breaking down the sanchin strike

[Shana Moore]

I'm currently spending some time breaking down this part of Sanchin, as I feel I have much to learn and figure out. I'm curious what others think and practice in this central kata to our style.

When you practice Sanchin, does your strike originate from your hips, your core/torso, your feet, etc?

Is this origination the true source of this strike's force?

Do you practice the movement with tension througout, or with looseness until the last moment before impact?

Do you practice as kata and form, or do you also practice against an opponent or punching bag (or some other striking surface?

Have you ever tried sanchin in water?

Does your shoulder have a significant impact on this movement, or is it along for the ride?

[Shana Moore]

I will answer this first, so it's clear that I'm working on these answers myself, and not asking someone else to fill in my blanks... Here are my current thoughts/answers, subject to change as I learn and grow, of course!

When you practice Sanchin, does your strike originate from your hips, your core/torso, your feet, etc?
I had thought the strike originated from my hips, with a snap forward powering the strike; however, I think it is more of an all body interaction that truly makes this strike effective and smooth.

I'm currently working on contracting my core to "throw" this strike out, but I'm not sure I've got this right...more practice and work to be done!

Is this origination the true source of this strike's force?
I think the origination is from my feet, but I'm still working to feel it correctly.

Do you practice the movement with tension througout, or with looseness until the last moment before impact?
I've tried both. I feel like it's stronger when I can relax until the end, but this is harder than it sounds. I think I need to work on keeping my shoulders down..again...work in process (WIP)

Do you practice as kata and form, or do you also practice against an opponent or punching bag (or some other striking surface?...Have you ever tried sanchin in water?
When I had access to a pool, I did this in the pool, and it helped me "feel" my movements. Now, alas, the pool is a memory, and I am simply doing on land. I have been doing simply as form, but I plan to do both as kata and against a bag tomorrow when I go to the gym. I think I need some kind of impact feedback to understand more of what I'm doing here.

Does your shoulder have a significant impact on this movement, or is it along for the ride?
Right now...I think I involve my shoulders too much, as I don't think my shoulder should be so involved...at least, no more than the rest of my body. I don't think I should be throwing this from my shoulder, but they keep trying to butt in to the whole movment

[maxwell ainley]

Hi shana ,

I will address the shoulders ,quite simply they need a lot of attention to,and what I mean intially is the practice of dropping them ,that would be first in a uechi-ryu strike build up.

[mhosea]

Well, I'm always experimenting, and of course I'm in the un-credentialed peanut gallery, so FWIW...

When you practice Sanchin, does your strike originate from your hips, your core/torso, your feet, etc?

I would say core.

Is this origination the true source of this strike's force?

I suppose when I'm doing it right, but I don't always get it right. I'm also not of the opinion that everything is always supposed to be about maximum force, particularly a fingertip strike, for which in one important application is literally a fingertip strike to one of a variety of kyusho points. However, insofar as I consider it an abstraction of a straight punch, I work on transferring power from the core to the strike.

Do you practice the movement with tension througout, or with looseness until the last moment before impact?


Looseness except for what tension in the torso is required to connect the core to the strike, in the hand and wrist, and the other arm which held out in Sanchin kamae. I intend no additional tension in the last moment before impact, only to arrest the strike at a point in time that would be after impact, simply to protect the joints (which is really important in my case for various reasons).


Do you practice as kata and form, or do you also practice against an opponent or punching bag (or some other striking surface?


I sometimes have tried these spearhand strikes against a bag or pad but seldom, more usually with a closed fist. I have made some effort to condition my fingertips for kyusho strikes, but not in the form of a sanchin strike.


Have you ever tried sanchin in water?


Yes!


Does your shoulder have a significant impact on this movement, or is it along for the ride?


My shoulder is down and along for the ride (unless I get tired).

[hoshin]

where does the strike originate...
i have thought about this one for a long time.
my original thought was that the hips started the action like booster rockets that fall away as the hand gets into the action and then the hand takes off on its own.
my teacher would say that the hand starts the action and then the hips are thrown into play as you are about to make contact.
when i asked Art Rabesa here on the power strike forum he said the whole body acts all at once. the times i have worked with him in person he would always say the strike is like a sneeze.

i think all three ways are important to play and experiment with ,,its all just part of the journey.

[Shana Moore]

Thank you all for your responses.

I worked on my shoulders some more (a continuing work in progress) this morning and did some strikes against a wavemaster....OW! Definately got to work on some conditioning. I will say that doing it against a bag gave me a new awareness of my body and hand/wrist/arm alignment. So it's something I will add as occassional training work. Definately got to do some strengthening/conditioning work on the fingers.

As all of you have mentioned, this is worth playing around and trying multiple approaches.

Mike, you make a good point about not always going for maximum force...but any strength in your strike has to come from somewhere.

hoshin, "the strike is like a sneeze"...hmmmmm....I like that analogy. Mentally, I like to think of the strike as a series of actions that start at the floor and flow up and out your arm....phyiscally...I need to work on shoulders down and connecting my body parts....

I found this concept easier to work on in water, because the water presses against all of your body in a much more noticeable way than air...but in the end...I'm coming to beleive, it's really about body awareness and practice, practice, practice

Hope to hear more input and thoughts on this topic. Thank you!

[mhosea]

Mike, you make a good point about not always going for maximum force...but any strength in your strike has to come from somewhere.

Sure, but always the same place? A driving golf swing looks a bit different from a putt.

[Shana Moore]

Mike, you make a good point about not always going for maximum force...but any strength in your strike has to come from somewhere.

Sure, but always the same place? A driving golf swing looks a bit different from a putt.

Good point!

My first thought is the mechanics should be the same, and you just put more oomph into the action (or for your example more of your body is involved), but that's not necessarily so...hmmmmm....