The Okinawan masters of karate pre-1800's taught sanchin kata as it was based culturally on exercises taught by Daruma - China's Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma in Japanese is Daruma. It is about circulating "ki or chi" through the bodies meridian, pathways, of the body. It is believed that this practice strengthens the muscles and tendons as well as stretches them. It is also believed that this form of practice directs our "ki or chi" into the bones and up the cerebrospinal system, the spine.
Bodhidharma or Daruma teachings were Zen and both have a spiritual connection to what they transmitted that coupled with martial arts of China. Since China has a strong influence in all other Asian cultures, i.e. strong with both Okinawa and Japan, it is not surprising to find those connections in karate, etc.
This connects us to the second half of this phrase, i.e. spirit achievement, meaning that possibly this spirit achievement is promoted through the many traits learned, trained and taught that is sanchin kiko.
To achieve success with sanchin kiko practice the karate-ka must realize that alignment is involved, an alignment of the body, mind and spirit. These three can be best explained through the fundamentals of martial systems. The principles explain how a wholehearted practice achieves such harmony by the alignment of the bodies internal workings, i.e. the flow of chi or ki is best accomplished with the body is adhering to the principles of physiokinetics, the mind is aligned with the principles of both theory and philosophy and the spirit is aligned with the alignment of the principle of technique as its manifestation through the practice of sanchin kata while achieving alignment of the other sets of principles.
It is by the proper practice of sanchin kiko that we first learn of the complete fundamental principles of marital systems much like the study of the ken-po goku-i thus connecting the mind and body through academic study of the gokui and the physical study of others in the actions of the body leading to the development of the mind, spirit, coalescing the three into one.
Sanchin being three battles is about teaching the self to achieve a holistic wholehearted blending into the "one" that often, as novices, resist one another, i.e. mind resists the spirit while the body tends to go in its own direction without direct influences of the other two. This relates back to principles of martial systems in that to achieve a wholehearted holistic practice of karate requires a blending of all the principles as "one whole" compilation of all the atomistic parts into the one, karate-jutsu-do.
Bibliography:
Parker, Ryan. "Sanchin and Kiko Training." http://www.so-honbu-dojo-konbo.nl/kiko.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment