Seiunchin Kata: Gojuryu vs. Isshinryu

Joe Swift wrote this in 2000. I have never seen a more comprehensive analysis of this kata.

From: "Joe Swift" <joe_333@...> 

Date: Fri Sep 1, 2000  12:46 am

I. Historical Premise

Before I begin, let us think on this question: What is Seiunchin?

Where did it come from and what does its name mean? Unfortunately, the answers seem to be lost to time. However, there are several theories as to the meaning and origins of Seiunchin.

First of all, the "established" history in the Gojuryu circles is that Seiunchin was one of the kata that Higashionna Kanryo brought back from his studies in China with Ru Ru Ko, and was passed down to Miyagi Chojun, who incorporated it into his modern ryuha of Gojuryu.

However, although there is opposition to the idea, research in Fuzhou has turned up the identity of Xie Zhongzhang (Founder of Whooping Crane Quanfa) as the most likely candidate for the true identity of Ru Ru Ko. Please see McCarthy Sensei's Bubishi translation for further details on this. For the purposes of this essay, I would like to follow this theory.

We can see that Seiunchin does not exist in the syllabus of Xie's quanfa. This does not mean that he did not know it, however, and the Nakaima family tradition (Ryueiryu) includes a Seiunchin kata, and the founder of the Ryuei school Nakaima Kenri (Norisato) is said to have studied with a certain Ru Ru Ko in Fuzhou.

However, another possibility is that the kata was not taught by Higashionna, but incorporated by Miyagi himself, based upon his further personal studies in both Okinawa and China. There is some evidence that Higashionna was in China for only about three years, rather than the previously thought decade or more. Tokashiki Iken Sensei of the Gohaku-kai in Okinawa has published that the record of Higashionna's return to Ryukyu from Fuzhou survives to this day, and is dated September 1877.

So, this means that Higashionna would not have had that long of a time to establish "mastery" in Xie's quanfa. In fact, wasn't there an old saying, about "three-year sanchin" or something like that, in Fujian?

So, IF Higashionna was in Fuzhou for only three years, this means he could have learned the basics, and perhaps some Happoren from Xie? So, what did he teach upon his return to Okinawa?

Well, as it has been pretty well established that Higashionna's first teacher was Aragaki Seisho, who later left him in the care of Kogusuku (Kojo) Taite. We know from McCarthy Sensei's works that a record of a demonstration featuring Aragaki and his students exists from 1867. In this record, the kata "13" (Seisan) and "108" (Pechurin/Suparinpei) were being practiced in Kuninda well before Higashionna went to China.

I think that it is probably safe to extrapolate that Sanchin, and even Sanseiru were also there. Sanseiru, especially, because of the idiosyncrasies that closely relate it to both Seisan and Suparinpei.

So, I speculate that Higashionna taught Seisan, Sanseiru and Pechurin/Suparinpei along with the fundamental exercise Sanchin, all of which I believe he learned in Okinawa under Aragaki and/or Kogusuku.

So, back to Seiunchin, speaking with my good friend and esteemed colleague Mr. Mario McKenna, along with our mentor Murakami Katsumi Sensei earlier this year in Fukuoka, Murakami Sensei said that he believed Seiunchin to have been practiced in Okinawa for a long time, although not necessarily by Higashionna.

However, before my Goju brethren get mad at me, please rest assured that I am in no way trying to imply that because Seiunchin may have been introduced to Goju by Miyagi, and not directly from Ru Ru Ko to Higashionna, in any way in-validates Seiunchin.

II. Etymology

Seiunchin is known among various Okinawan and Japanese styles under several slightly different pronunciations: Seiunchin, Seienchin, Seiyunchin, Seiinchin, etc. Many prefer to write the kata name in katakana (one of the phonetic syllabaries of Japan), while some have assigned kanji (Sino-Japanese ideograms) to it.

Before going into a kanji-by-kanji breakdown of these, please look here to see the kanji variations that I will be referring to in the text:

http://page.freett.com/dojo/Seiunchin_Etymology.jpg  No longer there

The first on the list is the term "control pull fight" (a rough breakdown of the kanji meanings). This is used by Isshinryu teacher Uezu Angi, as well as many Gojuryu practitioners, such as Miyazato Eiichi and Higaonna Morio. This seems to give meaning to the kata in terms of the multitude of grappling applications in Seiunchin.

The second, often pronounced Seienchin, is used by some Goju groups and is also the kanji used in Sakagami's big kata encyclopedia (Karatedo Kata Taikan, 1978). The rough kanji-by-kanji meaning is "attack far suppress."

The third was proposed by Otsuka Tadahiko, the noted Japanese Bubishi scholar and Gojuryu instructor. Basing much of his research on his vast Taiji experience, it would seem that this is an attempt to give meaning in terms of energy development, although I would not presume to speak for Otsuka Sensei. The rough breakdown is "follow move power."

