sinking and compression to lock or break his elbow (Photo 3).

In this instance, the elbow is not striking, the wrist becomes a lever, the torso rotation is primary, the force goes downward, and the elbow simply happens to be the point of transmission.

That is Zhou Jin.

Now, when some tough guys see something like this, they say, "That will never work in a fight." You've heard these guys, or you've maybe seen them online. "That would never work on the street."

I had a student who was grabbed just like this, and his attacker was going to punch him. My student did this exact move and shattered the attacker's elbow. The attacker had to undergo surgery and never bothered my student again.

Real Taijiquan is not intended for an MMA match in the ring. It is intended for real life.

Getting back to Zhou Jin -- Zhou doesn't happen when my elbow touches his arm. His arm is fixed, his structure is committed forward, his wrist is prevented from rotating freely, and my center rotates downward. At that moment, rotation has nowhere to go, so it condenses. My torso rotates and takes my elbow with it. That downward vector recruits gravity, prevents him from rolling out, and turns rotational force into joint pressure. If I do it with fajin, his elbow breaks.

If I use the elbow in a strike, it becomes Zhou if the torso rotates or compresses, the elbow is carried by whole-body power, peng remains intact, the force is condensed, not swung, and the opponent's body is already structurally constrained. The elbow is the densest point of expression for whole-body rotational power at close range.

So Zhou Jin can be an elbow strike if those important mechanics are there.

I see a lot of Tai Chi that involves a lot of arm waving but very little body method. I see the arms move but no ribbon of strength flowing from the ground through the body. I see hips moving in space but little use of the kua. I see a lack of peng. It is empty Tai Chi, and it is the most common kind I see on YouTube and Facebook. That's why I teach the way I do, because I want the real thing, not woo-woo.

--by Ken Gullette

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Tai Chi Energies Part 5 - Zhou Jin is Not Just An Elbow Strike

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