As I have stated in previous posts, the majority of my training is done alone.  Occasionally this presents certain problems to my all round development; one area of which is regarding sanchin shime.

Shime is vitally important as it allows the practitioner to feel the areas of their body which are weaker.  These areas can then be isolated and strengthened through various other exersises and through hojo undo.  Your sanchin may feel very powerful to you when you are performing, but it is not until you add resistance that you can truly feel whether or not you are correctly grounding, and whether you have the correct body alignment.

A good sensei will use shime to allow this realisation to occur in their students, gradually increasing the level of resistance as the student improves.  This is fine for when we have our sensei around to help us, however in our own training we can sometimes find it difficult to advance in this area.

My sensei suggested to me that I build something within the dojo to assist with my training.  Next to my machiwara I have two pulleys mounted onto the wall, through which I have threaded some thick rope with weights attached to one end.  The other end has a small loop made which I can then hold onto.  The general idea is one similar to a lat pull-down machine you find at any modern gym, only the pulley is at chudan height.  The weight should be adjusted to suit your own body weight, strength and ability.  The weight should be just enough so that you can feel the weight slightly pulling against your posture, similar to that of shime. 

The amount of weight you are using must not be too heavy.  If it is too heavy then you will begin to use momentum and your actions will be jerky, breaking your posture and practising something quite different to sanchin.  The idea is that the resistance is gradual and that you begin to get a feel for the path that the resistance is led through the limbs and down into the feet.

An alternate way to practise this idea is to use an inner tube from a bicycle tyre, although the resistance is less constant due to the flexibility of the tube.

Once you have the basic set up you can begin to explore the pushing and pulling movements of sanchin kata and work on connecting the limb to the ground through the correct use of breath and posture.

Our handed down history maintains that Southern Tai Chor is a derivative of Song Tai Zu’s Northern system.

Of course many theories abound about the source of Southern Tai Zu and there is no way of ascertaining which the real one is.

This much I do know; our Tai Zu consists of:-

• Sanchin forms
• 4 gates
• Lohan

And a full-range of typical southern weapons training….

My personal take is that the Lohans characterize the “northern” root; the only forms in our repertoire that manifest the “one stance one technique” structure with bigger and more “flamboyant” postures and techniques.

The other forms revolve mainly around defending the 3 gates without exposing the rib cage – the “egg under elbow” typical Fukien fashion of execution found in systems like White Crane etc…

Ah Teck is very choosy about teaching his Lohan forms and so far, I have only seen him performed this couple of times in public.

A further verification of importance of Lohan; the logo he designed is based on a Lohan posture….

Talk to any CKF exponents from my generation and they'll tell you that names like:-

• Chong Beng Joo
• Teo Choon Teck
• Yeo Cheng Kiat
• David Kee

were gigantic in the world of “breaking”.

Back then, they were all trying to outdo each other in terms of breaking feats; all in the name of friendly competition.

I’ve seen how they applied bone/flesh onto iron rods, solid red bricks, tiles and hardened urns in manners that defied logic.

But then again, I’ve also witnessed and experienced all the behind-the-scene training in San Cheen Do.

The old CKF saying “Ten years of hard work off- stage for 10 minutes glory on- stage”.

True true, how very true…..

Fundamental training is pretty generic – stances, basic hand techniques, kicks and throws but after about 6 months to a year, the focal point is on “San Cheen” or more commonly spelled as “Sanchin”.

We learn and drill 3 San Cheen forms thoroughly – “sky”, “earth” and “man” San Cheen in Tai Chor’s terminology.

There are many beliefs about Sanchin – breathing, dynamic tension, cultivation of mind/body co-ordination but to Ah Teck, Sanchin is ,first and foremost, “iron body training”.

To teach the body to take impacts and toughen the limbs to break opponent’s attacking limbs and body.

Here are some pics of San Cheen Do “iron body” in action and let’s me just say, Ah Teck is very fond of kicking /punching your throat, solar plexus etc etc when you are doing Sanchin forms.

Just like “Candid Camera” you know – when you least expects it……

Breaking coconut using forehead.

