'Chinese stepping method or Chinese fist/punch', former in contemporary Sinhalese), or Cheenaadi, or occasionally, Chinna ati / Chaina pudi; and in Malayalam Cheena Adi, is a Chinese-derived martial art in Sri Lanka.

[1] Another viewpoint, due to self-proclaimed Cheena di Master Gunadasa Subasinghe is that the word Cheena di comes from Chennai (A)di,[2] a martial art originally taught by Indian Immigrants in Sri Lanka (called "Kallathoni", the people who came to the island illegally in fishing boats from coastal South India and settled in the Southern parts of the island rather than in the Tamil predominant North) to their eventually street-fighting disciples called Chandi (lit.

According to urban folklore, it was first brought to Sri Lanka 1600 years ago by Shaolin monks on pilgrimage to the Temple of the Tooth.

[3][4][5] It may have been brought to Sri Lanka by Chinese Buddhist missionaries who spread Chin Na, a subsystem included in many Kung fu styles, which focus on grappling.

[7] In general, Cheena di is said to be the more eclectic and evolving form of the two, assimilating useful techniques from whatever source it came across, such as from martial arts practised by various foreign traders and emigrants.