Last on the list, is the kanji used by Kinjo Akio, the noted Okinawan karate/quanfa researcher. Roughly broken down as "blue hawk fight," Kinjo based his deductions on some movements in the kata that seem tomimic the hawk as it does battle. He states in his 1999 book, that the Fujian pronunciation of these kanji would be Chai-In-Chin

III. Isshinryu vs. Gojuryu

Now, moving onto the question. First of all, I think it may be prudent to first establish what actually differs between the two versions of the kata in the opening sequence, other than the "physical idiosyncrasies" or "signature characteristics" (i.e. vertical fist and forearm muscle/double-bone blocks) that characterize Isshinryu.

However, before we can do this, it must be said that just as there are several "ways" of doing the Goju version, based upon different students of Miyagi Chojun (e.g. Yagi Meitoku, Miyazato Eiichi, Higa Seko, et al), so too is it with Isshinryu. There are differences in the way the first-generation students of Shimabuku Shinkichi (Tatsuo) teach the kata (Uezu Angi, Shimabuku Kichiro, A. J. Advincula, Shimabuku Shinsho, etc.). Therefore, I shall try and keep this as generic as possible.

IV. Differences in Seiunchin Performance: Opening three sequences:

Gojuryu (GR) uses shiko-dachi on the 45 degree angle, and uses scooping type maneuvers before the double down block, sukui-uke, kake-uke and nukite.

Isshinryu (IR) uses shiko-dachi on a straight line enbusen, and uses double ridge-hand blocks, before the double down block, then another ridge-hand block, kake-uke, nukite.

The other differences in the kata revolve around angle of direction on the enbusen, steps forward instead of backward and vice versa, and the like. One other difference shall be discussed a bit later, though.

V. Shimabuku Shinkichi's "Innovations"

However, back to the point at "hand" so to speak . Why did Shimabuku change this section, and what are the dynamics behind such change? Was he trying to bring out a new answer, or did he just forget and merely do the best he could with what he had? Was he breaking from tradition, or was he building a new one, away from the old?

Unfortunately, Shimabuku did not leave any written records of what he was trying to accomplish, and since he is no longer with us, we cannot ask him. However, in defense of him, I personally do not buy the "he simply forgot and never fixed it" theory, simply because when he was active, he was sure to have been surrounded by Goju people, whom he could have seen at demonstrations and simply re-adjusted the angles and the enbusen.

As to the other theories, my good friend and senior in the "Ways" Mr. Victor Smith delves into the dynamics of change and how the environment may have affected Shimabuku's thinking, in his excellent article "The Complete Shimabuku Tatsuo" found at the URL below. I encourage anyone interested to have a gander.

FightingArts.com - The Complete Tatsuo Shimabuku

VI. Different Expressions of Common Principles

However, just because the kata differs in physical performance, does not mean that the application is necessarily different, especially if we take that kata works off of principles, rather than specific technique. For example, lower/higher stances, fast or slow movements, etc. are naught but personal quirks in the kata performance, and do not affect the application of those same movements.

In my current understanding of this series, I see two distinct principles, the first being the open hands coming up and then closing into fists on their way back down (negotiating a wrist grab with a release/throw), and the other, being the kake-uke/nukite combination (exploiting the opponent by bending his arm into a "hammer lock" and striking his torso with the edge of the hand). Another expression might be the Bubishi-ish technique "General Holds a Giant Seal" otherwise known as the "Chinese Mask" (gotta love the name!).

Of course, I am ALWAYS willing to change my understanding should the seniors on the list share their understandings of these techniques.

VII. One Last Tidbit

One other "change" that Shimabuku had allegedly made to Seiunchin, was to take out one whole section of the kata, in which the performer slides back into a neko-ashi-dachi, and performs an elbow technique to both the front and the back. In the modern Goju versions of the kata, this series is performed twice, whereas in Isshinryu, it is only done once.

Upon first glance, it would seem that Shimabuku had deleted. However, recently a friend sent me a private translation of Mabuni Kenwa's 1934 book on Sanchin and Seienchin. Working from Tokitsu Kenji's French translation, it seems that Mabuni also had this sequence only once, and in the same portion of the kata that Shimabuku did. This can mean several things, but what if this was an older way to perform the kata, with the other repetition of this sequence later added in for whatever reason? It would make sense, as Mabuni is known to have practiced extensively with Miyagi after Higashionna's death, and that Shimabuku was studying with Miyagi in the mid 1920s.

(I was the individual that translated that book from a French edition for Joe-san)

VIII. In Conclusion Still More Avenues to Explore

On a more personal note, I have secured an introduction to Mr. Tokumura Kensho, one of Shimabuku Tatsuo's early Okinawan students, who has switched to studying Gojuryu under the late Miyazato Eiichi after Shimabuku's death. If things go well, I will hopefully be meeting with Tokumura Sensei later this year, and you can bet that one of the first questions I will be asking will be on any insights he may have into this change.

Sorry for the very long post, and thanks for reading all the way to the end.

Best Regards,

Joe Swift

Kanazawa, Japan