Why Sanchin?

Lou Flirpa · Post by **Lou Flirpa** » Thu Apr 01, 1999 10:59 am

Fellow martial artists, I have been studying MA for twenty some years now and have been studying your so called "style" for a few months.

I seemed to have already mastered this "Sanchin" kata. It seems so simple . Why do you bother to keep it as part of your training?

For those of you who know me by reputation, please let others respond to this question before you, as the debate may prove interesting.

Lou

Evan Pantazi · Post by **Evan Pantazi** » Thu Apr 01, 1999 12:23 pm

[This message has been edited by Evan Pantazi (edited 04-01-99).]

Paul_C · Post by **Paul_C** » Thu Apr 01, 1999 2:37 pm

Mr. Flirpa

In the off chance of damaging your ego, I can say I've never heard of you. Therefore I feel I can give you an unbiased answer to your question. Now I've only been studying Uechi for about six years, and there are many people who frequent this web site with much more experience in Uechi then myself. So If my explanation isn't very clear then I'm sure someone else will jump in to help out.

Let me start out by saying that this is my interpretation of Sanchin with out getting too philosophical. It might not be everybody's, in fact it might not be anybody's.

Sanchin is not a Kata like any other. Your right when you said it seems like a simple Kata. On the out side Sanchin looks like a very simple Kata. You throw a strike you take a step, you throw a strike you take another step, it doesn't get any more simple then that. But the longer you study you will find it is the most difficult Kata to "master". When performing Sanchin you are not imagining defending yourself against invisible attackers like you might do in other Kata. In a physical sense Sanchin is where you work on all of the building blocks of what makes Uechi-ryu, Uechi-ryu. It is where you work on your stance, your "center", your ability to make a powerful strike look completely effortless. Even the ability to take a strong strike to the legs, arms or stomach without losing any of the criteria of what makes a good Sanchin. I'm not sure if you have ever witnessed someone having there Sanchin tested, but it can be very impressive.

On a mental note Sanchin is used as a meditation. Working on a strong "Zanchin" (sp?) your focus or composure. It's used to force yourself to concentrate on a particular moment, it's reason for it's "simplicity" as you put it. You might have herd in your months of study the all is in Sanchin. Well it is. Everything you work on in Uechi is related to Sanchin. The way you step, the way you throw a hook punch even the way you kick, all can be seen in Sanchin. If you are getting comments about a certain problem in one of your Kata, the same problem can usually be seen in your Sanchin. Some people like to think of Sanchin as a teaching tool, but I like to think of Sanchin as Uechi-ryu. When you work on Sanchin you are working on all of your Kata simultaneously.

This may not explain Sanchin very well, but I hope it may intrigue you too look at Sanchin a little deeper the next time you are performing it.

Joe Bellone · Post by **Joe Bellone** » Thu Apr 01, 1999 3:15 pm

Happy April Fool's Day Mr. Flirpa,

Did you know I can explode chickens at a distance by throwing my "chi" at them with a Sanchin thrust??? It's true! Ya wanna buy a video???

Joe Bellone

Paul_C · Post by **Paul_C** » Thu Apr 01, 1999 4:21 pm

D'oah!!!
I guess I bit the proverbial hook.

[This message has been edited by Paul_C (edited 04-01-99).]

Post by **gmattson** » Thu Apr 01, 1999 6:14 pm

There are times like this, where being a slow writer pays off! Now what the hell am I going to do with that 10 page defense of Sanchin.

Touche Mr. April Fool!

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GEM

JOHN THURSTON · Post by **JOHN THURSTON** » Thu Apr 01, 1999 10:10 pm

Mr. Flirpa:

Touche.

(hopefully you know the words meaning)

I you really want yo get the boys and girls upset, tell them Sanchin is a Chi Kung.

Now we'll also miss GEMS" empassioned defense.

JOHN T

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David in Sacramento · Post by **David in Sacramento** » Fri Apr 02, 1999 4:14 am

Sensei Mattson:

Can we convince you to post your response anyways?

David in Sacramento

Joe Bellone · Post by **Joe Bellone** » Fri Apr 02, 1999 5:16 am

For the record, Lou Flirpa isn't me. But I just want to say thank you to the notorious Mr. Flirpa. I wanted to use the exploding chicken line for a long time.

Paul_C, that was a nice post on Sanchin.

Anthony, it was nice that you wanted to defend Sanchin Kata. Personally, I've met a few real Mr. Flirpa's in my studies. Walter Mattson gave me a great piece of advice on how to deal with these people once. Walter said, "Joe, some people just don't get it." He was right. Some people just don't get it, and they never will.

Anthony, the choke you were writing about is popular among Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu guys. In Portuguese it's called Mata Leao. In English it gets translated to "Lion Kill."

Joe

Paul_C · Post by **Paul_C** » Fri Apr 02, 1999 5:26 am

Hey Joe,

Thanks for the complement. I don't know if you remember but I worked out with you and Durke a few months before the Dojo closed down. So a lot of that explanation came from you two. How's the Pa-Gua (bagua?) going? Hear from Durke lately?

Lou Flirpa · Post by **Lou Flirpa** » Fri Apr 02, 1999 5:51 am

To all, as expected your passion for your art form has risen to commendable levels. I knew the Sanchin reference would getcha!

As to Anthony's question "I AM NO ONE".

Sometimes you just have to look at things from a different perspective (like backwards!!!)

Die Dulce Fruere!

See you next year!

Kevin Mackie · Post by **Kevin Mackie** » Fri Apr 02, 1999 1:33 pm

Anthony, Did you check the date that the ace reporter's star wars article was published?

Have a Nice Day.

Kevin

PS, was that a Scottish slur JD?

Joe Bellone · Post by **Joe Bellone** » Fri Apr 02, 1999 2:00 pm

Paul_C, it's great to hear from you. I hope your still working hard. Send me an e-mail sometime.

Anthony, form now on I'm going to call that choke, "Anthony's choke."

John Thurston, that was an excellent line. I applaud you.

Joe

JOHN THURSTON · Post by **JOHN THURSTON** » Fri Apr 02, 1999 9:08 pm

Thanks for the compliment Joe. All eagerly accepted.

Lest we forget "April Fool's Day" was the day in 1945 when America invaded Okinawa.

A sobering thought in its own way.

JOHN T

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