Ah Teck and iron rod bent into his rid cage.

That's glass chips that Ah Teck is jumping on.

Ah Teck smashing roof tiles into his brother's head.

Wooden log rammed into Ah Teck mid -section.

Ah Teck, as he likes to be addressed, studied both Tai Chor and Ngo Chor under GM Quek Yong Hor and GM Lim Wee Cheok respectively.

His brothers were involved in martial arts like Karate, Judo and Muay Thai and together they founded "San Cheen Do" or "The way of Sanchin".

A strong proponent of "practical training", San Cheen Do produced many "lui tai" champions in Singapore who represented the country in many regional tournaments.

Some pics first :-

Whilst not particularly qualified to speak about Goju Ryu in depth, I offer these comments and observations based on my experiences from training with my group under Richard Barrett Sensei, and at the Jundokan dojo in Naha.

It is difficult to tell what would have become of Miyagi Sensei's method had WW2 never happened.  According to Morio Higaonna in 'the history of karate goju ryu' Miyagi Sensei's research and collection of books were destroyed during the intense bombing of Naha.  It is unknown what written records Miyagi may have had regarding the evolution of his art, or whether indeed there were any in the first place.  All we have are the sometimes conflicting oral accounts from various students of Miyagi Sensei.  This must be very frustrating for martial arts historians.

I find the comment 'this is the result of both external factors beyond Miyagi's control, but also his own personality which limited his ability to (re)formulate them' quite odd, and it is possible that I may have interpreted this the wrong way?

It is of absolute importance when reflecting on any shortcomings in Miyagi Sensei's character to remember the hardship that he had to endure as a result of WW2.  Miyagi Sensei lost his home, and numerous students and friends including, his top student Jin’an Shinzato.  Miyagi Sensei was also tragically to lose his third son, and two daughters.  How any person was able to pick themselves up from this and resume teaching karate is beyond admirable.  Miyazato Eiichi Sensei said that after the war Miyagi Sensei's enthusiasm for teaching was not the same, and everybody in Okinawa was more concerned with surviving and re-building their lives than training.   It is not suprising that Miyagi Sensei was unable to re-formulate his ideas at this time, and I think it would be extremely harsh to put this down to Miyagi Sensei's personality. 

The fact is, Miyagi Sensei's Goju Ryu remains one of the most comprehensive karate systems still around today.  I find it admirable that Miyagi Sensei was able to pass on this art fairly intact despite such harsh circumstances.

Regarding the lack of two-person sets and application;

I must admit, this was a source of frustration for me too when I was trying to discover the original applications for the techniques from kata.  Everybody I asked would have a different interpretation, most of which were JKA karate vs karate type applications.  Despite this, I am extremely thankful for this as it forced me to look toward my own kata and find answers for myself.  I value these answers much more as I have had to work hard to get them. 

Miyazato Eiichi Sensei tells the following story about a chicken he once had.  Miyazato Sensei had this chicken, and he discovered that if you fed it by hand everyday, it would grow very quickly to become twice the size of all the other chickens.  Despite this, the chicken became a burden because it got so used to being fed by hand that it was unable and too lazy to feed itself.  Because of this Miyazato Sensei had problems when going away on business trips or holidays.  Deciding enough was enough, Miyazato Sensei decided to leave the chicken to its own devices, and after battling with starvation for a few days, the chicken learnt to feed on its own and become self reliant.

Karate students are a lot like chickens! 

If you give a student everything, they will never learn to look for themselves and will become completely reliant upon their teacher.  This is a good thing for commercial dojo who rely on brainwashing their students, but something to be avoided by practitioners of budo.

Miyazato Sensei spent a lot of time standing in his teachers shadow, and I firmly believe that a lot of Miyagi Sensei's character was reflected in the personality of Miyazato Sensei and his teaching methods.  Miyagi Sensei, through not teaching a structured set application for each technique has left us the gift of being able to feed oursleves.  The individual way he taught each student according to their own particular physical circumstances shows us that Goju Ryu must be something that is individual and unique to ourselves.  

