During the first quarter century of my isshinryu training, I thought I was on target with my kata understanding. I was a career professional teacher. If I wasn’t hitting the bull’s eye, it didn’t bode well for my students. With hindsight, after fifty-six years training, teaching, and speaking with other isshinryu professionals, I wasn’t hitting the bull’s eye, and likely, neither are you. I’m not saying this lightly. I also do not mind challenges to this statement. We grow with challenge.
Outside of the mantra, “It’s traditional,” what is the compelling reason to study Shimabuku’s Sunsu kata? Would you be a lousy martial artist if Sunsu kata was missing from your kata syllabi? I doubt it. I could broaden this inquiry by asking why aren’t we doing kata from other systems if they are so good, as they support major styles like Gojuryu, Shotokan, Uechiryu, etc? The subject gets messy, very quickly.
We Missed The Bull’s Eye
There has been a general failure of Western martial artists to explain the full depth and dimensionality of their Asian fighting forms despite their existence in western culture for over seventy years now. Sadly, kata appears on the wane in the West. I doubt if I can reverse this trend, but I can place a finger in the dike.
I am not going to stake out my position regurgitating historical facts about Sunsu. You can find them easily enough on the internet. For the most part, I find it slim pickings when it comes to serious explanations of Sunsu. Plenty of isshinryu sites will tell you how complex or how important the kata is, but they don’t tell you why. I claim my Sunsu terrain from a half-century of direct hands-on experience. I’m going to tell you why Sunsu is a critical component to isshinryu and to Okinawan karate in general. I hope my brief discourse both reinvigorates and dispels any confusions you may have about Shimabuku’s kata contribution to Okinawan karate.
SUNSU IS A ‘YIN’ FORM
The number one missing component for unlocking the essence of any kata is the general lack of awareness regarding a kata’s internal principles. Kata’s esoteric lessons represent an entire other art. This is a sub or subliminal art running beneath the biomechanical logic westerners believe has granted them full access to their Asian fighting forms. I’ve been reeling in these principles for three decades from a fishing hole no one seems to care about. The haul is abundant.
Let’s look at some general comments about this kata so you have a more secure springboard to understand why I state that Sunsu is a ‘Yin’ Form:
‘Sunsu represents the best of all the other isshinryu katas,
because you will see elements of
Seisan, Sanchin, Wansu, Kusanku in its performance.’
The above comment gives me the sense of a patchwork form, an abridged version of these other forms. Not compelling.
‘It’s called the ‘old, strong or iron man form—suggesting it will make you stronger.’
Don’t other katas accomplish this as well? Questionable.
‘Sunsu is a complex and nuanced form.’
What are these complexities and nuances? Feels more like a carrot dangling on a string.
If no one has ever helped you see your fighting art’s internal characteristics, you will be in the dark about my declaration of Sunsu as a ‘Yin’ Form. Let me explain.
Beyond the surface performance of any kata, beyond a kata’s conventional bunkai, there are, embedded in the patterns of all the isshinryu forms, lessons about how to stimulate one’s Ki (vital force) to add instant, impressive, even dramatic, strength to each any every move. This is not my opinion. This is a provable and testable theory. I call it a theory, only because modern science has not conclusively proven what Ki actually consists of. However, for centuries, a small martial subset has observed the behavior and consequence of controlling Ki in all manner of martial technique. Furthermore, they have passed along these lessons by wisely implanting their principles in the precise configuration and sequencing of their kata’s movements. The kata’s precision tells a compelling story—if you know the language.
I cannot speak for Shimabuku, but I can speak for his kata, which, strangely, I’ve been practicing longer than the creator himself. I contend Sunsu was Shimabuku’s attempt to embed Yin principles solidly into his art. I reason he did this to balance out the rest of the isshinryu kata syllabi. Why? Because the majority of the other isshin forms may have appeared to him as mostly Yang forms, with the exception of Neihanchi kata, which stands in a class of its own. Neihanchi is a significant Qi Gong form. The earliest Okinawan practitioners might have described it as a major Kiko form, which was their term, equivalent to Qi Gong.
I will only be able to drag one of your feet through the doorway of this subject because it’s simply too big of a topic. Nevertheless, I hope for a solid wedge. I have released a 400 page book called KIKO, Hidden Power-Electric Moves for those wishing to pursue this subject in more depth.
