Folks,
First of all, this is a wonderful site, and everybody involved should feel proud of putting up one of the best Uechi-ryu resources on the internet.
Secondly, a question. I am a Goju-ryu karateka who has never studied Uechi-ryu, but I own Sensei Mattson's "The Way of Karate" (excellent!!!) and have an interest in all Naha-te styles and history. Could somebody explain the role of dynamic tension in the practice of Uechi-ryu Sanchin? In Goju-ryu, Sanchin is very hard with constant tension throughout the body during the entire kata (which follows the same general movement pattern as Uechi's Sanchin, with variations). Sensei Mattson describes Sanchin as soft, with hard focuses at the end of each technique (kime with a kiai of sorts), but also eludes to dynamic tension training at higher levels.
So, is Uechi-ryu Sanchin "hard" (slow and with tension throughout) or "soft/hard" (with speed, focus, and snap in the execution of techniques)? This question results from my own ignorance, and not from any oversight in Sensei Mattson's wonderful introduction to karate. It is difficult to guage the levels of tension in demonstrators I've seen in video clips. I'm sure this is a very basic question for most, but you'd be surprised how hard it is to research a straight answer! Thank you in advance for any insights.
--Goju Bill[/b]
Sanchin and Dynamic Tension
Moderator: Available
People do it differently, and some people do it differently each time. So there may be a sanchin done for focus, speed, power--or dynamic tension--all in one class. But in my experience the primary energy people use is speed / impact; dynamic tension is something people often have to overcome to get to a "good" Uechi sanchin. Often a beginner is fighting their strikes trying to make them strong, and instead is just getting slowed down. Later, relaxation provides better focus.
There are parts typically done with tension although the emphasis varies. When we "open" into sanchin, the hands are clenched into fists and released under tension, drawn to the side, fired forward, and clenched / unclenched again. After passes of strikes forward, back, and forward again, three double strikes end with the same clench and release energy.
Hope that helps--it does just represent my observations.
There are parts typically done with tension although the emphasis varies. When we "open" into sanchin, the hands are clenched into fists and released under tension, drawn to the side, fired forward, and clenched / unclenched again. After passes of strikes forward, back, and forward again, three double strikes end with the same clench and release energy.
Hope that helps--it does just represent my observations.
--Ian
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Guest
Hard/Soft
I want to come in from left field on this one and give an answer from an unsuspected source which I find supportive of GEM's explanation as you have quoted it.
The source is the unofficial translation by David W. Smith of The Uechi Ryu Karate Master Text page 714 of 751:
"Tomoyose O has always said that a kick and punch should always be one action when working with a partner. The hand for example if using a Shuto-Uke in conjunction with a kick, i.e., Shomen-Geri using the tips of the toes should be combined into one smooth action. The idea is that these blows should be one strike or one blow to figuratively disable an opponent who poses a significant threat to one's life. In practice it still is one kick one strike performed in one smooth action. The ultimate action is that all hand and foot actions should be like a flash performed with an iron spirit. The action could appear to be as soft as a flower but the impact could be devastating. This would be a reverse of the Hard/Soft rule. It would appear soft but end up hard."
The source is the unofficial translation by David W. Smith of The Uechi Ryu Karate Master Text page 714 of 751:
"Tomoyose O has always said that a kick and punch should always be one action when working with a partner. The hand for example if using a Shuto-Uke in conjunction with a kick, i.e., Shomen-Geri using the tips of the toes should be combined into one smooth action. The idea is that these blows should be one strike or one blow to figuratively disable an opponent who poses a significant threat to one's life. In practice it still is one kick one strike performed in one smooth action. The ultimate action is that all hand and foot actions should be like a flash performed with an iron spirit. The action could appear to be as soft as a flower but the impact could be devastating. This would be a reverse of the Hard/Soft rule. It would appear soft but end up hard."
-
Bill Glasheen
- Posts: 17299
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
Welcome, Goju Bill!
You already have some really good material here. Just for some background... IJ (Ian) studied from me years ago, but is now an internal medicine guy practicing over on the left coast (San Diego). And John obviously is drawing from some interesting material that is very old, and has language used in the past to describe martial technique.
I'm an engineer and biomed researcher who is primarily a Uechi guy, but I also have a nidan in Goju. So hey, you came to the right place
(so long as you don't mind my own brand of unusual language... 
