Iron Shirt Qigong

[kotegashiNeo]

I am Goju ryu practioner and have always believed that and have been told that Sanchin is a form of Iron shirt Qigong. I am curious if any internal practioners good give me some pointers on iron shirt qigong and how they train for it.

[Master Jules]

You are correct in your assumption.

 

Sanchin is both a form of standing chi gung, and moving zen. It is known in Chinese as "Sam Chien", or "Sam Bu Den". It is a version of iron shirt training, also known as "Golden Bell".

 

The tensioning of the muscles and the "Lock" is a form of protection against pressure point fighters, and body strikes in general. As you know the 3 "major" locks are tanden 1, the chi center, 3 fingertips below your belly button, tanden 2, your kidney area, and tanden 3, the back of the neck.

 

It is generally believed that with diligent practice, it takes a minimum of 3 years to perform this kata "correctly".

 

Sanchin means "3 battles", or "3 conflicts"....they are....breath, body, posture, as well as mind, body, and spirit.

 

The purpose of the kata otherwise, is to promote internal health.

 

Originally, when taught to Miyagi by Higoanna, founder of Naha-Te, Sanchin kata was taught the "Chinese" way, as Ru Ru Ko taught it to Higoanna, with opened hands, and with a much faster breathing pattern, In this form, the idea of the form was to express the more deadly aspect of open hand and fingertip striking, and with the hands being open, for the practicioner to actually allow his energy to exit his body and injure his opponent.

 

With the help of a doctor, Miyagi changed the form to closed hands with a slower type of breathing pattern to keep the energy inside the body, and facilitate more of the health aspects of the form, as well as the defensive aspects of iron shirt. You will note that at the end of the form, when the hands snap open and "flick" out, that is to allow the body to expell excessive energy which has built up during the form. That is also why the practicioner steps backwards at the end, so as not to step up "into" the expelled energy.

 

Tensho kata, which means "change of grip", "circling of grip", "cloudy misty hands" "power and strength in your hands", was designed to also facilitate internal health, as it too is a form of standing chi gung and moving zen. However, with the use of the open hands, this form allows for the body to develop the ability to project energy outwards and into your opponent.

 

In regards to your question of "how to train for it".....you already know the answer.....constant repetition. The key to practicing these two kata is the breathing......typically, Sanchin breathing is done WAY to hard by most people....the idea isnt to create so much tension that your blood vessels are ready to pop out of the side of your head, and like wise....many people breath way to soft in Tensho kata......The difference in the breathing isnt that far apart. We have spoken before K-Neo.....I believe you to be a faithful and diligent student of the arts, and I am more than sure that your attitude towards your training will guide you successfully in your goal to realkly "get" these two forms. As usual though.....I will assist in any way I can.

[Master Jules]

I would also like to add that at VERY advanced levels of practice, Sanchin Kata teaches the practicioner how to actually withdraw the testicles upwards into the body cavity to provide protection against groin strikes. Higoanna sensei was challenged by another Okinawan practicioner (name escapes me at the moment) to a public showing of whose sanchin was "better"....they were both examined by a doctor as they went through the form, and the testicles were withdrawn into the body. Toguchi was famous for being able to do this, but the downside was that repeated practice of withdrawing the testicles into the body led to sterility, which Toguchi wound up suffering from in later life....hence, that was the reason why he had to adopt his son.

[kotegashiNeo]

Always a pleasure MJ thank you for such a detailed answer, now a specific question for you how should I feel while doing Sanchin kata for instance i have done chen style tai chi and while doing different forms I have experienced a tangiable chi flow and I am curious if you have while during sanchin and if have any visualation techniques to aid the Iron sirt

 

process. As for practice I don't really do any other kata anymore well san se ryu every now and then but I am taking Miyagi advice to heart

[kotegashiNeo]

Always a pleasure MJ thank you for such a detailed answer, now a specific question for you, how should I feel while doing Sanchin kata for instance i have done chen style tai chi and while doing different forms I have experienced a tangiable chi flow and I am curious if you have while during sanchin and if have any visualation techniques to aid the Iron sirt

 

process. As for practice I don't really do any other kata anymore well san se ryu every now and then but I am taking Miyagi advice to heart

[Master Jules]

K....

 

Since sanchin training focusus on both chi gung and zen, you should definetely be "feeling something"....tough to describe with words though.....just a "buzz" kinda feeling....like you can just feel your energy pumping through you. I dont "visualize" anything really....I just seem to kinda "fade off somewhere" after I bow in.....Ive been told that I have a glazed look in my eyes....anyway.......thats it for me......for you....please dont stop practicing your other katas....Goju Ryu is a system thats designed to be connected, from the most basic techniques to the most advanced. Every kata is a step along the common thread that runs through the system.....sanchin.......sanchin is the basic thread that runs through Goju Ryu.....when checking ANY body positon in ANY kata, you can always refer back to Sanchin for the answer. Remember....this system teaches you how to be "hard" and "soft" at the same time....thats why its such and advanced system. And every kata has its own unique breathing pattern, again, likes steps to the top these breathing patterns are a series of chi gung excercises that give your body the internal "balance" to be "hard" and "soft" .....at the same time.....dont neglect their practice. They have purpose aside from just being a kata......for example....the kata you say you are practicing now, besides Sanchin, is Sanseiru.....or "36 hands". This kata is also about psychic projection. Seisan is "13 Hands".....it is a "fire" kata, and shapes part of the system, the same way that Pechurin (108 Hands) wards off evil spirits, and is always done as a blessing ceremony.....for Pechurin, when you bow in to start the kata, you bow in all 4 directions, not just fowards. Point is Neo.....the whole system will give you what you want....not just one small part of it.....Sanchin is an excellent kata to practice constantly, and some of the older masters reportedly were taught nothing but Sanchin for years into their training.....but you need the "whole" of the system to gain its rewards, like the iron shirt, or the internal health of the chi gung excercises, two great benefits of studying the system. So please study the rest of your katas as well......they are equally important.

[kotegashiNeo]

Didn't Miyagi say if you practice sanchin kata thirty times a day you need not practice any other

[Zhong Gau]

I'm not sure if goju uses this method:

 

it's a buddist method of hardening by increasing flow around the body.

 

stand and compact in your normal method. pat your extremities lightly initially and over time (weeks) increase the pressure. continue beyond outright striking yourself to the use of bunches of sticks, then steel screw cores. eventually you will need an assistant to help beat the crap out of you while you meditate.

 

as odd as that sounds that's the way it gets. i had a younger brother take choice strikes on me with his 7foot staff while i practiced the 88yang before leaving that school.

 

this is an external result that i learned by combining the beating method with several internal methods.

[kotegashiNeo]

Yeah Zhong we use what is called shime testing to ensure that the student is doing the kata properly but there is nothing as drastic as what you sugguest just a few well place "pats" on the shoulders and some grabbing of the ankles among others

[Zhong Gau]

this patting/slapping is a systematized meditation to increase blood flow. it also trains the body to respond to pressure with increasing flow to 'wounded' areas. it toughens the skin and immediate sub-dermal layers. it may affect circulation on the surface in a negative fashion, as i no longer bleed more than a drop or three with superficial cuts, scrapes and flap peelings/tearing. deep cuts (such as kitchen accidents with sharp knives goin to the bone or taking most of the pads off) take some time to start bleeding (30 secs.) but totally heal in about three days.

 

the degree of meditation i achieved was after three years of twice daily meditation. the third day with his whipping staff broke the staff when he mockingly struck at the top of my head! (that was a "Inside Karate Kung Fu Ill." columnist).