Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

Kao Jin - Bump - Is Great for Close-Up Self-Defense

bump energy kao jin shoulder and bump in tai chi shoulder energy tai chi energies taijiquan energies Feb 24, 2026

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 ...

Tai Chi "Energies" Part 4 - A Deeper Dive Into Tai Chi's An Jin - "Push Energy"

energies of tai chi tai chi an jin tai chi energies tai chi push energy taijiquan energies Feb 03, 2026

Continuing a series of posts on the so-called Tai Chi "energies," let's talk about An Jin, or "Push" energy. And a reminder, the "energies" of Tai Chi are simply refined methods of dealing with force. A "Jin" is a way of dealing with an opponent's force in a refined way that requires a lot of practice.

You don't use brute force. The Taiji energies require skill.

The word "energy" has sparked a lot of woo-woo nonsense that has attracted people to the art who are looking for magic powers and fairy dust instead of martial art.

An Jin -- Push -- isn't really about "pushing" the way we think about pushing. It's about direction, pressure, and timing. It is a downward, forward pressure that is issued in connected weight sinking. It is expressed not with arm force, but with a whole-body connection.

Looking at the first four energies of Taiji: Peng is buoyancy, Lu is redirection, Ji is compression, and An is gravity with intent.

The two-handed push, as in most Taijiquan fo...

Tai Chi Energies Part 3 - Pressing Forward with Ji Jin - Press Energy

ji jin press energy in tai chi tai chi energies tai chi press taijiquan energies Jan 27, 2026

Three days ago I turned 73 years old. That's kind of a shocking number, then I realized that I still feel the same as I did when I was 72, and in my head I still feel like I'm 20. So we carry on.

The last couple of blog posts have focused on the first two Taiji "energies," Peng Jin and Liu Jin.

In this post, I'm looking at Ji Jin, or "Press" energy.

These Tai Chi energies are actually "methods" of dealing with force.

A lot of people believe Press is just like it's shown in the Yang style form -- you are pressing on someone with your hands pressed together. I Googled "Tai Chi Press" and got this picture. This is from a Yang form such as the Yang 24.

But that isn't really Ji Jin. That is simply a posture. The actual Jin is more complex, but the application of it is an excellent self-defense technique.

Ji means "to crowd, press together, squeeze into."

A good summary of Press energy would be: "The art of entering and narrowing space, crowding until your opponent has no room to d...

Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

Kao Jin - Bump - Is Great for Close-Up Self-Defense

Tai Chi "Energies" Part 4 - A Deeper Dive Into Tai Chi's An Jin - "Push Energy"

Tai Chi Energies Part 3 - Pressing Forward with Ji Jin - Press Energy

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