).
In so many words, Ian says something that I believe - it's all good. After you learn them, they are YOUR kata and you can use them in any way you like. So then the differences you see have a lot less to do with what is right or wrong, and a lot more to do with what the various founders did with these tools over time.
A little bit of history... The Goju Sanchin likely started out a lot like what we now observe in Uechi Ryu. The earliest we have from the Goju line is reports of what Kanryo Higashionna was doing, which is the version of Sanchin that he picked up in his travels in China. The link here is that Kanbun Uechi also picked up a Sanchin in China.
Higashionna's student, Chojun Miyagi, was the person credited with closing the fists in his teacher's kata, and doing dynamic tension. Why the closing of the hands into fists? Well it's likely that various versions of Okinawa te influenced his practice. The seiken fist is king on Okinawa. Even many Uechi practitioners use makiwara and build their fist knuckles up. Not all Uechi schools do the kind of work it takes to make their open-handed weapons and toe kicks the primary weapons.
As for the dynamic tension, well it's difficult to say why he added it. However it likely has something to do with how he wanted to use this kata. Absent having a modern gym with weights, dynamic tension movement is an easy way to build muscle and strengthen tendons. It also brings a student through movement very slowly where they can work on detail like how the elbow travels in the arm thrusts.
For the most part, modern Uechi Ryu does sanchin thrusts absent the dynamic tension. However there IS tension used in old-school Uechi Sanchin practice. Some of the old guys still around like Shinyu Gushi made both static and dynamic tension practice an important part of their muscular development in training. But the dynamic part of the tension primarily was a variation on the Sanchin theme, and not necessarily THE way to to the form as is done in Goju Ryu.
Why does modern Uechi use dynamic tension so little? Probably because it's redundant. A good weightroom with freeweights will train your muscles and tendons, and do so while also teaching you important principles of movement. As Ian alluded to above, the problem with dynamic tension Sanchin is it makes you do something with a vital movement that is a little unnatural. To get speed, you need to learn selective tension AND relaxation. And martial arts ultimately is about using the core muscles primarily for most movements as opposed to "bench pressing" your thrusts. That concept could be completely missed in a dynamic tension Sanchin.
One just needs to be careful...
Nevertheless, as a Uechi instructor I have taken the essence of Goju Sanchin dynamic tension training (a.k.a. the Charles Atlas method) and developed some of my own classroom warmup exercises. I will have people stand in deep horse stances and do dynamic tension forward thrusts, overhead presses and pulls, rotator cuff cranks, etc., etc. - all while also using the Goju Ryu breathing method. The breathing after all should match the movement. For me personally, I've found that it has helped my shoulders a lot. I can now really crank hard with my body on martial movements, and not worry about hurting my shoulders. And that's a good thing. Mostly the benefit comes from getting blood to flow to various muscles and tendons before I really get down to business in class.
Ian also alluded to something else that Uechi people often miss but I think Goju people do really well. That is, martial movement should have dynamic range. There IS a time where dynamic tension SHOULD be done in Uechi kata. Examples are the following:
* Opening and closing of the hands in Sanchin. I often tell my students that this is like the cat waking up and kneading the bed to warm up his gripping claws. Many people do THESE movements quickly like the Sanchin thrust. IMO, that's just plain useless movement, and misses the point of why these movements are in the form.
* Movements that mimic grabbing someone and doing something with them. It's one thing to swing or thrust your arm through the air to whack on somebody. It's something entirely different to move or grab onto a mass such as the human body. Kata movement should be mindful of what you are doing. If you are moving or working on a heavy object, internal resistance to movement (a.k.a dynamic tension) can more-or-less simulate what that external resistance will be like once you start working with a real body.
All of this gets more and more complicated with experience and practice, Bill. Some Okinawan Uechi practitioners such as Nakamatsu have taken the body part of Sanchin power and brought it to the next level. So while it's useful to have constant static tension in the trunk for some Uechi Sanchin training, employing wave-like power demands a very different mastery of the trunk muscles. So just when you think you have it all figured out, someone else will come along and say "Yea, but look what ELSE you can do!!"
Moral of the story? It's all good. And practice with purpose and understanding.
Oh and by the way, welcome!