The kata, the junbi undo, and the hojo undo are set and there is an exact method to their performance; this is the budo and the never ending search for perfection. 

The application regarding these practices are not set and open to individual interpretation; this is the bujutsu and the martial skill of Goju Ryu and self protection.

The theory of Goju Ryu's martial application lies in the kata.  There is no need for any further theory as it is all set out and passed on intact through these original kata, and the kata later created by Miyagi Sensei to preserve his own ideas and theories.

Regarding Junbi Undo, I personally do not believe that these exersices are contradicted by modern sports science.  The vast majority of these exercises are still in common use amongst practitioners of various sports, and a lot of them bear a striking similarity to various yoga exercises which are considered benificial to your health.  In fact, my wife has been practicing a modern form of exercise which has recently become in vogue called body balance.  This claims to use various yoga, qigong and taichi exercises, blended with more modern exercise methods to promote toning, physical fitness and the overall health of the practitioner.  I'm always struck by how many of these exercises are included in the junbi undo of Goju Ryu, and I personally believe that these exercises are just as relevant now.  Stretching the muscles, moving the joints, raising the heart rate, breathing deeply; it's all good stuff as far as I can tell.

Finally regarding Sanchin Shime and its over-emphasis in Goju Ryu.  Speaking from personal experience, I have never been subjected to frequent severe Shime.  I have certainly never been punched or kicked during shime.  Many of the observations on shime and the possible long term damage to the health of the practitioner are based on public demonstrations where the teacher and practitioner invariably try to 'show off' the effectiveness of their school, and the toughness of its followers.  A much more accurate way of judging shime, but not one that is always so easily available to people is to watch how a school conducts shime within its regular lessons.  Speaking from my own experience shime should be just enough to allow the student to see where theire technique is weak, so that they can feel it for themsleves and work to correct that area.  On infrequent occasions it is necessary to conduct shime harder, but this is for the purpose of helping the student to face themselves and become familiar with battling their own personal fears.  This helps the student to develop character, build mental strength, and toughen their martial spirit.  I stress that this should be done on rare occasions and is not the 'norm' with regards to conducting shime.

I'm aware that many accounts from direct students of Miyagi Sensei relate to the severity of the training and the harsh shime, but I wonder what effect the passage of time has on such accounts.  Reading through a martial arts magazine this morning I see an interview with a guy who began training in the 80's, and states how much harder the training was then, than it is now.  It appears that every person remembers this about their training, and there is something sentimental about remembering such harsh times. 

I've no doubt that training under Miyagi Sensei was indeed hard, and that the shime was severe on occasions, but what accounts are there regarding the regularity of such training, and also, what gives the listener a more impressive story, one of severity and harshness, or one of regularity and normal day to day training?

Anyway, this ends my response.  It is my sincere hope that this article doesn't read too harsh or defensive, as I respect Mr McKenna's work very much and have learnt a lot about the history of our art from his blog.  His latest article at least got me, one of Mr McKenna's regular readers, thinking about any shortcomings in Goju Ryu, and I'm sure that this was his intent anyway.

Enjoy your training!

On the shomen wall of my dojo hangs a portrait of Higaonna Kanryo Sensei on the left of the kamiza, and a portrait of Miyagi Chojun Sensei to the right of the kamiza.

At the end of every training session I undertake at my dojo I will always finish by performing one final Sanchin whilst stood directly in front of the portrait of Higaonna Sensei, and following this I will perform one Tensho in front of the portrait of Miyagi Sensei.

This has nothing to do with superstition, or a mild case of obsessive compulsive disorder; it is purely my own little way of thanking those teachers for their great contributions to the art of gojuryu.

I perform the kata of those masters directly under their gaze which always encourages me to do my best; in the back of my mind wondering whether in some small way my own personal practise thousands of miles away from their native Okinawa might make them a little proud of their efforts in preserving and promoting the practice of the Okinawan martial traditions.

