[3] – [10]
The
practice of Sanchin and body
conditioning prove inexorably entwined and remain the heart and soul of
Uechi-Ryu, Goju-Ryu, Isshin-Ryu
and other traditional Okinawan martial arts systems. Proponents of these styles
contend that there is no karate without Sanchin
and there is no Sanchin without
proper body conditioning. The practice of Sanchin
promotes superior stability, mobility, economic movement, and explosive
generation of power through efficient structural alignment of bones, tendons,
and muscles. Such practice also provides the prototype of all movements of
deflection. Additionally, correct structure and Sanchin
shime (testing) trains practitioners to properly accept, absorb and redirect
the inevitable blows of real fighting. The root of all conditioning is found in Sanchin
shime .
Sanchin shime
also educates the practitioner in mushin
(“no-mind”). The development of mushin
intrinsically supports the application of martial arts to real-life combat
scenarios. Shime provides practitioners the opportunity to discipline the mind
so that it may remain calm in the midst of furious action. Sadly, this aspect of
martial arts training is often given short shrift in the quest for belt ranking,
medals, and trophies. Each successive stage in martial arts training forms a
link to a warrior’s mind-set. Without
the development of mushin,
practitioners will likely be unable to progress successively to advanced levels
of training. Without a foundation in mushin,
concepts such as shibumi (poise) and maii
(distancing) may be forever lost to the trainee.
Through
Sanchin shime, the instructor systematically assesses the structure and
stability of the karate-ka’s posture. The testing procedure can be gentle or
extremely intense. An experienced examiner can derive all the information
necessary to diagnose the status of the karate-ka’s Sanchin
through a few superficial pokes and prods. The procedure when performed with
a senior student can also be extremely intense and frightening to an
inexperienced observer. The student may be assailed with a barrage of punches,
slaps, and kicks during the performance of his Sanchin.
Shime must be done at a level
commensurate with the level of experience, focus, and conditioning of the
student. Instructors must be sensitive to variations in a practitioner's general
level of health and vigor as these variables may change from day to day or even
within a single training episode. Just
as the over-enthusiastic and misguided conditioning practices condemned
previously threaten serious harm, shime
does not represent the student’s willingness to withstand the sadistic
punishment of the teacher. The
student is not a “human makiwara,” Sanchin
testing is not a “discipline exercise” in corporal punishment, and the
process should not demonstrate “how tough” the teacher’s dojo is.
Instead, a comprehensive shime
will assess the student's ability to maintain focused concentration and mastery
over the degree of tension and relaxation demanded of the various agonist and
antagonistic muscle groups in each aspect of the
posture.
Uechi-ryu Sanchin shime
is normally initiated by assessing the status of the Uechi-ka’s upper
extremities and shoulder girdle. The opening posture achieved by Uechi-ka
requires that after the initial bow, they draw the hands alongside hips with
both wrists performing a small semi-circular movement.
Palms should face each other during this movement with thumbs tucked
alongside the heel of the hands as in a nukite,
or “spear-hand.” Hands should
come to rest just alongside the hips. Uechi-ka then enter into either a left or
right Sanchin stance as described
previously. At the conclusion of the opening step, the Uechi-ka performs a
double fingertip strike to the lower gate with palms facing each other.
At the conclusion of the strike Uechi-ka clench the straight hands into
fists, supinate their forearms as they flex their elbows.
Uechi-ka utilize dynamic tension during this move, and the feeling is
that of lifting a heavy object. Uechi-ka keep elbows close to the body with just
a roll of the elbows inward to assist in the rising of the arms to proper
position. When clenched hands reach shoulder height and elbows are 1-1.5 inches
-roughly one fist’s distance away - from the midsection, Uechi-ka open their
hands into a nukite (spear hand) with thumbs tucked to palms and fingers held
tight against each other with wrists straight and fingers pointing at a slight
upward angle and tightened.
The
instructor first applies simple pressure to the nukite [3.] then strikes the fingertips with his palms. The
instructor seeks to “feel the
floor” when pressing down upon the student’s fingers.
This “feel the floor” concept results from the proper stability of
the entire Sanchin posture.
Any “break” in focus, such as a lax elbow or improper posture results
in structural collapse at that point. Counteraction
of the finger flexors and extensors, with the thumb actively pulling towards the
heel, stabilizes the palm and fingers in a proper nukite.
The student stabilizes wrists and elbows by balancing the relevant
flexor and extensors. Once the student achieves proper arm, hand, shoulder and
trunk structure, the instructor should find that the student’s hands feel as
though they are attached to a pliable yet enormously strong structure.
The
instructor tests the stability of the shoulder girdle by stoutly striking the
arms posed in Sanchin kamae.
Should the shoulder girdle feel slack, the likely deficiency is
insufficient tension in the latissimus dorsi rather than the deltoids.
Beginners often interpret the focus of Sanchin
as an “all or nothing” choice. As
an exercise, shime teaches proper
focus at the point of initiation and completion.
In order to move and strike, the student must learn when, where, and to
what degree to relax. The
shoulders, for example, require relative relaxation to serve as hinges upon
which a powerful strike may pivot to completion and kime
(focus).
The
instructor tests the abdominal and pectoralis major muscles to assess the
student's structural integrity and balance [4]. As with all of the strikes
discussed, these assist the practitioner in developing a conditioned or
“iron” body and will. The instructor assesses and conditions the thigh
muscles-- the rectus femorus and the quadriceps -- with a mawashi
geri (round kick) [5]. The instructor similarly tests and conditions the
muscles lateral to the shin, the peroneus group].
The
instructor progresses in this systematic way particularly with beginners.
Shime is not a game to
“fool” the student or teach him to “guess” where the instructor will
test him. With completion of the
test of the anterior portions of the student’s body, the instructor continues
with the posterior aspects. The instructor begins with the trapezius shoulder
regions. The instructor may first palpate the trapezius or apply a measured
strike to test the tone. The instructor tests the shoulders with an open hand
slap. This conditions the shoulders
as well as insures that the student does not raise his shoulders in anticipation
of testing. When the shoulders are
slapped, the hands should have the same feeling as is derived from slapping a
properly inflated basketball. If a ball does not have the proper inflation, the
hands will "sink" into it. [6] & [7]
The
latissimus dorsi pull down and stabilize the shoulder girdle.
The instructor checks the latissimus dorsi with three measured seiken
tzuki (closed fist) strikes. [8]
Depending
on the level of the student, the instructor may test the gastrocnemius (main
upper calf muscle) will either gentle pressure or a sokuto geri (snap sidekick). [9]
Finally,
the gluteal area and the external oblique muscles should be prodded to assure
that the hips and waist are appropriately tensed to facilitate the pelvis tuck
necessary to stabilize the spine and consolidate the posture. [10]
