Sorry - I know this question must've been asked time and time again, but I haven't found much... I'd like some bunkai for the following katas: Tsuki No Kata Gekisai Dai Sanchin Saifa (Saiha) Yantsu Seiyunchin Can anybody give me any pointers? (Thanks)
Hello Paul, I suggest reading first a book called "The way of Kata" by Lawerence Kane and Kris Wilder. This is about the best instruction you will get as to the interpretation of kata. Regards toughern
Thanks - I've ordered the Kane/Wilder book from Amazon. I'll have a read of that one and then check out the Abernethy one.
I could be wrong, but I've always thought Sanchin was more for basics and conditioning than for teaching fighting sequences.
I would go with the Iain Abernethy books, they are an easy read and get there points across very well. I've just ordered the book mentioned here aswell (the way of the kata), there does seem to be a lot better understanding on kata today than from when I was younger which can only be a good thing.
hey. well, as has been said already, sanchin is an excercise kata, it emphazises tension and proper tsuki technique and as such it has no real bunkai. regarding seienchin though, i can help a bit more, with it being one of my favourite katas, though i'm not sure about the part with the elbows in neko ashi dachi.. here goes, if someone notices i screwed up feel free to pwn my ****... i mean correct me : first movements(shiko dachi, the grab kinda thing with the block, grab and nukite): the bunkai here is divided into two parts, each of which can be interpreted in different ways. the first part, the "grab" in front of your chest is usually a wristgrab & twist to someone grabbing your shirt/gi/whatever you're wearing, but, by simply pronating your arms when you close your fists and opening your arms from the front to the sides instead of downwards and out you can interpret it as turning your wrist to escape a wrist grab yourself. the second part, with the open handed deflection, grab and nukite, has a standard bunkai of grab+hit, but changes depending on which arm you block. standard procedure is hitting below the floating ribs if your grab the same arm, but if you grab the opposite arm(i.e:left arm grabs left arm) you are vulnerable, thus the horizontal nukite(assuming you use the nukite as is ) should go to either the throat, the plexus or if you're strong then to just above the groin, which hits the tendon that inserts the abs, and part of the pubic nerves, hurting a damn lot and making the opponent double over(follow with a quick uppercut or two and the rest's history), an alternate application, albeit a tad difficult is using the block to strike the neck or face and grabbing the head before throwing the strike, which can then be aimed at the throat as you pull the head down. second section(sage ashi dachi, the push and elbow): well this section is a little weird, but i always saw it as evading a sweep or low kick(no need to actually retract the leg, you can always use a shin block, or a vertical shin kick on the step forwards). the fist on palm movement can be either an otoshi ura ken to the nose(loads of fun) or simply a chamber to gain momentum, and the push on the step usually goes as near as possible to the plexus for maximum effect, but can still generate a fair bit of momentum just with the advance. it should be noted that the haishu uke before the elbow actually IS an uke, and is followed by a grab to the head of shoulder, hence the "slapping" of your elbow during the kata, i.e: you actually pull the opponent INTO the blow(a recurring theme in seienchin, and a lot of other nahate/goju-ryu kata, like seipai). third sections(both sides): as far as i know, this is simply an invasive advance with groin strike(aggresive gedan barai. fourth sections(2x shuto barais, uchi uke/forearm strike, otoshi ura ken uchi): AFAIK, the shuto barais are just standard issue defences, although if you wish to and know how you can use them to practice some throws, while the forearm movement is an invasive defense movement, meaning you step into an attack and bash the offending limb away, followed by loads of fun.. i mean otoshi ura ken , take note of the suri ashi movement, you should end up basically at clinch range of you opponent, which if you land the otoshi uraken means a world of hurt for said opponent. some people do a jodan ura tsuki instead of an uraken, but the same thing applies. fifth/seventh sections(both sides, defense, grab, ura tsuki jodan, otoshi ura, gedan barai to the groin): the defining movement of seienchin, although only three movements long, this is positively one of the nastiest beatings i've seen in kata, barring seipai(then again i don't know that many kata), you use it to defend a punch, preferably same arm, grab, advance to a low stance(sort of zenkutsu), dragging the grabbed opponent with you and twist your hips into shiko dachi(or as close as you get, depends how you do stancers in bunkai) and drive your fist into the opponents lower jaw, using the twist of shiko dachi to add as much strength as posible, twisting the head up(the aim is to break the cervicals), then throw otoshi uraken into the opponents face(which will be facing up, maximizing impact), preferably to the nose bridge or between the nose and upper lip, and follow with a gedan barai to the groin. in case of grabbing the same arm, uppercut the armpit, the uraken can be done to the stomach, sternum or to the tip of the floating ribs and the gedan barai strike to the thigh, knee or hipbone. sixth/eigth sections(the elbows): this ones i'm not sure about the exact proceeding, but i know that they're used to escape from a bear hug, with the main movement being the chamber(i.e: ushiro empi uchi/hiji ate uchi), striking the ribs, with the other arm just lifting the elbow when you drop the stance to open up the opponent's arms and escape downwards from the grab(thus the use of neko ashi). the second step in the sequence i've seen done as a throw, but i've never been able to do it efficiently, so i'll refrain from speaking while uninformed. last movements(arm circle thing, suri ashi otoshi uraken, step back): the arm circle thing, usually done unnecessarily wide for competition, is actually a grab while leaning back(basic nekoashi bunkai, lean back to avoid/roll with a blow), followed by a suri ashi, pull and face smash, simple enough. the last movement on the step back i've seen done as an escape from a close range lapel/shirt grab, using your elbows to open the opponents arms and leave him unprotected and you with full attack opportunities, for example a short range kick from neko ashi, or a front knee. bit of a long post, but i hope it helps again anyone feel free to correct whatevet blunders i might have committed here. spelling errors will be fixed shortly fish
no prob. a word of advice though, i don't know how you currently train bunkai, but for advanced katas like this, which have a lot of stancework, you should not focus exclusively on training IN the stances themselves, do at least a third of yuour training starting from heikodachi, arms down, and stand naturally when you do each movement, applying the concept of the stance into the way your move, (ie turn your knees out and lower your legs in the grabs to pull the opp. into the attacks, lean back over your back leg when the kata has neko ashi, etc) that way you get used to actually doing the movements without being static and fixed on the spot. stances should be fluid, and should be a part of the movement, not it's conclusion(i think that didn't make much sense but then again I don't make much sense either ). good luck with your training fish
I recently read Mr. Abernethy's book and I found it to be most interesting karate book. It made sense to me and gave me a newfound respect for old-style karate as I had fallen into to neglecting anything but the few full-contact karate. Really good.
Sanchin is used to develop internal body mechanics. I used to do it all tensed up, but now I am totally relaxed, workin on moving in a different mode. Sanchin is even better when you have someone doing testing on you. http://www.uechi-la.org/sanchin_shime.htm For the isshinryu version, with which I am most famliar there are only 4 different techniques (side block, punch, grabbing the belly and ripping etc, and a push). When I attended an Advincula seminar a couple years ago he focused more on the body mechanics than the bunkai itself.
remember that there are many versions of sanchin which are widely different from each other. the one we do in hayashi-ha ****o-ryu is only marginally like the one shown in that uechi-ryu link, for example, and is used for tension practice, while tensho is more suited for relaxed movements
