The Ultimate Power Ranking
Across 15 novels, Jin Yong created hundreds of martial arts techniques. Fans have debated for decades which are the most powerful. Here is our definitive ranking based on combat effectiveness, versatility, and narrative significance.
The Top 10
10. Toad Technique (蛤蟆功)
Practitioner: Ouyang Feng A devastating stance-based technique that generates explosive force. The user crouches like a toad and can deflect attacks while launching devastating counterstrikes.
9. One Yang Finger (一阳指)
Practitioner: Duan family of Dali A precision technique that channels pure yang energy through a single finger. Can strike acupoints, break internal energy flows, and counter poison techniques.
8. Star Absorbing Technique (吸星大法)
Practitioner: Ren Woxing Absorbs opponents' internal energy through physical contact. Incredibly powerful but unstable — the absorbed energy can rebel against the user.
7. Yijin Jing (易筋经)
Origin: Shaolin Temple (attributed to Bodhidharma) The legendary tendon-changing classic that enhances every aspect of the body. More a foundational cultivation method than a combat technique, but it elevates all other martial arts.
6. Dugu Nine Swords (独孤九剑)
Creator: Dugu Qiubai Nine sword techniques designed to defeat every category of weapon and martial art. Based on the principle "no technique defeats all techniques."
5. Nine Yin Manual (九阴真经)
Creator: Huang Shang A comprehensive martial arts encyclopedia covering internal energy, combat techniques, healing, and movement skills. Its completeness makes it arguably the most valuable martial arts text ever written.
4. Nine Yang Manual (九阳神功)
Creator: Unknown (possibly Shaolin, possibly Daoist) Supreme internal energy cultivation that creates an inexhaustible wellspring of yang qi. The foundation upon which multiple other top-tier techniques are built.
3. Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms (降龙十八掌)
Practitioners: Hong Qigong, Guo Jing, Qiao Feng Eighteen palm strikes of overwhelming power, each named after I Ching imagery. Combines raw force with profound philosophical principle. When wielded by Qiao Feng, these palms are essentially unstoppable.
2. Six Meridians Divine Sword (六脉神剑)
Origin: Duan family of Dali Projects invisible sword qi from six fingers simultaneously. The ultimate ranged attack — invisible, unavoidable, and devastatingly powerful.
1. Taijiquan and Taiji Sword (太极拳/太极剑)
Creator: Zhang Sanfeng At its highest level, Taijiquan embodies the ultimate martial arts principle: using softness to overcome hardness, stillness to overcome movement. Zhang Sanfeng's creation tops this list not for raw power but for philosophical completeness — it is the martial art that transcends martial arts.
Honorable Mentions
| Technique | Novel | Notable Quality | |---|---|---| | Sunflower Manual | Smiling Proud Wanderer | Extreme speed (at extreme cost) | | Dragon Claw Hand | Various | Shaolin's most offensive external technique | | Beiming Divine Skill | Demi-Gods | Energy absorption without instability | | Lingbo Weibu | Demi-Gods | Supreme movement technique |
This ranking will always be debatable — and that's the point. The richness of Jin Yong's martial arts systems means there's always another argument to be made.