| Sanchin Kata may be the oldest kata whose origins are believed to go all the way back to Bodhidharma and the exercises he taught Chinese Buddhist monks at the Shaolin Temple. Kanryo Higaonna, founder of Naha-Te, brought Sanchin Kata from China to Okinawa. Higaonna taught the kata to Chojun Miyagi, founder of Goju-Ryu, who in turn taught the kata to Tatsuo Shimabuku. Miyagi modified the kata by replacing the open hands Chinese version with closed fists to emphasize the hard aspects of Goju-Ryu. Sanchin means three battles or conflicts and is supposed to produce a unity of mind, body, and spirit. |
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| The kata is performed very slowly and emphasizes dramatic deep breathing with dynamic tension or isometric muscular contractions. The forced breathing acts as a respiratory exercise and was added to the kata by Miyagi. The dynamic tension provides power training to improve the physique, stamina, and energy of the practitioner. The dynamic tension also produces an overall body hardening effect enhancing a resistance to blows. The level of dynamic tension may be tested by applying blows to the body while the kata is performed. |
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| The kata uses only one stance, the Sanchin dachi stance, which has the front foot turned inward, looking like a pigeon-toed stance. The stance should be very stable, with the pelvis tilted up and the toes gripping the floor. The kata has three forward steps, two backward steps, double middle body blocks, a series of punching and nukite strikes and two simultaneous palm heel strikes. The correct breathing technique taught by the kata is diaphragm breathing, versus chest breathing, and exhaling while tensing the body and delivering the strike. |
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| Sanchin Kata is the only Isshinryu empty-handed kata with no kias. Also, there are no kicks in Sanchin Kata. |
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 View Sanchin Kata |
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