Nippon Budō Seishin-Kan

After bowing and announcing the name of the kata ("Sanchin") ...

Yōi (cross open hands at groin level in musubi dachi) and kiyomeri kokyū (purification breaths)
Kamaete (shift both feet simultaneouslyinto nami heikō dachi while closing hands into fists at hip—not knee—width)

	1	Step forward into migi sanchin dachi with morote yoko uke(1)
	2	In place, slowly hikite(2) with left hand (inhaling fully), slowly gyakuzuki (exhaling fully), then hidari yoko uke whilst inhaling and exhaling fully
	3	Step forward into hidari sanchin dachi whilst maintaining morote yoko uke
	4	In place, slowly hikite with right hand (inhaling fully), slowly gyakuzuki (exhaling fully), then migi yoko uke whilst inhaling and exhaling fully
	5	Step forward into migi sanchin dachi whilst maintaining morote yoko uke
	6	In place, slowly hikite with left hand (inhaling fully), slowly gyakuzuki (exhaling fully), then hidari yoko uke whilst inhaling and exhaling fully
	7	Slowly hikite with left hand before moving it across the torso until the fist (palm down) is beneath the right elbow (inhaling fully), turn (Naha-te method) 180 degrees left into hidari sanchin dachi with hidari yoko uke (exhaling partially), slowly migi gyakuzuki (exhaling completely), then migi yoko uke whilst inhaling and exhaling fully
	8	Step forward into migi sanchin dachi whilst maintaining morote yoko uke
	9	In place, slowly hikite with left hand (inhaling fully), slowly gyakuzuki (exhaling fully), then hidari yoko uke whilst inhaling and exhaling fully
	10	Slowly hikite with left hand before moving it across the torso until the fist (palm down) is beneath the right elbow (inhaling fully), turn (Naha-te method) 180 degrees left into hidari sanchin dachi with hidari yoko uke (exhaling partially), slowly migi gyakuzuki (exhaling completely), then migi yoko uke whilst inhaling and exhaling fully
	11	Step forward into migi sanchin dachi whilst maintaining morote yoko uke
	12	In place, slowly hikite with left hand (inhaling fully), slowly gyakuzuki (exhaling fully), then hidari yoko uke whilst inhaling and exhaling fully
	13	In place, slowly hikite with right hand (inhaling fully), slowly gyakuzuki (exhaling fully), then migi yoko uke whilst inhaling and exhaling fully
	14	In place, slowly hikite with left hand (inhaling fully), slowly gyakuzuki (exhaling fully)
	15	Begin left hand hikite (inhaling), but at halfway point drive both hands forward with chūdan morote nukite zuki (palms down) whilst exhaling fully and sharply in a silent kiai
	16	In place, slowly hikite with both hands (inhaling fully) and slowly chūdan morote nukite zuki (exhaling fully) three more times
	17	Step back with right foot into hidari sanchin dachi with mawari uke (ude-karami nage), inhaling fully during the hikite portion and exhaling fully during the shōtei oshi portion
	18	Step back with right foot into migi sanchin dachi with mawari uke (ude-karami nage), inhaling fully during the hikite portion and exhaling fully during the shōtei oshi portion

.......... NOTE:  zanshin yame is NOT performed in Shinsei
Naotte (perform tekagami movement while drawing left foot back into musubi dachi)
Rei (bow)

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Sanchin is the first true Naha-te kata taught to students of Shimabukuro-Ha Shitō-Ryū karate-dō.   It builds upon the elements of Naha-te introduced to beginning students in the kata, Shinsei.  The first of these differences is found in Naha-te mawari-kata (Naha-te turning methods).  In Shuri-te, the foot closest to the direction of the turn normally leads (i.e., left foot for a left turn, right foot for a right turn, and rear foot for a rearward turn).  But in Naha-te, this is usually reversed, so the right foot moves to initiate a left turn, the left foot initiates a right turn, and the front foot steps across to perform a rearward turn. 

Another key feature of Naha-te kata is its exclusive use of sanchin dachi, which was also introduced in Shinsei.  Named for this kata, sanchin dachi is the only stance employed, and a major purpose of  the kata is to train students how to correctly and effectively use this stance.

As shown in the diagram at left, sanchin dachi is shoulder width from heel to heel, with the heel of the leading foot (left foot in the diagram) aligned with the ball of the trailing foot (right foot in the diagram).  The outside edge (sokutō) of the trailing foot is parallel to the direction of the stance, as in heikō dachi, but the sokutō of the leading foot is angled inwards about 30 degrees.  Your body weight should be centered between the feet, both side-to-side and front-to-back, as indicated by the intersection point (+) of the vertical and horizontal centre-lines in the diagram.  Ankles, knees, and hips should all be bent so that your height is the same as in han-zenkutsu dachi, but the back and neck must remain straight; not bent or hunched forward.