If you look carefully at Sunsu you will see that the ‘elements of other kata’ are mostly done on the opposite side. If I had to guess what Shimabuku was trying to accomplish just by looking at the opening of the Form based upon my knowledge of embedded internal lessons, I observe the following using a contrast of Sanchin to Sunsu kata to explain.
Sanchin begins by stepping with a right foot forward. From an internal perspective, this is significant. In previous writings, I have described how an arcing right foot, if turned inward, creates a muscular charge similar to a left Crescent step (Seisan dachi) forward. The energetic value of stepping with a right foot versus left foot is not an equal value. The two steps charge different muscle groups for different types of bunkai action. If you accidentally discharge a set of muscles that you want to charge, you downgrade the muscle’s contractability and weaken your intended action. This can be proven in very straightforward tests. The strength loss is significant when done improperly.
The creators of kata likely understood this underlying function for martial movement in general. In a very specific context, they must have discovered that in order to create the equivalent muscular value of a left foot stepping forward with their right foot, they had to turn the right foot inward no more than 45 degrees and pivot on the ball of the foot, i.e., rotate the heel outwards as they crescent stepped. This created a powerhouse opening move.
Now, when I look at Sunsu, I find that the opening moves, though Sanchin-like, are done on the reverse side. The left foot steps first, followed by a somewhat similar arm action. Here’s where most isshinryu practitioners are in the dark, without knowing it and thus, without blame.
Lost In Translation
The breathing pattern of Sunsu’s opening moves are the reverse of Sanchin kata. In Sanchin, you breathe in as you step (or right after you step), then exhale as you perform the double mid-blocking action. In Sunsu you breathe ‘out’ as you step (or right after you step), and breathe ‘in’ as you do the double mid-blocking action. The hips will also move in reverse during these actions. The tuck and tilt of the pelvis is a primary, ki-pumping function rarely conveyed to those early first-generation western teachers. The tilt back draws charge into the torso. The tuck forward discharges into the limbs for forward directed technique.
Shimabuku was showing us how Ki functions differently on the two sides of the body. Sanchin kata presents the Yang formula. Sunsu kata presents the Yin formula. Shimabuku may have wanted to balance out Sanchin with Sunsu. This is reminiscent of a comment made by one of Gichin Funakoshi’s senior-most students, Shigeru Egami, who related a conversation with the master in his book, The Heart of Karate Do. Funakoshi comes up to Egami one day and tells him he needs to open his hands and fingers throughout the day. Funakoshi does not explain why. However, spending a lot of time with your hands fisted will imbalance your energy field, or Energy Body.
Funakoshi likely understood that opening the hands would rebalance Egami’s excessive fist-making. Did Shimabuku feel the need to do the same with Sanchin by creating Sunsu? Or was Sunsu his attempt to broadly balance the Yang actions of the other seven empty hand forms?
Seisan, Sanchin and Sunsu kata all take three crescent steps forward. Historically some variants of Seisan also look nearly identical to Sunsu, minus the second hand held in the double mid-body block position.
Crescent stepping is a significant part of internal karate legwork. The arcing action of the leg activates three major meridians running up the inside of the legs, and descending on the outside of the legs.
After the five punches in Shimabuku’s short version of Sanchin there follows a series of what look like four spear hands finished by flipping the hands over into a strange press/pull diamond-shaped action. We see similar spears in Sunsu, only in Sunsu you slip-step then spear, twice. In Sanchin you do not slip step. These are Ki formulas. You cannot swap these actions for one another and make the other kata work as intended. That is, if you slip-step in the Sanchin, or do not slip step with Sunsu, you will discharge the contractability of the very muscles you need to pull off an effective bunkai. The entire Sunsu kata is filled with internal lessons like the above. This phenomenon is provable, testable and repeatable.
Bunkai’s Missing Ingredient
This underlying Ki charge/discharge cycle makes up the full face of Okinawan Karate kata. Every kata, regardless of system or style, will present one of three ideologies in varying degrees. Either you perform a 1. Biomechanically-based kata, 2. Ki-based kata 3. A harmonious bend of internal and external principles. When you understand Kata’s hidden KI formulas you will see that the missing ingredient, Ki, will add unusual power to all your applications. In fact, you will be led to a more precise execution of the form and its intended application. Furthermore, you will understand why kata has to be done precisely—assuming it has been transmitted correctly. Kata today has not been understood on this deeper level, which is leading to degraded forms and imprecise presentations. Bluntly stated, a lot of people are simply doing their kata incorrectly. As one master says, “right church, wrong pew!”
I will illustrate using Seisan kata’s opening moves which generally go like this:
Crescent step with a left foot in Seisan dachi.
