The Different Jing in Chinese martial arts

Jing can be expressed by the hands, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, legs, or even the body itself. Taijiquan emphasizes the upper limbs and the body, and uses the legs and feet as secondary weapons.

There are more than forty different kinds of jing excluding leg and foot jing.  They can be distinguished into sensing jing and manifested jing. Sensing jing includes passive sensing jing, which are the ability to sense the opponent's power, and active sensing jing, which are the ability to move qi into or out of another person's body. Manifested jing visibly exhibit the use of force and can also be divided into yang jing or offensive jing (gong jing), yin jing or defensive jing (shou jing), and neutral jing or neither yin nor yang jing (fei gong fei shou jing).

Because offensive jing usually emit force onto the opponent's body, they are also called emitting jing (fa jing). Defensive jing usually neutralize the opponent's power and thus are generally called neutralizing jing (hua jing).

Offensive jing can be subdivided into pure offensive jing and attack with some defense jing (gong zhong dai shou jing). The first is strongly yang and can be represented by three solid lines. The second is also yang, but with some yin, and can be represented by two solid lines and one broken line.

Defensive jing can also be subdivided. First there are purely defensive jing, which are extremely yin and are characterized by three broken lines. Then there is defense with some attack jing (shou zhong dai gong jing). These are yin but have some yang and can be represented by two broken lines and one solid line. Almost every jing, both offensive and defensive, can be used as a hard or soft jing, long or short jing.

Before you start to study, you should know that many jing are mixtures of two or more other jing. For example, growing jing is a mixture of controlling, neutralizing, resisting, drilling, and coiling jing. Before you can understand a complex jing like this you must first learn the simpler ones. Second, you should understand that when most jing are used, they are usually coordinated with other jing, either to set up the opponent or to enhance the jing being applied. For example, in pushing hands, you must use yielding, neutralizing, and leading jing first, before you can apply controlling jing. Third, some of the jing are very similar to others, and you may find it difficult to differentiate between them. However, if you persevere in your practice and pondering, and continue to humbly seek the answer, you will eventually come to understand them.