Analysis of Sanseru Kata (and all its variations!) for Goju Ryu

[@hhmartialartscom]

I have not done Goju in 3 decades and was wanting to brush up on my kata. Been looking at videos and things seemed familiar but not quite clicking. Your impressive demonstration of variations made everything fall into place. Thank you so much

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

We are honoured to receive such generous feedback! Thank you so mic for watching and commenting - we're glad that we can help refresh the Goju that is dormant in your memory! Obviously you have a solid foundation, otherwise no amount of videos would help 🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️

[@hhmartialartscom]

Thanks Sensei. It’s down there somewhere, I’ll keep digging lol

[@johnarokium8068]

Sanseru being one of the oldest katas is part of the Sanchin family of katas ( represented by the opening sequences of 3 sanchin stances. Has very solid, direct and linear movements except the last move. A distinctive feature of this kata is performing kansetsu geri with right leg 4 times. We on occasions practice these 4 kicks with the left leg. We also practice the tobi mae geri version of the kata. Thank you for an enlightening presentation Che Sensei.

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

The last move is very different - a hint to its age, and roots? Always good to practice the left kansetsu geri, since the kata does only have it on one side! Interesting to hear that you practice the mae-tobi geri: I don't think I've seen it performed in real life as part of this kata. Worth a try, though! Thank you for this thoughtful comment - we really do appreciate the knowledge you so freely share 🙇🏻‍♀️ - Zoë

[@matthews1082]

@@GojuRyuKarateCentre The last move of 36 and 108 is very common in Southern Chinese Mantis Boxing, or shall I say, it is the representative move of that whole genre of Chinese MA.

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Definitely - we only see it again in Suparinpei, the final signature in the kata, and an important clue and testament to the heritage of Goju Ryu. Still always delighted that these kata have survived so much and traveled so far - always amazes me. - Zoe

[@feldrew]

I appreciate your thoughtful analysis of the subtle variations from school to school.

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Thank you! We believe that the differences make Goju beautiful - obsessing over the ONE TRUE WAY is such a terrible use of our collective energy and time.

[@matthews1082]

Wow, you covered almost every version/variation of this kata that I know of, in only 17 mins. I've always heard that this kata was Chojun Miyagi Sensei's least favourite, but it was apparently the one he had to/chose to perform in Fuzhou in 1915 during his first visit, as the oral tradition goes. When we were visiting Fuzhou with the IOGKF years ago, I heard an old Chinese MA sensei comment that there is always a "36 hand" kata in some particular southern boxing styles, and every style's "36 hands" is supposed to be different, according to the identity of the dojo master, because they were all variations derived from their own versions of "4 directions" (ie, something like Shisochin) - the dojo master will create a "36 hand kata" (and call it something like 36) based on their kihon/basic 4-direction kata (4x4=36). And when the master decides to break away (or has been granted graduation), he creates his own style, he'd define the new style by creating another higher level kata called 108, which is derived from 36 (3x36 = 108) -- 3 is derived from Sanchin (3 battles). I didn't think much of this until I watched a youtube video by "Monkey Steals Peach" about some obscure Hakka style boxing "Liu Jia Jiao" and an obscure branch of Wing Chun in Singapore, and the old master said the same thing. That clicked with me on several levels because 1) the opening and closing of Sanseru matches that of Suparimpei 2) Liu Kar (Lau Gar is the Cantonese version, Liu jia is the Fujian version) means Liu family fist - Liu is pronounced RYU in Okinawan dialect. And the Liu style "4 Gates" (Shisochin) could have been a karate kata if I didn't know karate. But Liu Kar belongs to a nomadic people who moved about in China and SE Asia - so perhaps that's why Miyagi Sensei never found Ryu Ryu Ko, and perhaps why we won't ever find an exact match (move for move) of any Goju kata in some branch of a Chinese style -since the disciple who graduated was expected to create his own system of kata. So many "perhapses", but we'll never know the mystery behind the origins of our style. Finally, there's always been comments about why the Sanseru kata only does elbow strikes on the right side. One old sensei, when I asked, simply said, "the opponent's heart is always on his left, no？“ Great video as always, looking forward to the next one.

