Zaine

I’ve been thinking about Sanchin a lot recently. My original style, Matsumura Seito, does not have the kata, as it is typical of Goju-Ryu and other Naha-Te descendants, and MS is a Shuri-Te descendant. However, it is a famous kata, and 2 years ago I decided that I wanted to see what the hype was about and learned it. I’ll admit that I didn’t get it at first. I understood the dynamic tension aspect, and how that could help train my body, but I was unsure as to the point of the kata overall. Regardless, I kept drilling it. I then joined a dojo that taught the kata, and I asked them if they could relay the message to me. They relayed a message of dynamic tension. My understanding continued to stagnate in a pool of ignorance. The kata is so much more than dynamic tension, however, and I want to talk about that today. However, first we have to understand positive, negative, and neutral energy. The idea of positive, negative, and neutral energy is not a new one, though I first came upon the idea as a teenager watching Avatar the Last Airbender, where instead of Chi they use the term Jing, which in Chinese medicine (according to Google) is a dense essence stored in the kidneys. However, by Jing the show meant, essentially, chi, ki, or any other word for internal energy. For our purposes, it separates into these breakdowns: Neutral Energy: That’s the point where you are when you stand still. You are neither advancing nor retreating. Your energy is a wellspring waiting to be tapped into. Positive Energy: You are advancing on your opponent. Your energy is being focused outward and forward. Negative Energy: You are retreating from your opponent, taking a step back to block or attack. Your energy is being focused inward and away from your opponent. This is the lesson that Sanchin teaches us. When we are standing still, in the moment before movement, we are ready. We breathe in, ready our technique, we are loose. We bring our energy inward and settle it into ourselves. We are using negative energy. We push the hand forward with dynamic tension. We push that energy out from ourselves and into the space in front of us. We are using positive energy. Sanchin makes clear the way we do kata. The concepts of tight/loose. The idea of relaxing and then snapping to a technique. These things are so easy to forget and yet Sanchin makes us remember by matter of principle. It creates the muscle memory of the push and pull of infinity inside your body. To be using tension the entire time misses the point and wears out the body. To use no tension at all does not develop your technique. To stand still is to accept defeat. You must combine all of these things to be an effective martial artist, whether you are doing kata, kihon, or kumite. As I was sparring last night, these thoughts we with me as they have been since coming upon this realization. As I performed my kata last night, these thoughts were with me. They make me a more effective martial artist, yes, but in a vain sense they make me fun to watch. If nothing else, what I’ve come upon is that, often, we teach Sanchin too late (with exceptions, of course). In the last dojo, it was reserved for post-shodan. I think the lessons of Sanchin are far too important to wait to teach it until black belt, and I will change my own curriculum accordingly.

I just googled it to double check, and it's $100 - $150, which isn't nearly as bad as I thought. I just don't think that I can justify it at this point in time. Who knows, though? I'm eligible for a promotion at work so if I can get that, maybe it's time to join a gym.

MA Training 700 kata complete. 10% finished! This has been going a lot smoother than I anticipated.

MA Training: 666 Kata completed! 30 minute bike ride: 10k

Right now, I'm working through Fior di Battaglia, which is this one: https://wiktenauer.com/wiki/Fior_di_Battaglia_(MS_Ludwig_XV_13) It does have a print version here in both hard and paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Flower-Battle-MS-Ludwig-XV13/dp/0984771697/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1674136357&sr=8-1 I'd love to have people to participate with me! Spreading interest is one of the reasons that I decided to post my journey here, though I know that you have prior interest already. I hear you on the resources. There are a few gyms that do HEMA near me, but the cost is prohibitive. I'm trying to rope my Mother back into it, since we did this together before. She is a busy woman, though, so we shall see.

As I re-integrate myself with WMA and HEMA, the thing that I am remembering the most is the amount of reading that you have to do. WMA and HEMA approach Martial Arts in a very different way than EMA. In EMA, you come to a class, start learning, and the history is fed to you in stages throughout a period of time. Sometimes, this culminates in an essay before Shodan, or a history requirement. This is not the case with WMA. Even in my past experiences of going to a class, we learned the history up front; enough of it to write an essay after the first class. This is what I am facing now. I am currently less practicing, which is fine because I don't currently have the funds for a trainer, much less 2 of them, and more learning who Fiore dei Liberi was, who I should be reading along side him, and who I should be reading next. All of this is before I even look at a sword, though that is not the first thing you learn with Fiore. The idea here is that context matters. With EMA, the context is self-defense. The context is built into the system from the ground up. Someone understood the need for defense, and then created techniques around that. We, in turn, understand the use of self defense, and learn those techniques. This is not entirely the case with learning systems of fighting from historical manuals. Firstly, it's rare to see someone walking around with a sword. There are far more efficient ways of defending ourselves now. This is true for the time periods these manuscripts were written in. Swords and steel (in general) are for the rich. This leads us to the second point: these manuscripts were for knights doing combat in lists. They assume that the chaos of a battlefield is somewhere far off, and that the combatants are just fighting for tournament entertainment. This is not true of all manuscripts, some spend some time with battlefield fighting, but it is true for a large majority of them. That context is important, because it allows the WMA/HEMA practitioner to slow down a little bit, and ask "Why is this technique like this? Why are we doing it in this way?" Thirdly, the tradition of passing these things down no longer exists in a way that is comparable with EMA. Fiore was alive in the 1300-1400s. That we have any indication of his technique is nothing short of a miracle. Studying the words and drawings takes time, especially if fidelity is the goal (and it is!). So we learn they whos, whys, and wheres of the art before the hows. That's not a bad thing, it's just different. It is fun to learn these things. I've always enjoyed learning the history of a Martial Art, and doing that up front is just fine with me. After this, Fiore's instructions start in earnest with unarmed grappling. He reasoned that without a foundation of fitness without a sword, one could not wield a sword effectively. I agree with him. I'll be back when I'm there.

