Perhaps you have encountered the old saying…’If you don’t know Sanchin, you don’t know Karate.’ It happens that this saying is entirely true. It is true because when done correctly Sanchin kata results in a liberation of combat useful energy beyond any form known.

The form was originally migrated to Okinawan from China, where it was part of a school called Pan Gai Noon. While PGN is no longer around, that first kata is taught in such systems as Goju Ryu and Uechi ryu. It has also been altered and taught in Shotokan based systems as the Hangetsu form.

To resurrect Karate as True Art, and this would include Shotokan, Goju, Uechi, or various other types of the art, one should always look to the techniques. The techniques are the kata made real, they are concepts made to work. They are the heart of the beast that is The True Art.

The first step, in making your art work, is to stand firmly. The forms teach a variety of stances, and how to get into them from a variety of directions and previous postures. So one should practice the patterns until this concept of transitioning from stance to stance can be done without thought.