- Bill
You already have some really good material here. Just for some background... IJ (Ian) studied from me years ago, but is now an internal medicine guy practicing over on the left coast (San Diego). And John obviously is drawing from some interesting material that is very old, and has language used in the past to describe martial technique.
I'm an engineer and biomed researcher who is primarily a Uechi guy, but I also have a nidan in Goju. So hey, you came to the right place
(so long as you don't mind my own brand of unusual language... ).In so many words, Ian says something that I believe - it's all good. After you learn them, they are YOUR kata and you can use them in any way you like. So then the differences you see have a lot less to do with what is right or wrong, and a lot more to do with what the various founders did with these tools over time.
A little bit of history... The Goju Sanchin likely started out a lot like what we now observe in Uechi Ryu. The earliest we have from the Goju line is reports of what Kanryo Higashionna was doing, which is the version of Sanchin that he picked up in his travels in China. The link here is that Kanbun Uechi also picked up a Sanchin in China.
Higashionna's student, Chojun Miyagi, was the person credited with closing the fists in his teacher's kata, and doing dynamic tension. Why the closing of the hands into fists? Well it's likely that various versions of Okinawa te influenced his practice. The seiken fist is king on Okinawa. Even many Uechi practitioners use makiwara and build their fist knuckles up. Not all Uechi schools do the kind of work it takes to make their open-handed weapons and toe kicks the primary weapons.
As for the dynamic tension, well it's difficult to say why he added it. However it likely has something to do with how he wanted to use this kata. Absent having a modern gym with weights, dynamic tension movement is an easy way to build muscle and strengthen tendons. It also brings a student through movement very slowly where they can work on detail like how the elbow travels in the arm thrusts.
For the most part, modern Uechi Ryu does sanchin thrusts absent the dynamic tension. However there IS tension used in old-school Uechi Sanchin practice. Some of the old guys still around like Shinyu Gushi made both static and dynamic tension practice an important part of their muscular development in training. But the dynamic part of the tension primarily was a variation on the Sanchin theme, and not necessarily THE way to to the form as is done in Goju Ryu.
Why does modern Uechi use dynamic tension so little? Probably because it's redundant. A good weightroom with freeweights will train your muscles and tendons, and do so while also teaching you important principles of movement. As Ian alluded to above, the problem with dynamic tension Sanchin is it makes you do something with a vital movement that is a little unnatural. To get speed, you need to learn selective tension AND relaxation. And martial arts ultimately is about using the core muscles primarily for most movements as opposed to "bench pressing" your thrusts. That concept could be completely missed in a dynamic tension Sanchin.
One just needs to be careful...
Nevertheless, as a Uechi instructor I have taken the essence of Goju Sanchin dynamic tension training (a.k.a. the Charles Atlas method) and developed some of my own classroom warmup exercises. I will have people stand in deep horse stances and do dynamic tension forward thrusts, overhead presses and pulls, rotator cuff cranks, etc., etc. - all while also using the Goju Ryu breathing method. The breathing after all should match the movement. For me personally, I've found that it has helped my shoulders a lot. I can now really crank hard with my body on martial movements, and not worry about hurting my shoulders. And that's a good thing. Mostly the benefit comes from getting blood to flow to various muscles and tendons before I really get down to business in class.
Ian also alluded to something else that Uechi people often miss but I think Goju people do really well. That is, martial movement should have dynamic range. There IS a time where dynamic tension SHOULD be done in Uechi kata. Examples are the following:
* Opening and closing of the hands in Sanchin. I often tell my students that this is like the cat waking up and kneading the bed to warm up his gripping claws. Many people do THESE movements quickly like the Sanchin thrust. IMO, that's just plain useless movement, and misses the point of why these movements are in the form.
* Movements that mimic grabbing someone and doing something with them. It's one thing to swing or thrust your arm through the air to whack on somebody. It's something entirely different to move or grab onto a mass such as the human body. Kata movement should be mindful of what you are doing. If you are moving or working on a heavy object, internal resistance to movement (a.k.a dynamic tension) can more-or-less simulate what that external resistance will be like once you start working with a real body.
