Practice of Sanchin in Goju

Discussion in 'Karate' started by mani, Jun 17, 2005.

  1. mani

    mani Valued Member

    Does anybody know the reasons why Chojun Miyagi altered the way sanchin was practiced. Why did he introduce a new form of sanchin as opposed to the sanchin learnt by Higaonna Sensei from RuRuKo. My question is this, what was lacking in the original sanchin which led Miyagi to alter it? What were the disadvantages in the Higaonna (RuRuKo method) way and how has altering it made it a better form?
     
  2. gojuman

    gojuman Valued Member

    If you are referring to hands closed vs open it has to do with energy flow. If you look at sanchin performed by different goju ryus you will see sublte or not so subltle differences, but the integrity of the form stays intact. The sanchin that I know includes more blocking stances than sanchin kata I have seen performed by other goju karateka, but we are doing the same form nonetheless.
     
  3. Haduken

    Haduken Valued Member

    i don't think anyone could tell you definitavely mani... it seems thatkanryo higaonna changed it from the form that he originally learned slightly upon his return to okinawa to better suit the physique of the okinawan people (whatever that means) and that the hands open or closed was merely a preferential matter... chojun miyagi prefered closed... and must have found some reasoning behind his choice, as he is always quoted to have told his students that keeping the fist clenched tight from beginning to end of the kata was very inmportant... it may be that the tension of the hands (they should be tense even if open i believe) was the important factor, and he found that fists suited this better (just my speculation) or that the fist was more natural to the okinawans because of there heavy use of makiwara and such... angain just my speculation... let me know if you ever find out something more definitive... would be interested
     

Share This Page