Of the three original SHUU Family System kata, Sandairyu is the most complex
and difficult, yet one can still find the basis for every move in Sanchin.
At first, it seems to be a very complex kata. Yet, when the movements are
finally performed correctly, one finds that one has returned to Sanchin --
the simplest and yet most complex form in the system!
Upon realizing this,
the practitioner has come through the circle of development and back to the
beginning -- as should be, for to truly understand any system, one must
always return to the roots for strength, power, and answers.
Sandairyu (also Sanseiryu, or Sandui) is represented phonetically by the
Japanese numbers “three/ten/six” and is sometimes thought to mean simply
“thirty-six”. SHUU Shiwa’s assigned duty in the Fuchanshin Shaolin Temple
was to teach the kata Sandairyu.
He was known in the temple as “The 36th
Room Priest” and his routine instructional duty was to teach the kata
Sandairyu-bo (36th Room Form) -- training was conducted in the Fuchanshin
Shaolin Temple through thirty-six training rooms in progression.
This is
noted in the old UechiRyu Kyohon (1977), pages 307-308. Interestingly,
Shorinji Kempo (Shaolin-Style Fist-Way) also has a form called “Kata no San
Ju Rokku Bo” -- Kata of the 36th Room.