All of this gets more and more complicated with experience and practice, Bill. Some Okinawan Uechi practitioners such as Nakamatsu have taken the body part of Sanchin power and brought it to the next level. So while it's useful to have constant static tension in the trunk for some Uechi Sanchin training, employing wave-like power demands a very different mastery of the trunk muscles. So just when you think you have it all figured out, someone else will come along and say "Yea, but look what ELSE you can do!!"
Moral of the story? It's all good. And practice with purpose and understanding.
Oh and by the way, welcome!
- Bill
Ian, John, Bill... thank you for your time and effort in responding to my query. Your insights are much appreciated!
Please check my logic and observations:
- Sanchin with dynamic tension is primarily for conditioning, using the "Charles Atlas"-like resistance of antagonistic muscles to promote strength and muscle tone (nice comparison, Bill). The deep diaphramic breathing is also against resistance (a tense abdominal wall and constricted-- not restricted-- epiglotis) to strengthen the respiratory system. Obviously, not a lot of direct application to martial technique unless fighting someone in a windstorm or underwater against a raging current. The standing Zen function also seems moot, since the tension promotes anything but relaxation. These are my observations as a Goju guy. Seems reasonable that the emphasis on dynamic tension in Higashionna/ Miyagi teachings were a sign of the times (karate as a way of physical and mental development, not necessarily just as a method of self-defense) and an evolutionary off-shoot of a more orthodox, hard/soft training form...
- "mainstream" (for lack of a better term) Uechi-ryu Sanchin is more practical as a training tool for actual martial techniques, since the principles of movement and muscle memory developed carries over directly. It is a more reasonable approach to mind-body/ standing Zen training as well. This is based on "The Way of Karate" and what I gather from each of your posts.
So, it's all a matter of purpose, then. The only right way to do it is the one that fits your goals at the time. Each has benefits, and I could see the advantage of incorporating both kinds of training... though doing two different versions of Sanchin itself would create a lot of confusion of muscle memory, don't you think? When I train privately at home, I may emphasize something along the lines of your approach, Bill, incorporating both types of training but in different ways so as not to confuse myself.
Thanks, gentlemen, and feel free to add any further thoughts... my mind is an empty cup!!!
--Goju Bill
Please check my logic and observations:
- Sanchin with dynamic tension is primarily for conditioning, using the "Charles Atlas"-like resistance of antagonistic muscles to promote strength and muscle tone (nice comparison, Bill). The deep diaphramic breathing is also against resistance (a tense abdominal wall and constricted-- not restricted-- epiglotis) to strengthen the respiratory system. Obviously, not a lot of direct application to martial technique unless fighting someone in a windstorm or underwater against a raging current. The standing Zen function also seems moot, since the tension promotes anything but relaxation. These are my observations as a Goju guy. Seems reasonable that the emphasis on dynamic tension in Higashionna/ Miyagi teachings were a sign of the times (karate as a way of physical and mental development, not necessarily just as a method of self-defense) and an evolutionary off-shoot of a more orthodox, hard/soft training form...
- "mainstream" (for lack of a better term) Uechi-ryu Sanchin is more practical as a training tool for actual martial techniques, since the principles of movement and muscle memory developed carries over directly. It is a more reasonable approach to mind-body/ standing Zen training as well. This is based on "The Way of Karate" and what I gather from each of your posts.
So, it's all a matter of purpose, then. The only right way to do it is the one that fits your goals at the time. Each has benefits, and I could see the advantage of incorporating both kinds of training... though doing two different versions of Sanchin itself would create a lot of confusion of muscle memory, don't you think? When I train privately at home, I may emphasize something along the lines of your approach, Bill, incorporating both types of training but in different ways so as not to confuse myself.
Thanks, gentlemen, and feel free to add any further thoughts... my mind is an empty cup!!!
--Goju Bill
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Bill Glasheen
- Posts: 17299
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
Goju Bill wrote: only right way to do it is the one that fits your goals at the time.
Good synopsis.
At first, yes.Goju Bill wrote: Each has benefits, and I could see the advantage of incorporating both kinds of training... though doing two different versions of Sanchin itself would create a lot of confusion of muscle memory, don't you think?
I highly recommend people get a shodan in their first style before cross-training. Particularly with styles so close like Uechi and Goju, it'll drive you nuts at first trying not to hybridize the two. While they are based on the same basic principles (at least the Sanchin-based part of Goju), the principles are executed in very close but slightly different ways.