En Okinawa hay gran cantidad de se unas serpientes venenosas de pantano llamada habu. Afortunadamente, su mordedura ya no es tan temible como en mi juventud, entonces, si alguien era mordido en la mano o en el pie, la única forma de salvarle la vida era la amputación inmediata. Ahora existe un suero muy efectivo, pero debe inyectarse lo antes posible. La habu de Okinawa, que puede llegar a medir 2 metros, es todavía un animal temible. Los hechos que relato se desarrollaron antes de que existiera el suero.

Una noche fui a entrenar a casa del maestro Azato. Esto sucedió años después de queme casara, y l pedí a mijo mayor, que por aquel entonces asistía a la escuela primaria que me acompañara y llevara una linterna para alumbrarnos el camino a través de la noche.

Cuando cruzamos Sakashita, entre Shuri y Naha, pasmos cerca de un antiguo templo dedicado a Kannon, venerada diosa de la misericordia. Nada más pasar dicho templo distinguí, en medio del camino, un objeto que al principio tomé por excrementos de caballo pero que de cerca resultó estar vivo –y no sólo vivo-, sino enrollado y dispuesto a atacar, mirando furioso a los dos intrusos.

Cuando mi hijo vio los dos grandes ojos brillando en la noche y su afilada lengua roja, se encogió de terror y abalanzándose contra mí, se agarró a mis piernas. Inmediatamente lo puse detrás de mí y quitándole la linterna comencé a balancearla de izquierda a derecha, manteniendo mis ojos clavados en los de la serpiente, mirándome todavía desafiante, se deslizó en la oscuridad de un campo de patatas vecino. Sólo entonces pude ver lo grande y gruesa que era la habu.

Naturalmente, no era la primera vez que veía una habu, pero hasta aquella noche no había encontrado una dispuesta atacar. Conociendo, como todo el mundo en Okinawa, sus desagradables costumbres, dudé mucho que se escabullera de forma tan sumisa, sin ni siquiera intentar un solo ataque, así que, muy asustado, me interné en el campo con la linterna, buscando la serpiente.

Pronto distinguí aquellos dos ojos brillantes reflejando la luz de la linterna, y me di cuenta que la habu me estaba esperando. Había dispuesto su trampa y se preparaba a saltar sobre mí. Afortunadamente, mirándome y mirando aquella linterna que se balanceaba, la serpiente abandonó el ataque, esta vez definitivamente, y desapareció por el campo, adentrándose en la oscuridad.

Me pareció que había aprendido del reptil una lección importante. Continuando el camino hacía casa de Azato, le dije a mi hijo: “Todos conocemos la constancia de las habu. Pero esta vez ese no era el peligro. La habu que encontramos parecía conocer las tácticas del karate, y cuando se deslizó en el campo no estaba huyendo de nosotros, sino preparándose para atacar. Esa habu conoce muy bien el espíritu del karate”.

Gichin Funakoshi. KARATE-DŌ, Mi Camino. (Pág. 63)

Como bien todos sabemos, el karate, siempre estuvo lleno de misticismos, y teniendo en cuenta la influencia cultural que tuvo, podíamos decir que es algo normal. El karateka, también durante su entreno, tiene sensaciones, que le inducen a pensar ciertas cosas o lo llevan a ciertos estados de ánimo en el acto del combate por la propia influencia del arte marcial. Pero tampoco debemos equivocarnos. No existe nada en el karate que no sé consiga con esfuerzo. No existe ninguna fuerza sobre natural, que nos dote de invencibilidad.

Os preguntareis por que aparece el capítulo de un libro anterior, y que tiene que ver todo esto con el karate. Yo no viví un incidente con una serpiente pero si algo parecido, que también esta relacionado con los animales, en mi caso, con un pájaro: un petirrojo.

Era un viernes, por la tarde, y mi padre y yo nos disponíamos a entrenar. Mi casa esta situada al lado del monte, como podéis ver en una foto más abajo. Esas son la vistas desde nuestra casa. Son fotografías que he sacado en otras ocasiones.

