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Kevin's Shotokan kata notes: heian sandan

Last modified: Fri Aug 3 08:04:18 2007

Most Shotokan karate students are introduced to heian sandan after they have been training for about six months. It appears superficially to be easier than heian nidan, and it probably is, in a technical sense at least. There are (probably) no kicks, no great demands are made of your sense of balance, and no contortions are necessary. Athletically, sandan is something of a relief after the demands of nidan.
      What sandan requires, which nidan on the whole does not -- and which probably accounts for why it is considered slightly more advanced -- is a greater control of body dynamics. To do sandan well you need to be able to follow very fast, agressive moves with slow, controlled moves, all interspersed with dead stops. In addition, for most students this kata is the first to be encountered of which a large part is done in horse stance. You need to be able to step around in horse stance, and switch from forward stance, to back stance, to horse stance, and back again, to do sandan well.
      In what follows, I describe the directions of movement as if you start facing to the north. East is to your right, west to your left. When I say `step to the left', I mean `step to your left', not `step to the left of the room'.

Performance line for heian sandan; the starting position is shown as a blue spot

The movements of the kata follow a basic `I', shape, starting and finishing at the centre of the base of the `I'. However, the top stroke of the `I' and part of the bottom stroke are missing, making the performance line simpler even than heian shodan.

0. Preparation. The kata proper starts in yoi (`ready' or `attention') stance. Your feet are about shoulder-width apart, toes pointing north, hands in fists just in front of your waist. If you're doing it for a competition, there will be certain formalities, such as a bow before assuming attention stance.

1. Inside block to the west in back stance. Look decisively to the west (your left at this point); then drop and turn your hips slightly while cocking your arms for inside block. You right arm should be more-or-less fully extended towards the west, while your left arm is underneath it, fist almost in your armpit. Your shoulders should be almost square to the west -- unless you're very supple you won't be able to get them fully square while your feet are still pointing north. Step out to your left with your left foot, while keeping your torso as still as possible. As you step, inside block with your left arm, pulling your right fist back to your right hip, and twising your shoulders back to be square to the north. It is this twising action that gives the block its strength. You should finish this move fully in back stance. Note that if you do it properly, your torso has only moved a few inches to the west.

2. Double-arm block to the west. This move may be interpreted as two simultaneous blocks, or as a breaking move, rather like the scissor block of heian nidan. In outline, what you do is to step up to your extended left foot with your right foot, while simulateously making two blocking moves -- a downward block with your right arm, and an inside block with your left. Here's the same move broken down with more detail.
      From the back stance and inside block position, step forward with your right foot, so that your feet are touching, and toes pointing west. At the same time extend your right arm in front of you at waist height. Next, cock your left arm for the downward block by moving your outstretched left arm to your right shoulder. Block sharply with both arms -- downward block with left, inside block with right. Your forearms should almost touch if you're doing it properly. It's very hard to get much strength in this move, because your can't twist your hips. So it's important to cock your arms before blocking, so that there's an adequate range of movement.
      At some point during this move you'll need to straighten your legs, so you're standing upright. Opinions differ on when this should be. In my experience, most experts keep their knees bent while stepping the feet together, then stand up sharply while doing the double block. Some people move directly from back stance to an upright position, then do the double block. If you interpret the double block as a catching or breaking move, then arguably it makes more sense to stand sharply while doing the block, as this will add greater strength to the move.

3. Double-arm block to the west. This move is the mirror image if move 2, and some authorities consider it to be part of the same move. Block downwards with your right arm, and inside block with your left. As in move 2, you'll need to cock your arms before the blocks to get much strength in them.

4. Inside block to the east in back stance. This move is the mirror image of move 1. Look sharply over your shoulder to the east, then cock your arms for inside block. Your left arm extends to the east, while your right fist is underneath it, near your left armpit. Step out with your right foot into back stance, while doing inside block with your right arm, and bringing your left fist back to your left hip.

5, 6 Two double-arm blocks to the east. Moves 5 and 6 are the mirror images of 2 and 3. Step up with the left foot to the right and block down with the right arm, inside block with the left; then block down with the left arm and inside block with the right. Straighten your legs before or during the first double block.

7. Reinforced inside block to the north in back stance. Look north, drop your hips slightly, and step out with the left foot to the north, while cocking your arms for the reinforced inside block. Both fists should come to the right hip, or even further to your right depending on how you interpret this move. Block with your left arm, supported by your right fist. Finish the move fully in back stance.

8. Spear-hand strike to the north. Press down with your outstretched left hand, so that your hand ends up palm down in front of your chest. Step forward with your right foot, so that you move into front stance, right foot forward. Do a spear-hand strike at midsection height with your right hand at midsection height. Your right elbow should end up resting lightly on the knuckles of your left hand.