For example, the double thrust at the end of Goju sanchin is two palm heels, whereas the double thrust at the end of Uechi Sanchin is a very similar looking palm-like thrust that actually emphasizes contact with the thumb and tips of the fingers. Furthermore, the lower hand has fingers pointed to the floor in the Goju version, but that same hand is rotated 90 degrees in Uechi Sanchin so that the fingers are oriented out. Close but different. Someone studying the two styles will muddle the techniques and/or think one superior to the next. No, no, no!!! They both are good. Again, two different manifestations of the same principle.
But once you appreciate the subtle differences, you will love both styles.
It always bothered me when I saw Uechi people criticizing Goju methods. I probably learned more good applications of my Uechi kata by studying from my special forces Goju instructor than I learned from any other single Uechi source. Go figure... In the end, it's the teacher and not the style that helps the student best express him/herself.
I won't come out and say that this is incorrect. I will however say that - one way or another - you have to do some conditioning of your body to maximize your power potential. Goju Sanchin is one way. The weight room using classic freeweight strength and power exercises is another. And so are some of the other traditional exercises that work on strength of the forearms, fingers, and toes.Goju Bill wrote: Sanchin with dynamic tension is primarily for conditioning ... Uechi-ryu Sanchin is more practical as a training tool for actual martial techniques, since the principles of movement and muscle memory developed carries over directly.
Uechi Sanchin without conditioning is like sending a Humvee over to Iraq without body armour. It doesn't matter how well you move if you are too vulnerable to injury from external or internal forces.
But yes, there are good health reasons to do the conditioning as well. And besides, chicks on the beach dig it.
Well stated! However, this is just half the formula. Trust me on this one. I was doing a dissertation on cardiopulmonary rhythms while I was studying Goju, and could measure many of the forces and variables involved in the dog lab.Goju Bill wrote: The deep diaphramic breathing is also against resistance (a tense abdominal wall and constricted-- not restricted-- epiglotis) to strengthen the respiratory system.
Whenever you work agonist, you must work antagonist. Whenever you exercise the breathing muscles against a resistance to exhaling, you must also exercise them against a resistance to inhaling. Yin and yang must balance, if you want to go Chinese granola here. So... for every exhale that is performed against resistance (restricted epiglottis), you should also do an inhale that is performed against equal and opposite resistance (constricted nostrils). To use a good metaphor, I tell my kids that you first snort like the dragon, and then breathe fire like the dragon. You do a very long and loud "sniff", and then an equally long and loud "hiss" (from deep down in the epiglottis).
Other than work the respiratory muscles in a fashion similar to working your pecs on the bench press, this also has a very interesting physiologic effect. Resistance to inhaling causes higher negative intrapleural pressure. Resistance to exhaling causes higher positive intraplerual pressure. Make the lobes of the intraplerual pressure sine wave equal and opposite about zero pressure (totally relaxed, and not breathing), and you cause some very interesting cardiovascular effects. First of all, your vena cava is very elastic. So this pressure activity will "milk" the largest vein in your body, and thus enhance cardiac output. The mechanical effect is amplified by sensors in the right heart that make the heart beat faster and stronger when you fill it up from these waves of blood pouring in the heart. If you were to put an EKG on a healthy person, you would note increases and decreases in heartrate corresponding to the breathing. So in essence you are exercising your cardiovascular system as well. And through the nerual sensors that monitor things like right-heart filling, aortic pressure, and carotid pressure, well now you're tweaking the autonomic nervous system.
When you do this correctly, you will NOT be raising your blood pressure or overstimulating the autonomic nervous system. You just make it wax and wane. You are working with both homeostasis and homeokinesis. But I wax geek here...
But it's more than that, Bill. Not all martial motion is swinging your arms through air to hit something. Half of all fighting involves working against a resistance - particularly in grappling. Sanchin isn't just about teaching you how to hit. It's also about teaching your body how to move and breathe when your latched onto someone and you have to grunt your way through the effort. This gets into throwing as well. Basically your physical movements are enhanced when you learn how to use your breathing in conjunction with maximal or near-maximal force movements (against a resistance such as throwing someone). Increasing intrapleural and intraabdominal pressure at key moments can tether the torso right when you need a solid hydraulic mass between legs and arms. I'm not talking Valsalva here (breath holding with strain). I'm just talking about getting the forces of breathing working with your skeletal and cardiovascular systems. The "chi effect" is essentially the synergistic combination of many forces working either together or in a "wave."
