by Art Rabesa » Mon May 25, 2015 3:43 pm
Teaching Sanchin is not the most exciting thing in the class format. It is not the one thing that beginners look forward to. You can tell them how important it is, but it doesn't register. There's more exciting things that they want to do, like kicking and punching. To bring the importance of Sanchin to beginners, I would spend a great amount of time with them on Sanchin. Sort of like raising your own children. Spend time teaching them. Give them lots of attention. I'm with them and not my advanced students. I'll let my black belts take them through some basic kicks and punches, but not Sanchin. My senior students would always make a point of telling the beginners ,"sensei spends more time with you then us for a reason". I wanted these beginners to know how important sanchin was in their training. They quickly realize this fact because of the time I spend with them on sanchin. ALSO!!! Constantly making the connection of sanchin to what ever the advanced students were doing. No matter what is being worked on, sanchin is brought out to make the movement stronger. Be it kata , prearranged kumite, or fighting, sanchin is always in the correction. Everyone sees this constantly in the class. They get the picture eventually, resulting in strong students. Teaching sanchin is a never ending thing. I tend to be very stubborn when it comes to teaching sanchin. Everything we do in our training is geared to sanchin's power base. Once this is understood, things start falling into place. If you are teaching Uechi - Ryu, I really hope you feel the way I do about the importance of good sanchin training. If you do not - - Happy Trails .
Art Rabesa