Naihanchi and Sanchin

[Spartacus Maximus]

These have some interesting points in common. The input of those familiar with Sanchin will be helpful as it is the least familiar of the two, personally. 

Given that both of these kata have many different versions, this post focuses on versions in Okinawan styles. 

Stance: How is this taught and explained in your lineage? How should the stance feel? Completely loose and relaxed or tensed in some areas? 

For anyone replying, please mention which of the two kata you practise and the founder of your lineage.

Similarities between the two and anyone may add and correct:

1. On the surface Naihanchi and Sanchin stance are similar, especially the knees and feet direction.

2. Both are considered core kata and fundamental training(tanren). 

3. Both probably originated from or were heavily influenced by chinese systems from Fukien. 

4. Both are deceptively simple and short

5.  Both kata are used to test and evaluate skill level, mental and physical toughness and body conditioning.

 

[Nidan Melbourne]

My club doesn't do Naihanchi as part of Curriculum requirements, but has it as an optional tool for Black Belts. 

But having come through Goju-Kai (Yamaguchi Gogen Sensei - then through Tino Ceberano Hanshi) 

Sanchin for us a very powerful kata, performed solely in Sanchin Dachi. Naihanchi for us utilises Heiko Dachi + Shikodachi still a strong grounded kata but with fluidity. 

[Spartacus Maximus]

7 hours ago, Nidan Melbourne said:

My club doesn't do Naihanchi as part of Curriculum requirements, but has it as an optional tool for Black Belts. 

But having come through Goju-Kai (Yamaguchi Gogen Sensei - then through Tino Ceberano Hanshi) 

Sanchin for us a very powerful kata, performed solely in Sanchin Dachi. Naihanchi for us utilises Heiko Dachi + Shikodachi still a strong grounded kata but with fluidity. 

As described here, the Naihanchi stance is different from the one used in most Okinawan schools. It sounds closer to Motobu’s Naihanchi and other shuri-te derived styles where the stance is shikodachi or some variant.

The stance in the OP is the Naihanchi stance with feet turned slightly inwards and almost identical to Sanchin except both feet are on the same line instead of staggered. 

How is Sanchin dachi supposed to feel? Where and what is tensed? How about structure and balance?

[Wastelander]

On 7/1/2025 at 11:04 AM, Spartacus Maximus said:

These have some interesting points in common. The input of those familiar with Sanchin will be helpful as it is the least familiar of the two, personally. 

Given that both of these kata have many different versions, this post focuses on versions in Okinawan styles. 

Stance: How is this taught and explained in your lineage? How should the stance feel? Completely loose and relaxed or tensed in some areas? 

For anyone replying, please mention which of the two kata you practise and the founder of your lineage.

Similarities between the two and anyone may add and correct:

1. On the surface Naihanchi and Sanchin stance are similar, especially the knees and feet direction.

2. Both are considered core kata and fundamental training(tanren). 

3. Both probably originated from or were heavily influenced by chinese systems from Fukien. 

4. Both are deceptively simple and short

5.  Both kata are used to test and evaluate skill level, mental and physical toughness and body conditioning.

 

 

My primary art is Shorin-Ryu (Kobayashi), founded by Chibana Chosin, although I specifically learned the Shorinkan version, which was founded by Nakazato Shugoro, one of Chibana's senior students. My secondary art is KishimotoDi, which is a pre-karate Shuri-Te system passed down to Higa Seitoku by Kishimoto Soko from his teacher, "Bushi" Tachimura, a contemporary of the more famous "Bushi" Matsumura Sokon. Both of these styles teach Naihanchi, but quite differently. I also originally started in Shuri-Ryu (Robert Trias), which contains Sanchin and Tensho kata, originally taken from Goju-Kai (Yamaguchi Gogen), most likely, and then altered, but after leaving Shuri-Ryu I altered them to be more like the Jundokan Goju-Ryu (Miyazato Eiichi) versions through my own research. Shuri-Ryu also teaches Naihanchi, likely either taken from Shindo Jinen-Ryu (Konishi Yasuhiro) or Motobu Choki's books, or both, and I learned the Naihanchi Sho kata of that style. In 2020, I also learned the Shuri Sanchin kata of Motobu Udundi (founded by Motobu Choyu but made publicly available by Uehara Seikichi), which is taught at the Bugeikan (founded by Higa Seitoku). For what it is worth, I have also dabbled in the Sanzhan/Samchien forms of Five Ancestors Fist and Feeding Crane.