9. Turn 270 degrees and hammer-fist strike to the north. This move is usually interpreted as dislodging a grab to your outstretched right arm, then following up with a hammer-fist strike. Start by twisting your right spear-hand anticlockwise so that your thumb starts to point downwards. As the hand starts to turn, turn your whole torso such that your right shoulder moves towards your left; this will have the effect of pulling your outstretched right arm even further from your opponent. Follow this move up by stepping up with your left foot to your right foot, such that you end up with your back to your opponent, feet together. Your right arm is now fully withdrawn, and the back of your right hand is resting on or near your right hip. Continue the turn by stepping out into horse stance (kiba dachi) with your hips and shoulders square to the east. As you step, hammer-fist strike to your opponent's neck.
      These moves sound unwieldy when described in this detail, but in fact are quite flowing when done smoothly. You do, at some point, have to turn your back on your imaginary opponent, but this is only for an instant as part of the block. The turn has two effects -- it dislodges a grab to your right arm, while generating the momentum for a forceful hammer-fist.

10. Stepping punch in right front stance. Step out of the horse stance into a new front stance, with your right leg forward. Punch at midsection height and kiai. You'll need to rotate your feet to point north before starting the step, because they start in entirely the wrong direction for a step. This is a situation where you do have to move your feet before a stepping punch, despite a general recommendation to avoid doing so.
      In general, most experts do moves 8-10 in quick succession, while move 11 (next) is slow.

11. Turn to the south while standing up. Rotate 180 degrees on your right heel while pulling your left foot up to your right. Make fists with both hands, and bring the knuckles to rest on your hips. The backs of your hands should face forward, otherwise the next move will be difficult. Most experts do the turn quickly while keeping their knees bent, then straighten up slowly once they are facing directly south. Doing it this way looks as though you're more in control than if you stand up during the turn.
      Once you're fully upright and facing south, hold this position for a second or two. The turn, stand, and pause are generally seen as martialling your strength for the next, very aggressive part of the kata.

12-13. Leg block, stamp down into horse stance, and back-fist strike to the south. You'll get to do this move three times in total, so somebody must have thought it was important. There is quite a lot of heated debate about what your leg is doing during this move. Some authorities maintain that the leg makes a crescent kick; others see the leg movement as a sweeping action. The JKA intepretation is that the leg is simply raised to ward off a kick at thigh height. Another view is that all you're doing is raising the foot to prepare for the following downward stamp. In any event, whether you kick, sweep, block, or simply raise, the first part of this move ends up with your right knee raised high in front of your groin, while keeping everything else still. Then twist on your left heel while stamping down forcefully with your right foot. You will land naturally in horse stance, shoulders and hips square to the east. As you land, block a punch with your right elbow, while keeping your fist on your hip. Then back-fist strike at your opponent's head with your right fist. Finally, draw back your right first so that it ends up back on your right hip, knuckles forward. Your left fist is already in this position, as it hasn't move at all during the move.

14-15. Leg block, stamp down into horse stance, and back-fist strike to the south. This is the same moves as moves 12-13, except that you're stamping and striking with opposite arms and legs.

16-17. Leg block, stamp down into horse stance, and back-fist strike to the south. This is the same moves moves 12-13. Although moves 12-13, 14-15, and 16-17 are identical, most experts don't seem to vary the tempo between the moves. They just go: raise - stamp - strike - raise - stamp - strike - raise - stamp - -strike. 18a. Palm heel strike to the south with the right hand. In horse stance, cock the arms for a right-hand palm heel strike. Bring your right hand, palm open, over your left shoulder, little finger facing down. Some people extend the left arm in front, but some don't. At the same time, rotate on your heels so that your feet are pointing somewhat towards the south. In doing this, shift into front stance. This front stance will be of much less than proper width, and rather unstable. However, you won't be in it very long. As you shift on your heels into front stance, palm heel strike with your right hand at midsection height. There is some debate about whether this move is a strike, a block, or a push; most authorities do it quite slowly, and make the following move very fast.

18b. Left stepping punch in front stance. Directly from the left palm-heel strike (or block, or push) step smartly forward with the left leg into a normal front stance, and punch to the south with the left fist at midsection height.

19. Turn 180 degrees into horse stance, punching over your left shoulder. You can do this move in one step, but most authorities show two distinct moves. The first move is to step up with your right leg to your left leg, so that your feet are about shoulder-width apart. Your left fist remains extended, as it was for the stepping punch. The second move is to rotate 180 degrees on your right heel, stepping up and down with the left foot into a new horse stance. You're now facing north. As the foot lands in horse stance, punch with your right fist over your left shoulder.

Here are a few things to watch out for.

• When performing the two sets of double-arm blocks at the start of the kata, it's easy to `windmill' your arms to block. You can't block strongly by rotating your arms at the elbows, unless you've got shoulder's like Popeye the Sailor Man. For the rest of us, it is necessary to involve the tricep and the bicep in the block, which means you need to cock your arms properly, with your forearms almost touching before doing the block. With practice, this can be done reasonably quickly.
• In a competition, the judges will expect your toes and heels to be touching in those points in the kata where your feet are together. That is, in the two double-arm blocks and the point before the stamps in horse stance. It doesn't add anything to these moves as fighting techniques, but it shows that you have good awareness of the exact positions of your extremities.
• The stamps are real stamps, not steps. In general, followers of the JKA Shotokan style think it is bad manners to stamp on the ground during kata to make the moves sound more decisive. This is considered showy and superficial. However, these three moves in heian sandan are one of the rare places where it is considered de rigeur to stamp. You are, in effect, stomping down on your opponent's shin, which would be a disabling move if done strongly enough.

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