Clarke Sensei of the Shinsei-do-kan blog provided me with his perspective in regards to this more or less unique Okinawan term, "Chinkuchi." He states in short ..... "a momentary "fixing" of the muscles as a punch is made/delivered" and "more than just a fixing of the arm muscles it also has a feeling of fixing with the ground at the same time too" and "maybe Japanese karateka use the term "kime" to describe the same thing as Okinawans use chinkuchi" and finally, "it can be thought of as an element of a technique that is either "there" (in your feeling for what you're doing), or not."
I interpret Clarke-san quotes to mean, for my view, a "fixing with full knowledge of and application of the fundamental principles of martial systems." I am not speaking of particular or specific techniques both applied and counter-applied but rather those things that are behind all technique regardless of the attack strategy and tactics both aggressor and defender.
Chinkuchi, like many terms, can be limited if one takes the first thing that resonates and fails to continue the study to find "the rest of the story." Clarke-san is correct, my view again and not of the meaning that I am an authority validating his view, that the term is seldom used outside of Okinawa and I would go a bit further and say it is seldom used in Okinawa because it is a Uchinaguchi word which is the native language of Okinawans that is slowly being lost, except in the older generation and a few who are working to preserve the language, etc.
Even tho I had heard the use of "muscle memory, body mechanics, etc." I didn't find this term until sometime in the last ten years and when I tried to find out about it almost all Isshinryu practitioners of all levels said, "Chinkuchi, what is that ..... never heard of it, etc." I am glad to see it pop up more and more in today's Isshinryu world - things are getting more interesting don't you think?
The most information I have uncovered on this particular aspect of Okinawan Isshinryu was from the Isshinkai folks on the yahoo group of that name created by and moderated by Advincula, A. J. Sensei, a leading proponent of the system here in the United States. I would recommend with enthusiasm any Isshinryu practitioner who is curious about such things to join the yahoo group, "Isshinkai," for that group is a great source of information on our system BUT once you gain the knowledge do, my recommendation, continue to seek out more and don't assume this source or any other is the final word on Isshinryu, Okinawa or Karate-jutsu-do (any system for that matter).
My previous postings on chinkuchi:
Understanding Chinkuchi; Chinkuchi (body mechanics); Okinawan Internal Arts (chinkuchi)
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