MA Training: 633 Kata completed!

Congrats!

That's another thing that bothers me here. The instructor assumes that the student has never dealt with failure because they have never failed a belt test. Most of life happens outside of the school. The teacher likely has no idea what that student has gone through.

There's just something so fun and satisfying about it, for me. Maybe it's my love of fantasy novels, or maybe just swinging a sword around is just plain fun, but I find myself thinking about fighting with swords a lot.

I placed 3rd with the kata, and 1st in sparring! It was excellent. I'm going to my 3rd with this group next month.

During the course of this month, I've made connections with another school and have been going to their sparring night. I find the CI to be inspirational in his journey. He's an 8th dan and is still trying to learn. We talked about how he has goals to start up Goju Ryu later this year. I respect him a lot. It got me thinking about my own journey, and how I approach martial arts in a very similar way. I am always seeking to learn different styles and perspectives, even within the things that I know. I often joke that I like to collect kata. I know 3 different ways of doing the Pinan kata, 3 ways for Seisan, 2 ways for Ananku... the list goes on. I think that it makes me a better Karateka. In that, I want to return to something that isn't Karate or Eastern Martial Arts at all. A few years ago, I had begun to get deep into HEMA, and I stopped for a variety of reasons. This year, I have added to a my resolutions to get back more into HEMA and WMA in general. I'm saying this hear because I like typing out my thoughts, it helps. Also, I want a way to hold myself accountable. There are a few HEMA gyms nearby, but they tend to be prohibitively expensive. However, I know a few people who are also interested and who would be interested in learning this with me. A lot of HEMA is literal book learning. Wiktenauer is a wiki site that has a lot of WMA fighting manuals that would allow me and a partner to parse out how a technique is done. As an accountability thing, I'm going to start posting the weapons forum about what I have learned with the various weapons that I will be going over. I think it will be a fun read for others, as well. It will give y'all a chance to see another MA that isn't often talked about here, and give me a chance to do something of a post training debriefing. I'm excited. I have a life-long love of longswords and other medieval weaponry. I hope that I can impart that passion onto others.

I 100% agree with you, and I rail hard against CIs who take this type of stance. It especially hurts since a black belt level test is no small thing. It takes so much. In my eyes, either the CI tested someone before they were ready as a way to teach them a lesson, or they failed someone who was ready to comfort their own ego. It's a power trip, nothing more, nothing less. I have no respect for CIs who do this. I've only seen 1 person ever fail a test, and it was because they acted in anger after making a mistake. They hit a wall (literally) in their frustration and failed a test that they were going to pass otherwise. In my mind, it's things like this that should fail people, not the ego of some higher dan who has something to prove.

1/14 MA Training 500/1000 kata completed! Half way through! 30 minute bike ride - 10k I've been lazy about doing weight stuff, and I need to get back into the habit of it. I don't find it as personally fun as cardio and MA work. I need to find a way to find joy in lifting. Maybe I can find a podcast I can listen to while lifting to associate enjoyment with it.

It's good to have you back, Montana! Indeed it is!

1/13 MA Training 466/1000 kata completed!

1/11 MA Training 400/1000 kata completed!

1/10 MA Training 333/1000 Kata completed!

That's using those muscles. A lot of PT, outside of dynamic stuff, is just stretches. Stretching engages those muscles and gives you some relief.

Thanks, that makes sense and is something to try. I was thinking on it and wondering why it was only my right ankle since i did the same amount with both legs and mu left one was fine, so maybe it is something i should get looked at. I have a dim memory of wearing an ankle support on that leg years ago when training (am talking 10+ years ago), so maybe there is a small issue that i just haven't tweaked again that needs fixed! We tend to be a little more stable on our left side than right, as well. It's the side that is the most used to supporting, especially in an environment where we tend to prefer to lift our right leg for a kick over our left.

A piece of general advice that I have heard from a lot of physical therapists, especially when I used to work in a PT office, is to move around the sore area. It sounds like you really focused on finding that discomfort and slowly working through it, and that you'll do the same with the soreness in the small back. Happy to see that you're back in it!

My guess would be that it is the latter of the options. If it helps, you might want to get an ankle brace or some kind of stabilizer as you begin if the exercise continues to make you sore. If it's making you so sore that it hurts to walk like it did, seek a doctor and ask for their advice. Otherwise, I would say that you're doing the right thing. I would 100% suggest starting the way that you did, and working up from there. As Augustus said, festina lente. Make haste, slowly. Slow is correct, and correct is fast. As I typed this, I had a thought. Make sure that you are stable on one foot, and then turning your hips as you throw the kick. I have found, in the past, when students have come to me with similar problems that it was because they were shaky on their leg. Throwing a kick slowly requires more muscle control than a fast kick. Practice just standing on one leg with a chamber first. Also, slow does not have to mean a snail's pace. Find the speed that you can throw it correctly 6 times out of 10 and start there.

Strength Training Shoulder/Deltoid 3 sets of 15: Shoulder Press @ 40 lbs 3 minutes: Shoulder shrug 3 minutes: Behind the back shoulder shrug Back 3 sets of 15: Standing flies @ 10 lbs 3 sets of 15: Lat pull down @ 50 lbs MA Training 200/1000 kata completed! 20% finished!

1/5 Strength Training Legs 3 sets of 15: Squats @ 50 lbs 3 sets of 15: Deadlifts @ 50 lbs 3 sets of 15: Calf Raises @ 50 lbs Abs 3 sets of 15: Sit-ups 3 sets of 15: Leg raises 3 sets of 15: Oblique crunches MA Training 166/1000 kata complete!

1/4 MA Training 133/1000 kata completed!