Naihanchi:

In Shuri-Ryu, I was taught Naihanchi in a wide, low kiba-dachi, similar to what is often seen in modern Shotokan. We were taught to make the feet double your shoulder width apart, pointed straight forward, with femurs pointed as far to the sides as possible, and thighs parallel to the floor. This stance was meant to be rooted and basically immobile, both to build leg strength and to make it so an opponent can't move you around, which was almost certainly a modification made by Robert Trias, as both Konishi and Motobu used variations of Chinese-style mabu (horse stance), which is nowhere near as wide or low as the stance used in Shuri-Ryu.

From a Shorin-Ryu perspective, I was taught that Naihanchi-dachi angles the feet inward, with the feet about one shin and one fist apart from each other, although that varies from person to person, as does the degree to which the feet are turned inward. The knees are slightly bent, and the legs should be springy--not so tense as to prevent movement, but with enough tension to keep the hips, knees, and ankles aligned. This stance was, as far as we know, invented by Itosu Anko.

In KishimotoDi, we use shiko-dachi instead of Naihanchi-dachi, which is the older method of performing Naihanchi. We are taught to point the toes out at angles in-line with our femurs (not specifically 45 degrees), and our feet should be one shin and one fist distance apart. There has to be enough tension to control your level changes, as we sink and rise in the stance, so it is not locked. Itosu Anko's older students, like Hanashiro Chomo and Yabu Kentsu, taught Naihanchi in shiko-dachi, and even Funakoshi Gichin used shiko-dachi for Naihanchi Nidan and Sandan, although his Naihanchi Shodan was done in a Chinese-style mabu (horse stance). We also see some Matsumura Seito (Hohan Soken) practitioners using shiko-dachi in Naihanchi. It seems that, before Itosu created the inward-turned Naihanchi-dachi, everyone doing Naihanchi either used shiko-dachi or a Chinese-style mabu, which later evolved into the Japanese kiba-dachi.

Sanchin:

The Shuri-Ryu Sanchin kata has three "levels" to it, and I only learned the first one, so I can't speak to them all, but the one that I learned (to the best of my recollection, as it was many years ago) was to have your feet shoulder width apart, rear foot pointed forward, front foot pointed as far inward as possible, with the heel of the front foot in-line with the toes of the rear foot. The knees were supposed to be close to touching, and you were supposed to relax on the inhale, allowing them to touch, then tense everything on the exhale, causing them to pull apart, slightly. I know that the second level much more closely resembles the Goju-Ryu version, and the third level looks more like Shotokan's Hangetsu (Seisan).

As I altered the kata to be more like Goju-Ryu, I found that the feet needed to be a bit further apart, and the front foot was generally only pointed inward at a 45 degree angle. Some still pointed the rear foot forward, while others turned it inward, slightly. Regardless, the knees were not so close together, and didn't touch as you relaxed during the inhale. Tension had to be maintained to the point where the stance did not collapse at all, but then a high degree of tension was exerted on the exhale. This is effectively almost identical to Itosu's Naihanchi-dachi, just with the feet on a 45 degree angle line instead of a 180 degree line. I suspect that Itosu based his Naihanchi-dachi on this version of Sanchin-dachi, based on his training with Nagahama.

When I learned Shuri Sanchin, the stance was once again smaller, with the feet about a shoulder width apart, and the front heel in-line with the ball of the rear foot, but both feet point forward, knees slightly bent. There is not much tension used in this version of the kata, so the stance doesn't really change at all from that. You just have enough tension to keep the shape, and that's pretty much it.

From the perspective of Five Ancestors Fist and Feeding Crane, the stance was wider, with the feet probably around a shin and a fist distance apart, or a shoulder-width-and-a-half. I don't remember the feet really being turned inward, at all. In fact, the stance was more like a wide zenkutsu-dachi (front stance), with the front foot pointed forward, and the rear foot being pointed either forward or slightly outward. There was enough tension in the stance to hold the shape, but relaxed enough to be able to explosively move the hips for power generation. Both styles do not perform this kata as a dynamic tension kata, the way that most Okinawan styles do.

