Katas with Dynamic Tension are bad for you?

[strangepair03]

"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"

Good Call....I am a fan of Whole hearted news also..

[setboy]

Good Call....I am a fan of Whole hearted news also..

It's a good site

[strangepair03]

If you don't mind me asking, who do you/sensei follow?

[setboy]

If you don't mind me asking, who do you/sensei follow?

Sensei Deborah Pittak Nana-dan in Stow ohio

how about you?

[strangepair03]

Sensei Phil Barry also Nanadan Wood-Ridge NJ. We follow Advincula sensei from Oceanside CA

[DancingSteve]

I think there is also the inherent danger of being taught these techniques by someone who doesn't fully grasp them to begin with.

Dynamic tension is supposed to mimic the bodies focusing action when sped up to full speed. I practice my katas very slow with extreme dynamic tension but realistically my muscles are only fully contracted at the very end of the technique. Where the focus point is. Up until then it is contracting slowly and steadily towards that end point.

If someone who doesnt fully grasp this technique and is simply making a lot of 'throat noises' and flexing their arm/leg muscles to show contraction. Then your training can quickly become a detriment to your body and your progress in your martial art.

[strangepair03]

I think there is also the inherent danger of being taught these techniques by someone who doesn't fully grasp them to begin with.

Dynamic tension is supposed to mimic the bodies focusing action when sped up to full speed. I practice my katas very slow with extreme dynamic tension but realistically my muscles are only fully contracted at the very end of the technique. Where the focus point is. Up until then it is contracting slowly and steadily towards that end point.

If someone who doesnt fully grasp this technique and is simply making a lot of 'throat noises' and flexing their arm/leg muscles to show contraction. Then your training can quickly become a detriment to your body and your progress in your martial art.

I agree with you 100%. Like everything else, you need an instructor to show you how do preform the kata correctly, not a DVD or

VHS sensei.

[swdw]

Whether or not sanchin is found to be healthy or unhealthy often depends on the person being studied. Why? Because there are a LOT of people doing Sanchin incorrectly.

Sanchin is about structure (skeletal alignment) that creates the muscle tension which you then focus at the end of the move. Most people think it's about being the incredible hulk and seeing how hard you can tense your muscles- not good.

In addition, too many practitioners have incredible amounts of tension in their scalp and neck- this is also bad.

Sanchin can be done as an "internal" exercise where it's about aligning your body correctly, or it can be done as an "external" exercise where it's about how hard you can contract your muscles. First is beneficial, second can be detrimental.

I also know of an experiment done by some trainers where they measured the blood pressure increase from Sanchin done correctly and from doing bicep curls with a 20 lb dumbbell. The increase in blood pressure was the same.