Era un día soleado, respirábamos aire puro y la calma de nuestros espíritus y del entorno era latente. Estábamos en contacto directo con la naturaleza. Todo estaba en calma. El único ruido que allí se escuchaba el de nuestra calma…era el de naturaleza…el del piar de los pájaros…el del viento…el de nuestro espíritu. Todo estaba en un equilibrio perfecto. En definitiva, escuchábamos el ruido de la paz interior. El único ruido artificial era el que los coches causaban al pasar por allí cerca. Entrenamos en el contra portal de nuestra casa, que tiene una forma como la de una terraza cuadrada. Es un sitio amplio y está algo aislado. Después de haber estirado y haber hecho unos pocos de ejercicios, nos pusimos a calentar. Para calentar realizamos un kata de manera fluida, para no sufrir ningún daño. Cada vez lo practicamos un poco más fuerte. Fuimos aumentando el ritmo y lo repetimos cuantas veces hizo falta. Una vez ya calentado, nos dispusimos a practicar otro kata, en este caso sanchin, para meternos todavía más de lleno en el asunto. Debo decir que este kata es imprescindible practicarlo para todo karateka en todos sus entrenamientos, ya que es una kata que es para toda la vida, y nosotros, no fuimos menos y como siempre hacemos, pusimos en práctica esta regla. Para mi sorpresa, en aquel momento ocurrió este suceso que a continuación os voy a narrar.

Nuestros kimonos estaban empapados en sudor. Los músculos de nuestro cuerpo libraban una batalla por colocarse en la posición adecuada. Nuestras piernas sufrían al intentar agarrarse a las baldosas de suelo, con aquellas pesadas zapatillas que no nos quedaba más remedio que llevarlas. Nuestros vientres empujaban mientras exhalábamos por nuestras bocas el aire de los ibuki. Sanchin: Un kata digno de sí mismo. Cualquier guerrero que lo practique sufrirá al intentarlo hacer bien. Es toda una lucha. Mientras practicábamos, parecía que lo ibuki hacian eco en aquel ambiente. A mi no me parecía en ese momento que existiera nada más entre el sanchin y yo. ¡Pero he allí mi sorpresa! Cuando me gire por segunda vez para dar la vuelta cuando practicábamos el kata que (no recuerdo cuantas veces lo repetimos) y me encontré con un petirrojo frente a nosotros, posado en el poyete del balconcillo. El petirrojo observaba sin miedo. El ibuki no parecía asustarlo, al contrario, en mi opinión, aquello lo calmaba. En el fondo estoy seguro que el petirrojo sabía que nuestras intenciones era buenas y no lo íbamos a hacer daño. El pequeño pájaro se fue, pero siguió rondando por allí cerca. Cuando volvimos a repetir el kata, el pajarillo, volvió…Parece ser que aquella atmósfera lo calmaba e incluso se sentía atraído por ella: la armonía de los movimientos, la calma, el sonido de la respiración… Mientras practicamos sanchin, aquel pájaro de pecho rojizo volvió más de una vez y observo calmadamente. Como estamos hablando de animales quiero, mencionar el shintoismo o shinto, una religión japonesa, involucra la adoración de los kami o espíritus de la naturaleza. No sé si aquel pájaro era un espíritu de la naturaleza. Soy ateo y no creo en ningun tipo de divinidad pero esto también me da algo que pensar. Me sentí a gusto. Jamás tuve una experiencia así. Así dice un fragmento de la página de la IOGKF de España:

“Toda criatura viviente posee el instinto de defenderse, como referencia, un niño pequeño, cuando alguien trata de golpearle la cabeza, su reacción es protegerla con sus manos. Esta reacción involuntaria es un acto reflejo del instinto de autodefensa, consecuentemente, es natural creer que el arte del Karate sale de nuestros instintos,(···)” (IOGKF – España – Contenidos – Historia - http://www.iogkfspain.com/contenidos/01eedd9570000f501/index.html).

Eso me confirma dos cosas: que el karate es capaz de buscar el equilibrio de entre el entorno y tú, ese vacío de la mente, y la importancia que de nuevo recobran los animales en las artes marciales. Y como según ese fragmento dice, el karate es despertar nuestros instintos, y ese día gracias a esto, pude conectar con aquel diminuto petirrojo. Aquel día respiré paz y me fui contento a casa después de un buen entrenamiento y después de haber conectado con aquel pájaro. Mi padre me dijo que no es la primera vez que se presenta allí mientras el entrena. Volveré a entrenar ahí debajo para poder reencontrarme con él, para así yo también hacer confianzas con él.