As I said, it's all good.
- Bill
Vito Petitti[quote]How one breathes in and out is just as important. While Ashtanga Yoga emphasizes breathing in and out only through the nose, only exhaling through the mouth can accommodate the explosive, outward force necessary for committed martial arts striking techniques.
Also, there is the "Kiai," or yell, which is meant to bond one's psychological intensity with one's actual physical technique. It is often taught by martial arts teachers who want to ensure that students are breathing properly.”
1. Coordinate breathing and synchronize it with your muscular activity. When you extend your arm, exhale and strike but conserve 50% of your air. Be sure never to expel all of your air at one time. When you inhale, your body becomes light. When you exhale your body becomes rooted to the ground.
2. Listen to your breathing and become aware of every part of your body.
3. There must be a constant but pliable muscular contraction in the deltoid, trapezius, latissimus dorsi, serratus, and pectoral muscle groups.
Exhaling on the stroke, makes your impact more solid, creates a hard wall in your body in case you catch a counterblow, and it gets rid of carbon dioxide.
Focusing on the exale is the best way to give commitment to your actions from a mental viewpoint.
Also, there is the "Kiai," or yell, which is meant to bond one's psychological intensity with one's actual physical technique. It is often taught by martial arts teachers who want to ensure that students are breathing properly.”
1. Coordinate breathing and synchronize it with your muscular activity. When you extend your arm, exhale and strike but conserve 50% of your air. Be sure never to expel all of your air at one time. When you inhale, your body becomes light. When you exhale your body becomes rooted to the ground.
2. Listen to your breathing and become aware of every part of your body.
3. There must be a constant but pliable muscular contraction in the deltoid, trapezius, latissimus dorsi, serratus, and pectoral muscle groups.
Exhaling on the stroke, makes your impact more solid, creates a hard wall in your body in case you catch a counterblow, and it gets rid of carbon dioxide.
Focusing on the exale is the best way to give commitment to your actions from a mental viewpoint.
Van
Vito
By properly exhaling during a strike your are constricting your lungs, thereby causing more power with a wider range of movement capability. You are controlling the adrenaline built up in your body to be released with greater exertion while exhaling, versus keeping it pent up inside during inhalation.
Van
Vito
Load compensation is a fundamental aspect of the breathing act. The respiratory pump, designed to be in the middle of the body, shares muscles and structures with multiple non-respiratory functions, including locomotion, and is therefore subjected to many continuously changing loads. If there was no mechanism to control the mechanical result of the neural output, breathing would probably be a chaotic and energetically demanding act, with catastrophic effects on the distribution of ventilation and blood gas homeostasis.
Van
During the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, sportscasters amused by the "screaming" observed during various competitive events, presented a mini-special on "Olympic Screamers."
Power Breathing, a phrase coined by Dr. Ray Mulry in his book In the Zone, explains this phenomenon observable in the Hammer Throw, Shot Put, Weight Lifting as well as in numerous other events. " We've got to scream to produce!" one Olympian joked.
Winning athletes take advantage of every competitive edge, coordinating "Exhaling Into the Exertion" with full body movements.
Power Breathing emphasizes "EXHALING INTO THE EXERTION" in
"THE POSITION OF STRENGTH"
What do you do with your breathing
while physically exerting yourself?
Learn how Power Breathing integrates the Position of Strength with ~Exhaling Into The Exertion~ for greater strength and self-protection. Learn to use ~Stomach & Thigh Power~ along with Power Breathing, increasing physical strength while protecting against a back injury, other strains and sprains and hernias.
Van
Coach Sonnon
Focus upon exhaling through every movement. Never inhale consciously. Don't move unless you are exhaling. Keep exhaling while you are moving... one long exhalation. Match the exhalation explosiveness to the biomechanical acceleration: slow if slow movement, explosive if explosive, but keep exhaling always...
Van
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Bill Glasheen
- Posts: 17299
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 1999 6:01 am
- Location: Richmond, VA --- Louisville, KY
Some of these references are highly germaine, Van. But I do want to make sure we keep the thread focused on comparisons between Goju and Uechi Sanchins.
