Is Goju-Ryu bad for your health?

[shaolinprincess]

Lets just say if you practice hard at it for a lifetime, you will have a shorter life.

[Bon]

On 2002-07-26 00:49, shaolinprincess wrote:

 

Lets just say if you practice hard at it for a lifetime, you will have a shorter life.

 

Why's that ? I thought it would be the opposite. Sitting on the couch living a sedentary lifestyle isn't going to prolong my life opposed to training in MA.

 

 

[Ai Hate]

the master of gojuryu here is at least 60+ and is still as hard as a bull..

 

i completely agree with chh about "controlling your breath" is not "restricting" it.

 

so the point is, do it properly and it shouldn't be a problem

[Bratt]

I am currently practicing Goju-Ryu, and I can assure you, Sanchin, if done properly and not abused, can help you in many ways (breathing, stomach strenght..ect...ect...ect..)But...yeah...Sanchin and Goju-Ryu isn't as bad as people think it to be..Oh, and hobbitbob has made a good point. Goju Ryu means "Hard and Soft"...Sanchin represents the harder part of Goju-Ryu and Tensho is the softer part of this system...But anyway, Im sure you all knew that lol And it is a good idea to practice them together.

[Taikudo-ka]

"I wonder if the reputed "side effects" of Sanchin training (Hypertension, cardiovascular disease, etc..) might have more to do with the prevalence of smoking in the Ryukyus"

 

You know, I've always wondered whether the whole Ibuki breathing thing didn't just come about due to some sensei toking a bit too much on the kiseru, and his students imitating the results... ??

 

Anyway, Sanchin hasn't made me pass out or go red so far, although I've only done it twice...(sort of, well a poor imitation.)

[Shorin Ryuu]

Old topic, but I'm not sure if it was answered sufficiently. I'm not gonna diss on Goju-Ryu, but according to Mark Bishop (who also used to train in Goju Ryu but stopped), when he wrote his book Okinawan Karate, he interviewed many of the old masters and current heads of karate on Okinawa. A theme that was recurrent in many of these interviews was that Goju Ryu was harmful to the health. Not necessarily Sanchin, but just the way Goju Ryu practiced it. Quite a few karate teachers warned that high blood pressure-related illnesses and premature death were symptoms of those who practiced Sanchin hardcore.

 

"Certain blood vessels are shut off the limb joints, the blood cannot flow freely, reverses and accumulates around the chest, neck and shoulders causing a red flush in the area. Blood vessels of the neck and arms become swollen as the heart tries in vain to keep the circulation going and forces the blood up to the brain. The result of the exertion on the heart, blood vessels and internal organs is not considered by the critics to be good for the health, and regular daily practice is said to be the cause of high blood pressure and obesity amongst Goju-Ryu practitioners over the age of 40. Rumour also has it that some older practitioners have difficulty lifting their arms higher than their shoulders...the fact that premature deaths through illnesses associated with high blood pressure are common among Goju-ryu practitioners cannot be disputed.

 

The following is a generalisation of other 'evidence' passed on to me by those who believed Goju-ryu practice to be coincidental with poor health:

 

1. In order to harden the buttocks during the Sanchin exercise, forceful closing of the anal sphincter is practised. This, I was assured, will result in haemorrhoids after only two or three years of regular practice.

 

2. When blocking, the thumb side of the fist is forced sideways towards the forearm, causing pressure to be exerted on a vital point at the side of the wrist. This point may be detected by relaxing the left hand and running the thumb of the right hand to the base of the left thumb until a hollow is found. Even slight pressure should not be exerted here as, I was assured, it will have adverse effects on the lungs which may result in various lung complaints, including TB and asthma.

 

3. The testing of Sanchin 'hardness', by punching and kicking the abdomen, will have adverse effects on the intestines and may result in stomach cancer."

 

Also later on in the book he mentions that he only knows of very few GojuRyu masters who lived past 80, who was Chojun Miyagi's senior, Juhatsu Kyoda. The other is Yoshio Itokazu, who (emphasis on this one) unlike most other Goju-ryu teachers he interviewed was in the prime of health, open-minded, jolly, and alert. While age isn't everything, there have been many big names in goju ryu that have died early, compared to many of the Okinawan karate masters (Chojun Miyagi 65, Seiko Higa 68 etc.). Keep in mind that Okinawans currently have the highest longevity out of any people in the world.

 

Just so you people know, when Mark Bishop wrote

 

Okinawan Karate, he was very unbiased and tried to present everything as truthful as possible without holding anything back. Therefore it wasn't a simple "lets get on Goju-Ryu's case" sort of thing. He mentioned it quite a lot in his book, and it was something i have seen in numerous other places as well.

 

Form your own opinion, and please don't flame me. This is just something I've noticed in my research. I included the long segment from Mark Bishop's Okinawan Karate, 2nd edition because it summed up everything i have seen elsewhere as well.

[Gino]

In Kyokushin we use Sanchin- no- Kata very extensively and will do it at least once or twice at each and every session.

 

It is a beutifull and powerfull Kata that is possibly one of the oldest we know of.Its's roots are very deep indeed.

 

The breathing method used is called Ibuki and when used as an exercise it will be called Ibuki Sankai.The simple translation of Sanchin is Three Battles.

 

Sanchin is very important to the Kyokushin karateka,it is a bread and butter Kata to us.It isn't the only Kata that is part of Kyokushin that uses Ibuki.

 

Tensho

 

Gekisai Dai

 

Yantsu

 

Tsuki-no-Kata

 

Saiha

 

Gekisai Sho

 

Seienchin

 

Sushiho

 

Sepai,

 

All these Kata use Ibuki at one or more points in the kata.It shows the very strong Goju Ryu influence we have in Kyokushin.

 

I honestly beleive you have nothing to fear.

Edited July 28, 2003 by Gino

[Bl4cKtH0rN]

If you to do with common sense I believe that it is good.

[MawashiGeri60]

i dont think any katas would cause harm .. its just the dumest thing to think about .. unless some katas has secret ways of messing up ur body organs .. that made it so americans would get ill and die . cuz the asians didnt want the americans to learn karate because they thought they would use it against them .. but overall i dont think its just all bull shi* ...that it will harm u

[Metsubushi]

Well i have also heard that apparently that amous karate punch when u spin your ahnd so it will penitrate more ( DAMAGES YOUR WHOLE ARM OVER TIEM APPARENTL|Y) some health site i oudn thsi our