Katas with Dynamic Tension are bad for you?

[Mtal]

I was in the book store today and I was reading a book on Okinawan Karate. It was saying the Kata's that do all that Dynamic Tension are bad for you. It said that it can give you high blood presure, it is bad for you joints (said that master doing the style for a long time can hardly pick there arms over sholder level), you get hemroids from squeezing you spinter muscle (since you squeeze every muscle in your body when doing it), you can get stomaugh cancer from the tighting it has someone hits you there (I guess it is some kind of way to harden you stomaugh from what the book said).

Now I was thinking of studying Shorin Ryu. To me those kata's look so good for you. Plus I see a lot of old masters on Utube looking pretty good.

So anyone hear of this? Should I let it discourage me? I am in my late 30's, and want to practice something that will keep me in shape for a long time, and also be able to defend myself. I do Ba Gua and Tia Chi, but was looking for something a little more self defence oriented (but I am learning alot in those styles). Well also I used to take karate years ago, and kind of want to finish what I started.

Thanks.

[P.A.L]

Okinawan karate divides in two major way shuri/(tomari) te and Naha te, everything in Shuri te is natural from steping to breathing so if you are gonna take shorin ryu then there is no dynamic tension involove. as for Naha te most of them more or less practice some katas with some level of dynamic tension, the most famous is Miyagi no sanchin from goju ryu school, Tensho kata also looks like Sanchin but it represents the "ju"(soft) in contray to sanchin which shows the "go"(hard).

i have looked for medical papers that shows the negative effect of dynamic tension in karate on a scientific base but yet to find one,

if you do a kata with dynamic tension just don't bring it up to a point that your muscles start to shake.

[Fish]

What is the provenance of the book you came across? I.e. was it written by someone properly qualified to express those opinions?

[bushido_man96]

That is very interesting. I had never heard anything like that before, though.

[lordtariel]

Interesting. Perhaps that would happen if you took things to extreme, but I would think it would have to be REALLY extreme before you came into problems.

[setboy]

"SANCHIN, FROM A WESTERN MEDICINE PERSPECTIVE"

http://www.olemiss.edu/orgs/karate/sanchin.html

this is the only thing i have read about it being bad for you. http://wholeheartednews.com/staticpages/index.php?page=20060119183253541

" Many Okinawan Karate authorities criticize the regular practice of Sanchin Kata for health reasons. Sanchin is a pseudo-isotonic and pseudo-isometric exercise which enables one to achieve and sustain a high heart rate with low impact. The deep tension breathing in Sanchin also opens the lungs, increases blood circulation, opens the capillaries, strengthens the heart muscle, massages the lymph system, and opens epidermal glands. However, Sanchin has also been blamed for the early deaths of many Okinawan karate masters, mainly from the Naha-Te based Karate styles, which practice Sanchin rigorously. The incorrect practice of Sanchin results in physiological damage due to the rapid, drastic haemostatic pressure changes and hastens the onset of a stroke or aneurysm to those individuals prone to arteriosclerosis. When Sanchin is practiced correctly, without putting excess strain on the smaller arteries and the bowels, it proves beneficial. Forced Sanchin practice increases blood pressure due to strain placed on small arteries of the body. Sanchin should always be practiced with dynamic tension and students must be careful to proceed slowly when learning this kata and clarify its purpose. An already healthy individual will not experience any adverse effects from Sanchin, but an individual prone to heart problems should exercise extreme caution.

As a spiritual and mental exercise, Sanchin provides numerous benefits. It induces memory, both neuro-muscular and cerebral, of the feeling of being either hard or soft. This is beneficial because it enables one to obtain an awareness of inappropriate muscular or mental tightness or looseness. Sanchin also serves as a strict Zen exercise of breathing and mushin (no-mindedness) and induces calmness, awareness, and egoless confidence. It also develops ki by focusing the energy into a single-minded purpose. Master Shimabuku felt that Sanchin was perhaps the most important Karate kata and stressed its constant practice"

[ps1]

Dynamic tension is no worse for you than doing weight lifting. It's natural for your blood pressure to rise during any type of strenuous exercise. The BP falls back into the normal range (assuming a healthy individual) as the heart rate begins to slow toward resting. The excerpt points out the liklihood of stroke with the practice of Sanchin. However, strokes are caused when the brain is deprived of oxygen, usually in response to blockage of blood vessels. That person was in trouble way before Sanchin. It may have been the catalyst to set off an already unavoidable situation. Remember, corelation is not causality.(As an exercise physiologist, the body's response to exercise is my area of expertise)

I've read nothing to indicate that it would lead to hemoroids. As far as getting hit causing stomach cancer, I suppose if the trauma received was violent enough it could lead to cancer. However, you're more likely to have internal bleeding and other problems first. Cancer is nothing more than "out of control" cells that continuously reproduce with genetic defects in them. All the causes are not fully understood.

In all, I think your book is full of it. Don't take it to heart. As always, check with your doctor before you start training though.

[NinTai]

Sanchin, like anything else, if done incorrectly can damage the body.

People say the same thing about makiwara practice.

If you look at most of Uechi Ryu they do not use the forced breathing

that Goju uses.

There are also other contributing factors, if it was just Sanchin then all

those who practice it would shou similar signs.

[bushido_man96]

Good post, ps1. That answers a couple of questions. I knew that weight lifting caused a rise in blood pressure as well. I had also heard that people who would squat-lift with really heavy weights could end up with hemroids, but I don't know if that can be really justified or not.

[Mtal]

What is the provenance of the book you came across? I.e. was it written by someone properly qualified to express those opinions?

Next time I am by the book store I will get the exact name and author of the book. I think it is called Okinawan Karate but could be wrong. Gave alot of history, with some talk about each style. This was all under the Go Ju Ryu chapter.

Oh I thought Shorin Ryu had these Kata's too. Just cause when I ask what the differences are between that and Go Ju, people say they are pretty much the same.