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

That comment about the elbow strike just made me go "woooooow!" out loud, like the happy little nerd I am. This comment is an education, and one I will refer to over and over again. So much lost history, and so many different possibilities and theories - if time travel were real, it would be amazing to follow Sensei Miyagi through China and see what he saw. Documentation is so important - we don't know if KZbin will survive 50, 100 years, but books do. It's just that YT is so much easier to produce! Thank you - your comments are the highlight of our videos! - Zoë

[@matthews1082]

@@GojuRyuKarateCentre And here's me eagerly waiting for your next video on Friday morning. Glad to see you've another 100 subscribers since last week - keep it up!

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Our channel was approved for monetization on Monday, so we must be doing something right 😄 We always look forward to your comments, so here's to the new video that we just dropped!

[@siriusbontea]

Thanks, Sensei! Great level of detail. I'll be referencing this video again and again.

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Hai, only a pleasure! The comments left by our other Goju friends on this video are truly invaluable as well - we love the reference library that we are building with our karate community 🤗

[@markfisher2683]

Truly fantastic that you observe a positive advantage ( and/ or deepening of your knowledge and education) to the knowing and consideration of several different “ pasta types”(variations of styles/kata). You never seem to feel the need to explain why/what “difference/variation “ may be “better/ worse”, but just humbly acknowledge that there are differences for various reasons. I sincerely continue to appreciate your approach to the overall beauty of the art and utility of karate, and the study of martial arts as a whole. Thank you for all that your Dojo shares, and the gentle educational, kind approach that it provides. Take care, Sensei( both;)!

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

As always, your comments are a great balm to our hearts, Mark! Each one is a warm delight to us :D We're trying to teach our students that different isn't wrong - this obsession with the ONE TRUE WAY is part of the reason why karate is as fractured as it is, and honestly, it is a bit ridiculous. It reminds me of that scene in Life of Brian when the one follower says "I have his shoe!" and the other one says "I have his gourd!" and split into factions. It is very much the same in karate.

[@markfisher2683]

I really enjoy all your heartfelt replies as well- Thank you so much for the warm conversations, sincerely;). Always great content to observe “ over coffee”, eh;)? Take care, Zoe, Sensei.

[@markfisher2683]

I really enjoy all your heartfelt replies as well- Thank you so much for the warm conversations, sincerely;). Always great content to observe “ over coffee”, eh;)? Take care, Zoe, Sensei.

[@markfisher2683]

I really enjoy all your heartfelt replies as well- Thank you so much for the warm conversations, sincerely;). Always great content to observe “ over coffee”, eh;)? Take care, Zoe, Sensei.

[@markfisher2683]

I really enjoy all your heartfelt replies as well- Thank you so much for the warm conversations, sincerely;). Always great content to observe “ over coffee”, eh;)? Take care, Zoe, Sensei.

[@user-Mixan08]

Спасибо вам огромное за ваш труд .

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Вы такие гостеприимные! Привет из Южной Африки! Большое спасибо за комментарии и просмотры, мы это ценим!

[@nickyjohnson3618]

Brilliant video! Thank you, Sensei!

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Ah, most welcome, Nicky!

[@aishwaryapotdar1348]

Thank you sensei for the clear demonstration and explanation !

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Thank you so much! Apparently this was Sensei Miyagi's least favourite kata 🙃 You'll see in the comments of this video huge dollops of history from the very serious karate practitioners who follow our channel. Well worth the read!

[@JoeAction]

Thankyou Sensei for share this tehcnique Sanseru KATA

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

It’s a pleasure I hope it helps

[@jasonmorgan2799]

Super informative as always, thank you Ché-sensei.

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Thank you for always watching and supporting, Jason! 🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️

[@benschorr-kon2071]

Thanks, very clear, and helpful.

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Thank you so much, Ben!

[@samsamasma]

Seiwakai in Austin, TX here. Your channel is awesome! I’m working on my own dojo now and your reference material has helped me greatly! Thanks Sensei!