Counter-balancing muscle tension is maintained at all times in sanchin dachi.   The feet are continually pulling inward, as if the ground was splitting apart along the front-to-rear axis in the diagram and you are trying to pull it back together with your feet.  At the same time, both knees are pushing outward.  The buttocks are squeezed together as tightly as possible—as if holding a $100 bill that someone was trying to remove.  And the abdominal muscles are tightened as if you are trying to pull your belly-button and anus toward each other, tilting your pelvis slightly upward.

Together, all these opposing tensions should tighten every muscle in your body from the waist down!

When moving in sanchin dachi, the active foot slides across the floor in an elliptical pattern, as depicted in the diagram at right, its path nearly grazing the stationary foot as it passes, then sweeping forward to a point well beyond its final position before circling back to its ending point less than a single foot-length ahead of its starting position. The stationary foot simply pivots outward on the heel until its sokutō (outer edge) is parallel to the direction of the stance.

This footwork is a more exaggerated version of the less eliptical pattern of foot movement employed in Shuri-te.  It only occurs only twice in Shinsei:  with the left foot in Step #7, when moving from shikō dachi to sanchin dachi, and with the right foot in Step #10, when stepping forward from hidari sanchin dachi to migi sanchin dachi.

Performing this circular footwork pattern correctly is one of the most important training aspects of Shinsei, as it prepares students for subsequent Naha-te kata in which sanchin dachi is more prominently featured.

Possibly the most crucial training factor in Sanchin is kokyū (breath control) and the coordination of breathing with the movement of the body and the contraction and relaxation of muscles.  The essence of this coordination of breathing and movement is to inhale as muscles relax and exhale as they contract. 

Other points to consider, as footnoted in the kata description above, are:

	(1)	In Sanchin and most other Naha-te kata, yoko uke (including morote yoko uke) is slightly wider than in Shuri-te.  In Shuri-te kata, yoko uke finishes with the outside (thumb side) of the fist even with the outside of the shoulder, but in Naha-te, yoko uke is usually finishes with the inside (pinky side) of the fist even with the outside of the shoulder. In addition, the path of yoko uke is similar to the eliptical path described above for footwork in sanchin dachi, with the fist of the blocking arm sweeping inward across the body, then as it moves outward the fist extends beyond its final position as it crosses the seichūsen (centre line) and retracts as it completes its arc until the elbow is one fist's width from the floating ribs.
	(2)	Hikite is also performed differently in Sanchin than in Shuri-te kata.  The hand is not drawn straight back to its ending position at the side, but instead follows a curving path inward to the centre of the body, then to the side.

 

 

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When learning any new kata, it is important to remind oneself of the adage: "Manabu no tame ni hyakkkai, jukuren no tame ni senkai, satori no tame ni manga okonau" (学ぶのために百回、熟練のために千回、悟りのために万回行う.).  A hundred times to learn, a thousand times for proficiency, ten thousand repetitions for complete understanding.   A related Okinawan saying is "ichi kata san nen" (一型三年):  one kata three years.  Think of it this way:  it takes about 40 seconds to perform Shinsei.  So in just ten minutes per day for only ten days (or twenty minutes a day for just five days), you can learn the correct sequences of movements in Shinsei.   But to become truly proficient-to be able to perform it correctly, and with the speed, power, timing, and bushi damashii (samurai spirit) necessary to make its techniques effective in a real self-defence situation will take a thousand repetitions, which equates to 100 days at ten repetitions a day.   And to fully understand and apply all of its principles, nuances, and variations will take 1,000 days (three years) at ten repetitions per day.

As you perform Shinsei repeatedly, you should grow increasingly aware of the differences in movement, footwork, tempo, and timing between it and the Shuri-te kata you've learned previously.  This awareness will lead you to think about why those differences exist, and what those differences might mean in terms of  bunkai (step-by-step analysis) and ōyō (practical application).   For instance, how does the use of sanchin dachi or shikō dachi instead of han-zenkutsu dachi or zenkutsu dachi affect the appropriateness and use of a given technique?  What does it suggest about the opponent's proximity and/or actions?  Or weight transfer, balance, vulnerability to counter-attack, etc.?

The word bunkai (分解) literally means "disassemble and analyse."   It is the same term Japanese sports officials use for the slow motion frame-by-frame analysis of the video of a contested referee's call, and it has a similar purpose and application in budō.  It involves examining each technique in minute detail, as if frozen in time, to determine its potential uses and the factors that make it most effective.

Ōyō (応用) means "effective use" or "practical use," so ōyō is the application of the knowledge gained from bunkai.   Once you have analysed every movement of the kata and determined both its intended use and the principles that make it effective, you will be able to use each of the techniques in the kata against the types of attack for which it is best suited.  Although this takes years (at least three), it doesn't mean you have to study only one kata for three years.  Since many kata share some of the same movements, you can be performing bunkai and perfecting ōyō on several kata at once!

The ultimate purpose of analysing and perfecting kata is to develop a methodology and a habit of analysing and perfecting every important aspect of one's life:  knowledge, skills, capabilities, behaviour, attitudes, ethics, motivation, ambitions, desires, ideals, beliefs, values, relationships, and character.  

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