Three Ways Sanchin Karate Was Destroyed As A Useful Form
[I:http://freeweb-articles.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/AlCase36.jpg]Perhaps you have encountered the old saying…’If you don’t know Sanchin, you don’t know Karate.’ It happens that this saying is entirely true. It is true because when done correctly Sanchin kata results in a liberation of combat useful energy beyond any form known.
The form was originally brought to Okinawan from China, where it was part of a system called Pan Gai Noon. While PGN is no longer taught, that first kata is taught in such arts as Goju Ryu and Uechi ryu. It has also been altered and presented in Shotokan as Hangetsu.
The original form, as simple as it is, was taught over the course of years. Students would spend hours a night just walking, learning how to sink their weight, before they were shown even the most basic of hand movements. This fact, of being taught to sink the weight and stabilize the stance, should give even the dullest karate student a significant clue as to the correct way to execute the pattern.
In Uechi Ryu Sanchin, which is the first manifestation of this form beyond the Chinese Pan Gai Noon, the emphasis is on building muscular tension. Thus, the intent of the sanchin stance is changed from the creation (and dropping) of energy to the creation of muscle. Muscle is temporary compared to energy, and thus the form is changed and made less effective.
In Goju ryu Sanchin the purpose of the form is to learn proper breathing. Thus, the purpose of the form is to create the sensation of energy in the body through martial exercise, but without the emphasis on sinking the weight the reality of usable energy is forsaken. At this point one can see that the Sanchin form has been changed so much that it is but a shadow of what it should be…the story gets worse, however.
In Shotokan, and like systems of classical martial arts, the actual structure of the form has been rendered into simplistic self defense techniques. Mind, there is nothing wrong with this type of martial structure, except that it has nothing to so with the generation of serious intrinsic energy. The form in these later schools is called Hangetsu.
To be done correctly. this incredible form must be returned to simple instruction, and simple concepts. One must throw out notions of breathing and muscularity and self defense except as they are drawn along by the sheer fact of energy generation. Thus, the simple instruction, “sink the weight, and ‘swirl’ the motion so that it creates a wave of energy which circles the body and shoots out the arm,” is the only instruction one needs.
Done with this easy bit of teaching, for months and years, the generation of internal energy becomes real, and the internal energy becomes usable. Though this writer would not propose combat as a solution, it must be remembered that Kanbun Uechi, the founder of Uechi ryu and a man who had studied the actual Sanchin in the ancient manner recommended in this bit of writing, killed a man with one strike. No, don’t kill people, but do realize the true power of the ancient arts by practicing sanchin kata by sinking the weight and swirling the body energy so that it may be shot out the arm.
There are articles and courses at Monster Martial Arts which will help you return Sanchin Kata to its original depth and power. Pick up a free ebook while you’re at Monster Martial Arts. 2
June 30, 2010 | Posted by Al Case
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