You are familiar with the Uechi Sanchin methods. The Goju one is another whole kettle of fish. It is what it is. Like a bench press, a squat, or a power clean, it's a highly general activity with no specific application. But the training is both general and useful.
I was very fortunate to have Steven King as an instructor. He studied with Gosei Yamaguchi, Kimo Wall, and masters of other martial arts. He also was a combat instructor for the Green Beret, so he put much to use. And he now is a professional chiropractor. Interestingly enough, he sought me out. He had Kanei Uechi's Blue Book as well as George's books, and wanted to learn more about what we shared.
And he started in judo. He could always bring Sanchin to the ground just as easily as he could apply it on his feet.
In short, working with him - particularly while I was in graduate school - was a very rich experience.
- Bill
You are familiar with the Uechi Sanchin methods. The Goju one is another whole kettle of fish. It is what it is. Like a bench press, a squat, or a power clean, it's a highly general activity with no specific application. But the training is both general and useful.
I was very fortunate to have Steven King as an instructor. He studied with Gosei Yamaguchi, Kimo Wall, and masters of other martial arts. He also was a combat instructor for the Green Beret, so he put much to use. And he now is a professional chiropractor. Interestingly enough, he sought me out. He had Kanei Uechi's Blue Book as well as George's books, and wanted to learn more about what we shared.
And he started in judo. He could always bring Sanchin to the ground just as easily as he could apply it on his feet.
In short, working with him - particularly while I was in graduate school - was a very rich experience.
- Bill
Van,Van Canna wrote:During the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, sportscasters amused by the "screaming" observed during various competitive events, presented a mini-special on "Olympic Screamers."
Power Breathing, a phrase coined by Dr. Ray Mulry in his book In the Zone, explains this phenomenon observable in the Hammer Throw, Shot Put, Weight Lifting as well as in numerous other events. " We've got to scream to produce!" one Olympian joked.
Winning athletes take advantage of every competitive edge, coordinating "Exhaling Into the Exertion" with full body movements.
Power Breathing emphasizes "EXHALING INTO THE EXERTION" in
"THE POSITION OF STRENGTH"
What do you do with your breathing
while physically exerting yourself?
Learn how Power Breathing integrates the Position of Strength with ~Exhaling Into The Exertion~ for greater strength and self-protection. Learn to use ~Stomach & Thigh Power~ along with Power Breathing, increasing physical strength while protecting against a back injury, other strains and sprains and hernias.
I just wanted to comment that this definition of "Power Breathing" is not the often used one in the Strength and Conditioning industry. What this describes (the method of active exhalation on perceived effort; passive inhalation on cessation of perceived effort) I've named "Performance Breathing."
"Power Breathing" (a la Pavel Tatsouline) regards active inhalation and pressurizing (against the held breath volume.)
There are those who may read the phrase "Power Breathing" and misunderstand, so just a caution that there are multiple and contradictory defintions of this phrase.
Scott Sonnon
www.rmaxi.com
www.rmaxi.com
Wow... thanks again, everyone! Your comments have been very insightful. It makes me realize that some enterprising karate-ka could probably fill a whole book on Sanchin alone! (hey, how great would that be?) It truly lives up to it's reputation as a kata that looks deceptively simple, but there's a lot of skill and discipline necessary to learn the intricacies of the breathing, tension, etc. In this way, it's an efficient training tool that covers several bases at once... and it makes sense that the kata actually contains some of the deepest teachings of karate.
I only wish I would have thought of posting a question on this forum sooner! The differences in the way that Sanchin is practiced in Goju-ryu, Uechi-ryu, Isshin-ryu and other Okinawan traditions (not to mention Sanchin's earlier incarnations in the Chinese martial arts) is a reminder that there is no one "way"... a lesson made clearer by your comments. As Obi-Wan said, the truth is a matter of one's point of view.
I only wish I would have thought of posting a question on this forum sooner! The differences in the way that Sanchin is practiced in Goju-ryu, Uechi-ryu, Isshin-ryu and other Okinawan traditions (not to mention Sanchin's earlier incarnations in the Chinese martial arts) is a reminder that there is no one "way"... a lesson made clearer by your comments. As Obi-Wan said, the truth is a matter of one's point of view.
