28/04/2024
In this episode of Yasuke in Okinawa the Kata Sanchin is covered in some detail. Sanchin can be translated directly as Three Battles, and its practice is found in several styles of karate, and reportedly some systems of Chinese Martial Arts. The version most widely practiced in Okinawan Karate is attributed to Ryū Ryū Ko, a Chinese Martial Artist. He was Higashionna Kanryō's teacher, and the version of Sanchin taught by Higashionna Kanryō can be found in Tōon-ryū, Gōjū-ryū, and Sh*tō-ryū.
It should be noted that Miyagi Chōjun, the founder of Gōjū-ryū, also taught his own, simplified version of Sanchin which omits the turns, and goes forward and then comes back. to finish. Different schools and organisations of Gōjū-ryū either use one or the other, or teach Miyagi's version, Sanchin Dai Ichi, to children and beginners, and progress to Higashionna's version, Sanchin Dai Ni, as one advances in ability. In this video the version of Sanchin shown is Higashionna's. Outside of Gōjū-ryū, Miyagi's Sanchin is the form of Sanchin practiced in Isshin-Ryu.
Beside Higashionna Kanryō, Ryū Ryū Ko reportedly also taught Norisato Nakaima and the famed Arakaki Seishō. Norisato Nakaima was founder of Ryūei-ryū, and thus that system's Sanchin is another attributed to Ryū Ryū Ko. Arakaki Seishō had many students including the aforementioned Higashionna Kanryō and Miyagi Chōjun, but also Uechi Kanbun, founder of Uechi-ryū; Mabuni Kenwa, founder of Sh*tō-ryū; and Chitose Tsuyoshi, founder of Chitō-ryū. Sanchin as practiced in Tōon-ryū, Gōjū-ryū, Sh*tō-ryū. and Ryūei-ryū are all fairly similar, although Tōon-ryū and Ryūei-ryū step three times after the first turn instead of once before turning again, and perform one Mawashi-Uke at the end instead of two.
In contrast the Sanchin of Chitō-ryū differs in some intriguing ways. As with Tōon-ryū and Ryūei-ryū there are three steps to the front, and then three to the back after the initial turn, before returning to face the front. The significant difference is that each tsuki, punch, is done twice before stepping. Mewashi-Uke is also performed three times, once to the left, once to the right, before returning to perform three to the the front. There are also a number of additional open hand movements spread throughout the kata that are not unlike those found in Miyagi's Tensho kata. In Chitō-ryū, however, Sanchin is considered an advanced kata often reserved for those that have reached Yondan level, in contrast to the other systems mentioned prior where it is a preparatory kata. The Sanchin Kata of Uechi-ryū is attributed to Uechi Kanbun's teacher Zhou Zihe (Shu Shiwa) thus involving it in the conversation about Ryū Ryū Ko's Sanchin is often not done. However, it is the only other version which goes off of the back and forth line to face right and left. It is also primarily done open handed, not unlike how the Chitō-ryū version features many additional open hand techniques. Uechi Kanbun is also counted among Arakaki's students. This does beg the question of which version is actually Ryū Ryū Ko's.
The short answer is the actual answer is likely lost to history, and all we have is consensus. If we look across the commonalities of versions we can deduce that Ryū Ryū Ko's had the following qualities:
1. Several steps forward and back, likely three, with a turn to the back and to the front.
2. The kata concludes with a Mawashi-Uke to the front.
Unfortunately, other qualities which seem consistent across versions lead to more questions than answers:
The tense closed fist ‘push’ is said to have been introduced by Kyoda Juhatsu, who was the most senior student of Higashionna Kanryo at the time of his death, with Juhatsu being senior to both Miyagi Chōjun and Mabuni Kenwa.
However, the closed fist approach is also found in Ryūei-ryū and Chitō-ryū, lineages which Kyoda was uninvolved in. One explanation is that Arakaki innovated the closed hand approach as all the lineages of his students do Sanchin with a closed fist except Uechi, however, he did not teach Nakaima which undermines this argument again.
The remaining explanation which does not require us to get into the messy domain of questions about the origins of Ryūei-ryū or Uechi-ryū comes from admittedly anecdotal information. In the Higa Seko lineage of Gōjū-ryū and Tōon-ryū lineage of Kyoda Juhatsu, both schools state that Higashionna originally taught Sanchin kata with the hands open. Indeed, in the Tōon-ryū a story is told that Kyoda was reportedly told to do Sanchin it the way he felt most comfortable, either closed fist or open hand. Shiroma Shinpan, also a student of Higashionna, is said to have recounted a similal story. It is plausible that this was indeed a trait of the teaching approach at the time, and that what happened was that those lineages that settled on the Closed Fist came about because this was the preference of their founders, and they taught the way they preferred and it thus became the correct way.
Another anecdotal point of evidence for this seeming approach to preference over a strict comes from Miyagi. While in China, Miyagi reportedly saw dynamic versions of Sanchin that were very loud and vibrant, and thus different from the way he had learnt from Higashionna. On his return from China Miyagi questioned Higashionna about this. Miyagi was reportedly given the rather non-committal answer that both versions were correct.
Thus, there may never have been such a thing as Ryū Ryū Ko's version of Sanchin. Only a template for principles each student then practiced in their own way.
Anyway, that was quite the aside from the video. I hope you enjoy the video, and again, please like and subscribe to Karate Dojo waKu if you do.
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