I remember reading in a health magazine a few years back that energy levels for men are at their lowest around 1pm.  It's interesting to see how western and eastern ideas often compliment eachother.

In relation to Goju Ryu, it is rumoured that Miyagi Sensei would alter his way of training according to the time of day and the seasons, also training in different natural environments.  I wonder how influenced Miyagi Sensei was by Chinese theories such as the above phrase from the bubishi.

According to Taoist theory, the day is divided between Yin and Yang.  The day being Yang, and the night being Yin.  Yang energy begins to grow at dawn, becoming stronger and peaking at noon.  Yang energy then begins to subside and Yin energy begins to grow from around sunset, peaking at midnight.

The sun is considered to be Yang, and the moon considered to be Yin.

According to Qigong theories, practice should be divided equally between dawn, noon, sunset and midnight in order to get an equal balance between yin and yang energy.

It is my opinion that Sanchin is the moving Qigong of Goju Ryu and should be practiced at various times of the day in order to help nourish and energise the body and mind.

Last Saturday was Tomiyama Sensei's seminar. My expectation was high, due to his credentials and he is more or less a traditional karateka(although the term 'traditional karate' is of course debatable). I was certainly not dissapointed. He is a true traditionalist, at least in my own view. The seminar was about sanchin kata. He covered body mechanics, alignments, techniques and also breathing. There's some minor differences compared to IOGKF's sanchin, but the principle concepts is very much the same. He also gave us an unexpected bonus near the end. I was raising a question about Naihanchi kata role in his organization. He told us that it is also the core kata in Kofukan as Sanchin is. His Naihanchi doesn't have emphasis on the koshi movement, but swift, explosive and rooting. When I asked for him to elaborate more, he actually gave us a bonus by demonstrating the kata. I can only say that it was a great demonstration. Anyone seeing the kata will shiver and think twice to challenge him to fight. It was a practical kata that can be used for fighting, not a posing kata that looks beautiful but can't be used to fight. In the end, it was a thirst quencher that makes me even more thirsty of karate training.

The first session of the weekend consisted of going over the finer points of the strikes, blocks and stances of Goju Ryu.  The circular nature of the blocks was discussed in detail, which was then followed by stationary sandan gi renshu.  The intensity was gradually increased and the drill then flowed into how the use of kamae can limit the target areas available to the opponent.  With the uke then assuming chudan no kamae, the tori's attacks were forced into being either jodan or gedan.  Time was spent around reacting to the opponents random attacks at multiple levels, and it became apparent that the circular nature of the blocks allowed for a variety of defensive blocks and parries to blend with the opponents attacks.  This led nicely into kakie practice where practitioners were then encouraged to lead their partners balance through the use of timing and subtle changes of pressure.  The whole time we were encouraged to look for the relationship between sandan gi, kakie, sanchin and bunkai.  It is through the correct blending of the various principles that each exercise employs that we are able to better understand the system of Goju Ryu.

Following this we moved onto the practice of Sanchin kata with Barrett Sensei discussing some of the advanced ideas behind the kata.

After a break for lunch we resumed with the classical kata of Goju Ryu, with each person demonstrating a kata of their choice which was then discussed in detail.  Bunkai practice followed with each person demonstrating various bunkai from their earlier chosen kata.  The bunkai was then discussed with much attention being paid to the principles and tactics employed in the Goju Ryu system, and how the bunkai should not deviate from these basic truths.

Day 2 began resumed with kata practice and the 2-person Gekisai kumite.  Topics such as maai, hyoshi, kazushi, mushin, zanshin, yoi and rei and their relationship to kata were discussed.  The remaining classical kata of the Goju Ryu were practiced and refined, and the day was brought to a close with hojo undo training and Sanchin kata.