Do a left middle block followed by a right vertical punch.
Simple enough. The majority of isshinryu practitioners world-wide, with proper conditioning, should be able to brush away a right punch thrown at them with their left middle block, followed by a right counter punch. Some of you will have some clever, less obvious, other applications. I am not devaluing anyone’s bunkai. Such bunkai works because most opponents are also drawing from half a tool box. Mediocrity defeating mediocrity however, is not the entirety of a kata’s lessons.
In order to fully activate the internal principles, when the left foot steps forward in Seisan dachi one must face compass North. Next, the left, mid-level parry against a right straight punch [should that be your bunkai] must be done on an inhalation and a drawing action of the blocking arm. By drawing, I mean the parry engages the opponent’s strike and draws their arm forward, causing a slight pulling motion. This causes an immediate and pervasive energy drain on the opponent’s musculature, making the counter strike far more damaging. Remember, this activation will only occur if the practitioner is facing North, inhales during the parry, crescents correctly, and syncs it all up with their ki flow. Facing other directions require different formulas. It’s a tall order, but it can be done expertly, and this is the authentic art.
I believe this lesson was so important to the Okinawans, it is the reason Seisan kata is considered a major Okinawan form. Yes, there are different variations of the kata. Some of these variants show different Ki formulas, others however, are Ki-less, meaning they tend toward the purely biomechanical, which has its place. But the moves are devoid of proper Ki flow. These arts, at their highest, were designed to present the correct biomechanics in sync with the correct bioenergetics. This is how true power is generated and it is the intended and essential nature of kata. Shimabuku may have come to this conclusion and sought to bring his understanding to life by crafting a unique sequence of Kiko formulas in his Sunsu creation.
COMPARISON OF SANCHIN AND SUNSU OPENING MOVES
SANCHIN SUNSU
Kata is done slowly Kata is done quickly
Right foot initiates Left foot initiates
Crescent step into Sanchin dachi Crescent step into Seisan dachi
Inhale followed by exhale Exhale followed by inhale
Arms cross rising to mid blocks Arms do not cross when rising to mid blocks
Mid-blocks move from chest outward Mid-blocks move away then toward the chest
Pelvis tilts back then tucks forward Pelvis tucks forward then tilts back
BUNKAI BUNKAI
Used against opponent with left lead Used against opponent with right lead
Bisect stance/gain inside positioning Bisect stance/gain inside positioning
Strike and/or suppress Strike and/or suppress
Sanchin and Sunsu katas represent the two sides of a coin. The Yang and Yin are complimentary, interdependent principles. This brings us to the observation and misunderstanding about the performance speeds of the two forms. Most would agree that Sanchin is to be done slowly and with tension, where Sunsu appears to be performed at normal kata speed. Normal kata speed is the speed you would need to go in real time against a real attack. It isn’t slow.
Of note: Sanchin was appropriated by several Okinawan systems that each focused on the Form’s specific values. Thus, we have Sanchin with breathing emphasis, tension emphasis, bunkai emphasis, energy cultivation emphasis, and for some Buddhists, meditation emphasis. These inflections change the look of the performance. Regardless, both Sanchin and Sunsu need to be performed within a certain time frame or the performer will have trouble syncing their Ki flow to their physical actions. Too slow or too fast is not good.
Shimabuku believed Sanchin kata had no bunkai. I strongly disagree, as do other experts. On one hand, I can see how the kata became a Ki-cultivating form with its bunkai de-emphasized. But purely following a logical thought stream, we have a martial art with a martial looking form. Why wouldn’t there be bunkai? Sanchin was a premiere fighting form in southern China. How does it lack bunkai? I beleive most western progenitors couldn’t figure the kata’s bunkai out. That’s why it lacks bunkai.
I think Sanchin and Sunsu were intended to show us how to gain immediate control when engaged in a clinch, one of the most common positions any two civilian fighters can find themselves in during a violent clash.
The end game in activating any kata’s internal lessons is to develop enough sensitivity to feel your Ki flow and direct it appropriately. The consequence of performing an energetically balanced form has been noted by many students introduced to Kiko who often express feeling more connected or having more energy available to them when performed this way.
I have given you an overview with a few examples of Sunsu’s potency. I hope to share more insights about this kata in the future. If you find the topical nature of your art compelling, wait until you discover your kata’s missing internal link—KIKO.
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=kiko+hidden+power+electric+moves%2C+Hayashi+tomio