Kanchin
完戦 · Kanchin
Literally: „Kanbun's fight“
The seventh of Uechi-ryu's eight kata, created by Kanei Uechi from techniques favored by his father Kanbun; in movement it resembles the closing kata Sanseiryu.
Quick Facts
About the kata
Kanchin is the seventh of Uechi-ryu's eight kata, standing in the curriculum between Seiryu and the closing kata Sanseiryu. It was created by Kanei Uechi, son of the style's founder Kanbun Uechi. According to Uechi-Ryu Karate-Do Oryukai, he focused in it techniques his father favored and added elements from Sanseiryu, above all the double block watari uke. The Uechiryu Karatedo Rengokai federation states that Kanchin moves very similarly to Sanseiryu. Typical for it are techniques starting from a firmly planted stance (sue goshi): a sharp step out of a body turn is followed by an elbow strike, the scooping fist block shoken, or the low block gedan barai. According to the federation, the kata demands endurance in the lower body (muchimi) and power from the twist of the torso; it comes across as fast and dynamic. The English Wikipedia states that the kata teaches defensive movements performed in a single motion, a principle it calls ikkyodo. In WUKF competition, the April 2024 kata list places it among Uechi-ryu's selected kata sentei as well as its free kata tokui.
The kata in different styles
| Style | Name in the style | Movements | Kiai |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uechi-ryu | Kanchin | — | — |
Meaning of the name
The name is written with the characters 完戦. According to Uechi-Ryu Kenkyujo and Oryukai, the first character 完 honors founder Kanbun Uechi, while 戦 means battle or fight; sandairyu.com therefore reads the name as "Kanbun's fight." The English Wikipedia notes the same character also appears in Kanei and Kanmei, and since Kanei composed the kata, reads the name instead as "Kanei's challenge" or "Kanei's fight."
Creator and history
According to the Japanese Wikipedia, Kanbun Uechi brought only three kata from China – Sanchin, Seisan and Sanseiryu; the English Wikipedia traces them to Pangai-noon. The remaining five kata were added by his son Kanei Uechi (1911–1991), who developed new teaching methods from 1931 until his death. He inserted three new kata between Sanchin and Seisan, and two between Seisan and Sanseiryu – Kanchin falls in that latter section of the curriculum. The Japanese Wikipedia speaks more generally of kata created by later students; okinawa.skr.jp credits Kanei specifically with Kanshiwa, Seiryu and Kanchin. According to Oryukai, Kanei composed the kata to preserve his father's memory. We have not been able to establish the exact year it was created.
Competition status
Further sources on this topic (10)
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uechi-ryū
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanei_Uechi
- ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/上地流
- uechiryu-oryukai.com/en/the-8-katas-of-uechi-ryu-karate
- uechiryu-kenkyujo.com/uechiryu-8-katas
- sandairyu.com/uechi-ryu_karate/katas
- uechiryu-rengo.jp/about/prelusion
- okinawa.skr.jp/page_20240107182520
- uechi-ryu.com/what-is-uechi-ryu-karate
- wukf-karate.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/OFFICIAL-WUKF-KATA-LIST-07-AP…