I'm sure that all those who attended were able to come away with a lot to think about, and a better understanding of their art.  Our sincere thanks go to Richard Barrett Sensei.

The Shinsokai Gasshuku occur twice a year in April and October to coincide with the birth and death dates of Miyagi Chojun Sensei.  As a small group of practitioners we are committed to preserving and researching the teachings of Miyagi Chojun Sensei as passed on by Miyazato Eiichi Sensei.

With my tanden engaged, I feel the whole universe revolving around one point. My eyes widen with the unification of the mind, body and breath, taking in as much of the horizon as possible. Focusing on nothing but seeing everything.

As my weight lowers and transfers into my toes I inhale, drawing on the natural energy of my surroundings, nourishing my internal organs and powering my limbs, extending and growing into sanchin kamae.

With my head suspended from the heavens as though by a length of string I sink my breath and feel my weight being drawn down into the sand as I exhale, sending my breath toward the horizon.

Grasping the first wave with the empty hands, I am the person standing between heaven and earth..

Combining breath with movement, blending hard with soft, and observing the natural laws of duality, I perform a ritual which has been passed on from generation to generation.

The ritual belongs to nobody, it is transient and elusive in its very nature. It exists for a brief moment in time before quietly fading away, back into the void. Like an ocean wave it has no discernable beginning, nor an end. It emerges silently from nothingness, exists momentarily and then returns to where it originated.

In this case the only evidence that the moment ever existed at all lies in the form of crescent shaped footprints carved into the sand, although these too will soon fade back into the void with the changing of the tide.

As the sun slowly continues to rise from the east I wonder how many others had stood in front of it on this morning and performed the very same ritual, and as the dawn continues toward the west I think about how many more practitioners might also use this opportunity to allow the kata to live through them for a fleeting moment?

En el kata se encuentra la base del karate. En cada kata hay un código diferente de expresión corporal enfocado a desarrollar su aplicación en combate. A la vez cada kata lleva implícito su transmisión espiritual. Cada uno de ellos nos transmite un estado mental a través del cual debemos desarrollar nuestra intuición.

Sin el kata la transmisión del karate se quedaría coja o incompleta.

Esto escribe Morio Higaonna sobre el kata:

SOBRE EL KATA

“Un kata es un modelo de movimientos que contiene una serie de técnicas lógicas y prácticas de ataque y bloqueo. En cada kata hay ciertos movimientos establecidos o predeterminados que el estudiante puede practicar solo, sin ningún compañero. Estos kata han sido creados por diversos maestros al cabo de muchos años de investigación, y verdadera experiencia de combate.

Las aplicaciones de las técnicas en estos kata han evolucionado y han sido probadas en combates reales. De este modo cada kata se ha mejorado y refinado, y ha evolucionado en el kata que practicamos hoy. Debido al tiempo y a la compleja evolución del kata es imposible rastrear el desarrollo exacto que siguió el kata, pero se sabe que los antiguos maestros estudiaron las técnicas y movimientos de combate en la lucha entre animal y animal, y entre hombre y hombre. Estudiaron también la fisiología del cuerpo humano y su relación con el combate, teniendo en cuenta tales como la circulación de energía a través del cuerpo durante veinticuatro horas, la vulnerabilidad de los puntos vitales en relación con la hora del día, y otras leyes cíclicas de la naturaleza tales como la salida y la puesta del sol o la subida y la bajada de las mareas. Todos estos elementos están incorporados en el kata.

El propósito que se perseguía con el desarrollo del kata varió también según la época y la gente que lo desarrolló. Por ejemplo, en China hace más de 1600 años, el kata se desarrolló y se practicó con propósitos de autodefensa, mientras que los monjes budistas practicaron el kata con la finalidad de fortalecer el espíritu así como el cuerpo.

El verdadero sentido y espíritu del karate están en el y solamente mediante la práctica del kata podemos llegar a entenderlos. Por esta razón, si cambiamos o simplificamos el kata para adaptarlo al principiante o para organizar torneos, habremos perdido también el verdadero sentido y espíritu del karate.

