Last Updated on Wednesday, 24 November 2010 21:14 Thursday, 02 December 2004 08:31

Sanchin is the second kata in the nine Zen Do Kai Katas.

Sanchin was developed by the Indian monk, Bodhidharma, who was the son of a Brahman king. Bodhidharma renounced all of his riches and titles and lived as a wandering monk. In China his meditation lessons were too severe for his students to cope with so he developed Sanchin and Tensho which include Chinese fighting manoeuvres and Yoga breathing principles. Sanchin typifies the doctrines of true martial arts through its meditation and spiritual emphasis.

Through this kata, the student learns to overcome personal imbalances associated with physical, psychological and spiritual traits. This is done by developing a forceful external breathing process that is designed to purify the practitioner and bring about balance. The idea is that this breathing technique builds intrinsic force which can be channeled through the body by the mind when required. Such energy is said to be devastating when brought into union with the appropriate martial attitude (spirit).

Sensei Higaonna of the Goju-Ryu style in Okinawa explains that, "there are two ways of breathing in Sanchin kata. One is to breathe directly from the nose down into the lower abdomen. The other is imagining that the air is travelling up around the back of the head, down the spine, and up into the lower abdomen, where it is wound up like a spring. Both of these actions require harmonising the breathing with the movement. In Yoga, the body is usually relaxed; the difficulty of Sanchin lies in the fact that the breathing and the movements are performed with the abdomen tightened (as well as all the other muscles and joints of the body).

In Sanchin, posture is the most important thing. With an incorrect posture it is impossible to breathe effectively. In order to perform the kata, you must first assume the correct posture by pulling in the chin, lowering the shoulders, bringing the elbows into the body and the knees together, tightening the buttocks, coiling the lower abdomen into a spring and glueing the feet to the floor. Once you have assumed this posture and start breathing in the right way, it becomes possible to perform the Sanchin kata correctly."