A glance at seisan, a foundational kata of shorinji-ryu

Back in 2018, I had the opportunity to participate in the 1st Okinawa Karate International Tournament as a coach for my stepson, Maya Rutherford, who competed in the Shuri-te kei / Tomari-te kei Juniors Male event.  For those who may not be aware, this tournament was not a sports karate tournament, but a kata tournament for genuine Okinawan kata from Shuri-te, Tomari-te, and Naha-te lineages, with the purpose of continuing “to preserve and pass down Okinawa karate’s precise techniques and the spiritual desire for peace which have been handed down until today, with the hopes of promoting karate into the future” (greetings letter to tournament participants, from Takeshi Onaga, Governor of Okinawa Prefecture and Chair of the tournament Executive Committee, August 1, 2018).

One of the kata that Maya performed in this event was Seisan, which is a foundational training kata of Shorinji-ryu.  Chotoku Kyan (1870-1945) learned Seisan from Sokon Matsumura (c. 1809-1901), a master of Shuri whose influence can be seen in virtually all the Shorin styles (with the exception of Tomari-te when viewed as a system in itself).  As such, Seisan comes from the Shuri-te lineage of Shorinji-ryu, which also has its roots in Tomari-te.  (In the karate world, however, Shuri-te and Tomari-te are still considered close to each other.)  Seisan is one of the oldest known Okinawan karate kata, and variations of the kata are practiced widely across different styles.

Below I’ve posted two videos showing Maya’s performance of Seisan at the tournament.  The first is from the preliminary rounds and shows the kata from the side (profile view), while the second is from the round of 16 and shows the kata from a more frontal view.  In addition to breathing patterns that are not apparent from the videos, Seisan introduces several other core concepts that I think are shown here quite nicely.  These include rooted stances, a mixture of hard and soft techniques, strong linear strikes, quick directional changes to engage multiple opponents, and dynamic transitions in stance to generate power, particularly between Shiko-dachi (or the “half” Shiko-dachi of Shorinji-ryu) and Zenkutsu-dachi.
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The latter performance of Seisan earned Maya a place in the quarter finals of the tournament.  (He went on to win third place overall, performing a different kata, which was a remarkable achievement).  I think these performances are a nice showcase of Shorinji-ryu’s Seisan, as well as a great demonstration of the purpose and spirit of the 1st Okinawa Karate International Tournament.