En karate no hay primer ataque. Cada kata comienza con un movimiento defensivo, que ejemplifica este espíritu. No sólo no hay primer ataque, sino que la mejor defensa es evitar totalmente la lucha. Es por este motivo que se dice que el karate es el arte de un hombre sabio.

Para practicar el kata correctamente debe repetirse cada movimiento una y otra vez. Solamente mediante la repetición constante pueden convertirse las técnicas en acciones reflejas. Afortunadamente, para este fin, un importante aspecto del kata es que puede practicarse solo, en cualquier momento y en cualquier lugar. Cuando el kata es ejecutado por una persona bien entrenada, su poder dinámico y su belleza de movimiento adquiere una calidad casi estética.

Casi todos los kata del Goju Ryu nos han sido transmitidos por Higaonna Kanryo Sensei. Higaonna Sensei había estudiado y se había entrenado durante muchos años con Ryu Ryuko en la provincia china de Fukien. Los kata siguientes fueron transmitidos por Higaonna Sensei, al cual le fueron transmitidos a su vez por Ryu Ryuko Sensei: Sanchin, Saifa, Seiyunchin, Shisochin, Sanseru, Sepai, Kururunfa, Sesan, y Suparunpei. Se desconoce quiénes fueron los creadores originales de estos kata.

Muchos de los nombres de los kata son números chinos que simbolizan ciertos conceptos budistas. Por ejemplo, Suparunpei (el número 108 en chino) tiene un significado específico en budismo. Se cree que el hombre tiene 108 malas pasiones, y por tanto en los templos budistas el 31 de Diciembre en el preciso instante del mediodía se hace sonar una campana 108 veces para alejar estos espíritus. El número 108 en Suparunpei se calcula a partir de 36 x 3. El simbolismo del número 36 se da en la explicación del Sanseru que sigue. El número simboliza el pasado, el presente y el futuro.

Sanseru, escrito en signos chinos, es el número 36. Simbólicamente se calcula a partir de la fórmula 6 x 6. El primer seis representa el ojo, la oreja, la nariz, la lengua, el cuerpo, y el espíritu. El segundo seis simboliza el color, la voz, el gusto, el olfato, el tacto y la justicia.

Asimismo, Sepai es el número 18. Se calcula a partir de 6 x 3. Este seis es el mismo que el segundo seis de Sanseru. El tres representa lo bueno, lo malo y la paz.

Los cuatro kata, Geiki Dai Ichi, Geiki Dai Ni, Sanchin revisado, y Tensho son relativamente nuevos, habiendo sido creados por Miyagi Chojun Sensei. El Geiki Dai Ichi y el Dai Ni fueron desarrollados por Miyagi Sensei a fin de popularizar el karate entre la gente joven. Estos dos kata¸ ejecutados con movimientos exagerados, son relativamente fáciles de entender.

El Sanchin de Miyagi Chojun Sensei conserva la esencia del Sanchin de Higaonna Kanryo Sensei, del cual es una variación. Miyagi Sensei lo desarrolló especialmente para equilibrar al primero. Su ejecución requiere un uso diferente de los músculos, que conduce a un desarrollo más simétrico. Esto es importante para un uso óptimo del cuerpo, y especialmente en la prevención de las lesiones de espalda y de otras áreas. Más adelante se dará una explicación detallada de Sanchin kata.

Mientras que el kata Sanchin puede considerarse como un aspecto importante del go (duro) del Goju, el kata Tensho es la concentración de puntos centrales cambiantes mientras se ejecutan los movimientos blandos con la mano. Además, dentro de estos movimientos blandos con la mano se generan movimientos de tremenda potencia.”

Bienvenidos al blog del grupo de Karate Goju-Ryu de Bergara. Desde aquí, intentaremos aportar nuestra experiencia en el duro camino de las artes marciales. Esperamos que este pequeño espacio, sea un punto de encuentro para los practicantes de Goju Ryu, así como de otros estilos, donde cada uno tenga la oportunidad de hacer su aportación, con el objeto de mejorar en nuestra práctica diaria y con ello conseguir las metas que perseguimos con dicha práctica.