14.3 About Sanchin No Kata

 

Sanchin kata is traditionally practised in a number of schools such as Goju Ryu and Uechi Ryu.  The kata was taken to Okinawa from Fukien province in South China. Sanchin No Kata is one of the cornerstones of Kyokushin karate.

 

Roots of Sanchin

 

It is widely held that this Sanchin No Kata embodies the essence of Karate and that without a profound understanding of this, the higher levels will not be perceived. Sanchin has a legendary tradition. It's roots can be traced to it's introduction into China, from India, by the Buddhist monk Bohdidarma in 520AD.

 

Bohdidarma's teachings have evolved and changed over generations to the point where the martial teaching have become emphasized. As the influence of the temple grew politically and financially, they found themselves threatened at different points thoughout the centuries by both bandit forces and the armies of the Emperors.

 

Over time the Buddhist temple arts filtered out to the general populace and were taught and propagated as civil martial arts. Thus legend suggests that a composite "yoga, unarmed, self protection and mediation method" was developed at the temple and later became an integral part of Chinese martial arts. These arts were taken from the Fukien province of South China to Okinawa and became incorporated by teachers into the indigenous fighting methods.

 

Background

 

One of the many forms to surface in Okinawa was the Sanchin form. In the Fukien dialect is pronounced San-Chien and in Mandarin "San Chan". It's translation can be understood as follows:

 

San: Three

Chin: Conflict, Battle, War

 

Sanchin No Kata is commonly referred to as "three conflicts" although others prefer "three battles". Sanchin is very popular as a dynamic tension method to produce the "Iron Body" effect. Ki is concentrated on the exterior of the body to produce a "hardening effect" which is able to withstand enormous impact to the body. Those Okinawan teachers who had a penchant for body conditioning continued to develop this form as it was very much in line with their needs.

 

Benefit

 

Chojun Miyagi, the founder of Goju Ryu, simplified the kata by removing many turns and changing from open hand to

 

closed fist. It was his intention that through the closing of the fist, Ki would be redirected back into the body, energizing the body thus aiding the development of the external muscles.

 

Now that the art of Karate has come to the West - and with it Sanchin - it's practise has become very much a method of physical development and a demonstration of tension, strength and breath control. Unfortunately, its practise in order to develop external physical strength is often over emphasized. A counter balance with the internal aspects of the kata are neccessary in order to develop pliability and sensitivity.

 

In the the initial stages, the balance can most easily be found through strong exterior muscle contraction in conjunction with yielding abdominal breathing. Through focus upon these 'conflicting' dynamics, firm and yielding, the two can be combimed. As a result integration - rather than conflict - can be experienced. This experience of 'flux in balance' gives us an insight into the natural energies that we all possess. Next, these energies can be developed as part of the practise known as Kiko or energy cultivation.

 

Three conflicts and three jewels

 

Sanchin Kata contains the essence Karate. Its primary function is to develop the cutting mind, the body of armour and explosive power. In order to develop Sanchin the three conflicts must first be recognised, harmonised and fully refined.  The three conflicts are:

 

-           Mind

-           Body

-           Breath

 

The Mind: it is the discipline of concentration that clears the the countless random thoughts that constantly distract us. Therefore when studying Sanchin we refrain from internal verbalising and concentrate on experiencing the feelings instead. This is the state of mushin.

 

The Body: constant repetition combined with self awareness corrects poor body alignment and brings control to erratic body mechanics. It restores the bodies natural balance and posture. Natural strength is developed in favour of excessive tension or relaxation.

 

The Breath: abdominal breathing replaces restrictive thoracic (chest) contraction and expansion that manifests as shallow chest breathing. This enables tension in the upper body to be released from the chest and is pushed down into lower abdomen (hara).

 

Each conflict can be seen as a dull unpolished stone. Through the practise of Sanchin, each stone abrades the rough surface of the other, until three jewels emerge. Concentrate without distraction on natural movement and posture, combined with coordinated abdominal breathing. This may take many years but with patience and perseverance will come the rewards.

 

The Cutting Mind: is the calm clear mind that perceives and acts without the incessant chatter of internal dialogue. The starting point of Zen; the uncluttered mind that allows direct experience and reaction at an instinctive level. To empathize with the enemy enables their movements to be intuited so as to cut the enemy down without hesitation at precisely the right moment.

 

The Body of Armour: is commonly referred to as "Iron Shirt" and is the effect whereby the body is able to absorb and witstand substantial blows. This is done by developing and utilising the muscles, bones and tendons throughout the whole body, absorbing and dissipating the force of the strike much like a giant shock absorber.

 

The Explosive Power: is generated by harnessing the combined energy of the whole body and then channelling and directing it into the opponent. In the initial stages a single shock wave is produced, hence the intent of "the single killing blow". In the higher levels the shock wave manifests itself as a series of continuous waves or vibrations. The source of this power is the hara or lower abdomen combined with contractions of the diaphragm (breathing control). Crane boxing refers to this as "shaking" or "trembling", in the Chinese internal arts this explosive energy is called "Fa Jing".

 

Sanchin is an isometric kata where each move is performed in a state of complete tension, accompanied by powerful, deep breathing (Ibuki) that originates in the lower abdomen (tan den). The practice of Sanchin not only leads to the strengthening of the body, but to the development of inner power (ki) and the coordination of mind and body. Sanchin means "three battles" or "three conflicts", in reference to the fact that it seeks to develop three elements at a time:

 

The mind, body and the techniques,

The internal organs, circulation and the nervous system, and The three ki, located in:

a)         Tento - the top of the head

b)        Hara - the diaphragm

c)         Tanden - the lower abdomen