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Hi, Sensei Samantha! It truly gladdens my heart to have a fellow female instructor drop into our comments! We're so glad that you enjoy our channel and find it useful. Thank you so much for watching and commenting 🙇🏻‍♀️ Best wishes, Zoë

[@SalisburyKarateClub]

Good to see that you showed the different variations of this Kata. Ours is in there somewhere, lol

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Sanseru is such a vicious kata, got to show all the variations! Thank you so much for taking the time to watch and comment - much appreciated!

[@barbarba7]

Thank you Sensi Che for all the info. Very interesting indeed. Thanks to Sensi Zoe for you hard work, you've done well yet again. We appreciate both our Sensi. 😘❤️

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Students like you make all the editing worth it 😍

[@barbarba7]

@@GojuRyuKarateCentre thank you Sensi. I appreciate that.

[@jplopez47]

Thank you for sharing your video. It has lots of details. My school does Mae Tobi Geri!

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

We love to hear from our friends in other schools! The mae tobi geri adds wonderful flavour to this kata. Sanseru is not my favourite (because of the kansetsu geri) but still a wonderful kata. Thank you for commenting and watching, Juan!

[@armanayrapetyan6157]

Was looking up this kata and found this great video, thanks for the instruction! BTW my dojo is one of the ones that does the jumping front kick at the start 😁

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

You are so welcome, Arman! Sanseru is a wonderful kata, with so much to offer. We love to hear from the global karate fraternity and all the ways this kata is performed 🙇🏻‍♀️

[@angelinadamatta2670]

Thank you sensei!

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️

[@chejagger1]

As always, thanks to Zoë for editing.

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Always a pleasure 🌸

[@siriusbontea]

You two are a wonderful team!

[@ognishy_2791]

Love today vidoe

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Thanks, Nish!

[@Tamales21]

Awesome

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Thank you!

[@zoehinis7848]

50 Shades of Sanseru 🤣🤣🤣 For real, though, so many variations

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Like ice cream, but longer lasting!

[@carolinatorresrj]

Me Tobias geri, Jinbukai school...

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Cool! Thank you for commenting

[@原田光博-l6v]

ご指導有り難うごさいます。前蹴りからの十字交差の手の位置は胸の前が良い。剛柔流の東恩盛男納先生、久場先生の指導より…

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

日本の視聴者からコメントをいただけることをいつも光栄に思います。特に、日本の KZbin で少しでも特集することは私たちにとって大きな意味があるからです。フィードバックをお寄せいただきありがとうございます。南アフリカからこんにちは - コメントと視聴をしていただき、本当にありがとうございます。感謝しています。

[@aamit5ak718]

Sir 9.22 the block in our karate dojo they call as bow and arrow block

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Ah, that's interesting! Thank you for sharing, and for watching and commenting - much appreciated 🙇🏻‍♀️

[@aamit5ak718]

Thank u sir u are good karate teacher and reply all comments

[@Burvedys]

It's more likely a praying mantis than a dog. And if you do a neck crank then a female mantis makes sense (don't tell this Zoe). :)

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

😉😉😉

[@fazicrouch]

Do you have any videos on the Heien kata?

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

Not yet, but we do plan to get to it once we have finished the formal Goju Ryu kata syllabus! Heian kata occupies an interesting place in our dojo history, and we hope to honour that with a video one day 🙇🏻‍♀️ Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@kevionrogers2605]

@@GojuRyuKarateCentre I am very curious what is the history of your heian katw?

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

So as we have been part of different federations over time, we have had Heian as part of our syllabus. We have had 3 variations, influenced by Sensei Chinen and others. I love the kata myself - it's a pity it's not official syllabus, but that doesn't mean we can't keep practicing it 😉

[@aamit5ak718]

Sensei iam also gojiryu karate brown-2

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

👏👏👏

[@aamit5ak718]

Thank u sir i will watch ur every video and say diference in my karate school and ur one sir

[@GojuRyuKarateCentre]

We love hearing from karate students all over the world, and to share our knowledge with each other

[@aamit5ak718]

Yes sir ur right I see ur videos and say difference between ur karate and myne