Overall Kata Similarities:

I would say that your observations are generally accurate, in my experience, at least when comparing Shorin-Ryu to Goju-Ryu. Once you branch out from there, the stance starts to no longer be similar, and the use of tension is often different. The Chineses styles of Sanchin are also considerably more nuanced and complex than Okinawan versions, although I would say they are probably on-par with the nuance and complexity of Naihanchi. The Sanchin kata on Okinawa seem to be considerably more stripped-down versions of the Chinese versions, with the focus shifted from combative applications to structural development and breathing (although there ARE still combative applications for Sanchin), while Naihanchi retains its combative applications and tends to put less emphasis on the structure and breathing than Sanchin (although it is still part of it). We also have no extant versions of Naihanchi kata in any Chinese arts that I have been able to find, so we don't really know if Naihanchi came from China, or whether it was developed on Okinawa, and if it DID come from China, we don't know how much alteration was done.

[Spartacus Maximus]

@Wastelander

At least on the surface, the stance used in Sanchin is nearly identical to Naihanchi except one foot is forward making it look like a staggered Naihanchi stance. 

The Naihanchi stance referred to here is the one from Shorin ryu. Back straight with pelvis tilted, knees bent feet turned slightly inwards and shoulder width apart. Thighs, knees and lower body tensed. If Itosu is indeed the originator of this, it would be interesting to know what evidence of this there is. 

On Okinawa there are some schools of Shorin ryu where Naihanchi is practiced and used exactly like Sanchin in Uechi ryu and Goju ryu. The breathing and rythm is different but, it is done with the same or very similar tension. Just like Sanchin, students are tested during the kata by someone striking various areas of the body. Higa Minoru of Kyudokan comes to mind.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Another question for everyone: Whichever of the two kata you practise, what would be the most accurate, detailed(finer points like tension etc) and comprehensive description of how the stance should be done correctly?

 

 

[gatelessgate]

I am a current practitioner of Motobu-Ryu and Motobu-Udundi in the only existing dojo in North America, so I believe I can shed some light on how we practice Naihanchi as well as some insight into what other styles refer to as Sanchin (in Motobu-Udundi this is called Motode Ichi).

The stance of Naihanchi should be more narrow than traditional kiba dachi, perhaps only slightly wider than shoulder width. The feet should be pointed straight ahead, and the knees pushed outwards. The hips should be pushed back slightly. This is the way we have been taught by the Motobu family.

Regarding Sanchin, or Motode Ichi, the stance we take is called tachi gwaa. The leading foot is tilted inwards while the rear foot remains straight, to form a triangular shape if a line was drawn along the insides of the feet. Additionally, the heels are slightly lifted - seemingly a characteristic trait of Motobu-Udundi as I have not seen this in other styles. This tachi gwaa stance is more narrow than say, the Sanchin performed in Uechi-Ryu, about shoulder width.

I hope this helps. Please feel free to ask any more questions!

 

[Spartacus Maximus]

Very interesting indeed. The particular stance of Motobu Naihanchi is different from most Okinawan styles, but shares the same emphasis on developing strength and stability in the lower body and twisting power for short range range techniques in front and left/right sides. 

Contemporary first-hand accounts tells of a time period before established ryuha, when both Naihanchi and Sanchin were taught/practiced in Shuri-te and Naha-te. Many of the known experts/teachers of that time were acquainted with each other and likely trained together or at least exchanged skills. Some even had solid friendships like  Itosu and Azato.

Then later at some point Shuri-te kept Naihanchi while Naha-te retained Sanchin. How, why and when is uncertain.

[gatelessgate]

When performed this way, the Motobu Naihanchi stance is very sturdy! Being higher, it also lends itself to increased mobility out of the stance. Many exercises and drills we practice are done from some variation of Naihanchi stance, with the direction of the feet changing as required but the core concept in tact - knees slightly bent and knees pushed out. You can see this demonstrated to a certain degree in Motobu Choki's Twelve Kumite.