Seienchin

-
This is now a multi-part series.  You can find
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4 here

I have been doing a lot of seienchin (seiyunchin) lately - it's my kata of the month, and one that I've identified as needing a bit of work on anyway.

This is the first in a series of posts on how I view seienchin; the principles it contains, the applications that can be associated with/extracted from it (both those I have been taught, and those I can find); the mechanics of performing it and how it compares with other kata.

The aim behind these is for me to explore and learn a bit more through the writing of these posts, so take them for what you will - my musings on and exploration of something I don't know much about (yet).

So…

Seienchin, as I understand it, is unique amongst the non-tensho/sanchin goju kata because it doesn't have any kicks in it.  Like sepai, sanseru and shisochin, it does not finish with mawashi-uke/tora-guchi; but it does finish in neko-ashi dachi, the same as all the others except sanseru and suparimpei  (and tensho and sanchin of course).  It is typified by the majority of the kata being performed in shikodachi, more so (as a proportion) than any other of the goju kata.  This gives the first hint about what the kata contains; shikodachi generally indicates a takedown or off-balancing of the opponent.  Seienchin then, contains a large number of techniques that should work at close-range to off-balance/throw an opponent.

Why doesn't seienchin have any kicks in it?  My feeling on this is based on the range at which the kata takes place - too close for kicking.  Instead, the legs are used to push against the opponent's legs, taking their balance in that way.  There are also spaces provided in the kata for attacks with the legs to take place (knees, sweeps, low kicks), they are just not emphasised.

Seinchin as a kata has 5 main sections:
  1. Three angled forward steps in shikodachi - each single step has multiple hand techniques attached; then a composite portion with a short "head" involving rapid back/forward movement in natural/han-zenkutsudachi at the top of the spine.
  2. Two angled forward/back "arms" in shikodachi. These "arms move away from the origin at 45deg. And then back along the line to the spine.  Each step has synchronous hand movements.
  1. A straight-back down the spine in shikodachi (same movement repeated each side), then forward along the spine to end with a hammerfist and kiai. Generally, hand and foot are synchronised.
  1. A composite section stepping 45deg diagonally (in the direction of the kata origin) off the spine, forward/back in shikodachi.  Then, coming backwards in neko-ashi-dachi along the spine towards the kata origin.  Then, turning and repeating the section on the opposite side of the spine.  Hand and foot techniques are synchronised.  Section C forms an arrow-shape.
  2. A short end section, with one step forward along the spine, and one back to finish. Hand and foot are synchronised.

Seen from the top, seienchin has the general shape of an X on a stick.  I have no idea if there is anything of significance in this shape (probably not).

Part 2 to follow sometime soon, in which I post me performing the kata and ramble on about what I think the bits of section A mean.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DIY Training Equipment #1 - Punching Bag

-
Image
Being of a frugal and handy nature, I have made many of my training aids myself.  One of the first that I constructed was a heavy punching/kicking bag. New ones of any size cost around $150-$250.  This is money I don't have, and couldn't really justify at this point in time anyway.  So I scrounged around and found enough material to make a functional bag. I used an old brazilian hammock (without the wooden spreader), a 25kg bag of sand, a couple of rubbish bags, lots of old curtains and a couple of rolls of duct tape. To construct it, I taped up the bag of sand into the rubbish bags securely, then wrapped it in about 10cm thickness of old heavy curtains.  This gave me the core of my bag.  I folded the hammock in half, and placed a large wad of curtain in the bottom of the fold.  Then, I hung the hammock by its ends from the garage ceiling and tightly wrapped it up with duct tape, stuffing more curtains around and over the top of it.  Finally, I did a second layer o
Read more

Seienchin Part 2

-
Image
This is now a multi-part series.  You can find Part 1 Part 3 Part 4  here So, finally, I have found some time to think some more about seienchin. As usual, my reason for doing these posts is to help myself make sense of what is happening in the kata and to explore different possibilities.  I am expecting to make mistakes and to pursue leads which go nowhere, but that's what happens when we learn. I took a video of myself doing the kata, and have attached it here.  As is usual, I have noticed quite a few things wrong with it and have fixed them up somewhat as a result (after all, isn't that the whole point of video-taping yourself?), but haven't had a chance to tape myself again.  Some things to note are that my arms are pushing too far forward in the double triangle "block" in Section A, and my hands are meant to be sweeping across high and low, not along a single mid-line in the two backward steps in shikodachi at the start of Section C. I will
Read more

DIY Training Equipment #4 - Training Weapons

-
Image
I have been attending some silat seminars recently and, with my sensei becoming increasingly involved in learning silat, I have made myself some training knives. It seems a waste to go to a seminar and then not practise the techniques or principles learned - a waste of money, of my time and of the instructor's time. So, at the last silat seminar we did some golok (machete) work - no "techniques" as such, just basic stances, basic cuts and some djurus/flow drills with the basic counters to the basic cuts.  At the seminar I only had a stick, which is less than optimal as it is hard to get the correct feel of blade direction through the air. So, after looking at some of the goloks that others had at the seminar, I made a couple out of 12mm plywood, with polypropelene rope handles. They are modelled on a machete I used as a teenager to hack through blackberry and ragwort on my parents' property.  The blade length is my fingertip-elbow length.  They are a little l
Read more