 So there is a debate out there that training in Gojiru will destroy your internal organs and give you hemorrhoids. Yep, we're really doing this. You know, just just just roll the opening. So we've been getting a lot of recent requests to cover the history of Gojiru So that is an art that we've put into the research traces. Now while reading up on some of the history I came across a little bit of a surprising debate and there seems to be a lot of people out There who believe that training in the art of Gojiru puts an unhealthy strain on the body that may cause heart Stress vulnerability the strokes and aneurysms and other issues that are quite frankly a pain in the rear and when I told My wife about the debates that I was finding about this art. She just looked at me with a blank stare She said so you're telling me that training in this martial art will literally blow the blood vessels out of your asshole So naturally I could not cover this So is it true is training in Gojiru actually dangerous to your health? Now, I know we have a lot of Gojiru practitioners in their audience So I'm absolutely open to hearing your feedback if there's anything that you can elaborate on in this presentation Or even have a correction, please add it in the comments. I definitely want to hear from you So we'll go to Roo kill you. Well, let's first narrow this down a little bit The debate actually seems to stem around the kata Sanchin, which is one of the core kata that gojiru is built around Sanchin is believed to have origins in Chinese martial arts and you can also find it in several other disciplines such as Ishinryu, Weichiru, Kyokushin and several other styles Sanchin means three battles and it is sometimes defined as a balance of the mind body and spirit The kata employees tension used for body strengthening combined with a very specific respiratory discipline called Ibuki Now Ibuki is a method of breathing to a certain rhythm or pattern to support what you're trying to accomplish Then in the context of the martial arts, we learn to breathe certain ways to add power to our strikes Recover after sparring or fighting to help us focus or even aid us in meditation Sanchin combines Ibuki with specific body tension to form a major pillar in traditional karate training It has a very signature stance and the kata is ultimately designed to help develop the muscular structure of the body for balance With standing blows and teaching the mechanics of powerful strikes Now even though Sanchin exists in many other karate styles It is the version specific to Goju-Ru that draws the scrutiny Why? The main criticism of the kata in the debate is seen to circulate around the level of constant tension applied to the body Even if you're not a practitioner to Okinawa karate You've probably seen people performing Sanchin and doing slow deliberate motions along with some really intense exhales Many people even see the tension in their bodies and their muscles tighten and bulge Now many people site the strain on the body is harmful Citing the dangers of hypertension, which is often the source of many health issues Sanchin is intended to be performed often several times a day in order to get the benefits out of the conditioning However, applying this level of tension to your body this often can be dangerous Now I came across this blog post in which a registered nurse expressed his concerns for the practice of Sanchin and the damage it did to the body I'm going to put a link in the description below so that way you can have some context to read the full thing But I do want to pull some excerpts from it in that post He mentions that it has long been known that dynamic tension kata's were of questionable value Despite being strongly supported by those who have been taught to do them Justice hypertension is damaging to the body over a long period of time Such artificial spiking of the vascular cranial and pulmonary pressures is not good for you and will do some damage Especially if you happen to have a predisposition to hypertension for referral vascular disease or congenital vascular abnormalities There are benefits to breathing control, but it appears physiologically that Sanchin hearty bookie breathing should go the way of the knuckle Tuffening knuckle push-ups and straight legs sit-ups. Don't do it He further exemplified his argument that just because something was done as a tradition Doesn't mean it's good for the body and he recommended a weightlifting regimen to build up the type of strength and conditioning that Sanchin offered So let's look at this a little bit further. Why does Sanchin do this to your body? Well, it comes from the practice of what is called the Valsalva Maneuver The Valsalva Maneuver was named after a 17th century physician, Antonio Maria Valsalva And it is a process of trying to exhale against a closed airway So picture pinching off your nose and closing your mouth and then trying to blow a balloon but not letting the air out This practice impacts pressure on the body and triggers cardiovascular responses Now there are a few reasons why you might want to do the Valsalva Maneuver or when a doctor may recommend you perform it Because of the forceful strain that it can inflict on the body Doctors will have patients perform this in order to examine and test cardiac functions and Sometimes patients who have a heart condition such as superventricular tachycardia Which is an issue with the heart's electrical signals and often causes a fast heart rate Sometimes by performing the Valsalva Maneuver Patients with this condition can relax the heart's electrical system and slow the rate back down to normal And it does this in four phases and I'm going to quote an article on WebMD Which really should only be used for quick reference only never use it in place of a licensed and professional physician But they broke down the four phases such as Phase one when you start blowing pressure rises in your chest and belly That forces blood out of your heart and down your arms This causes your blood pressure to go up for a short time Phase two your heart pumps less blood with each beat while you're straining your blood pressure steadily returns to normal Phase three when you relax at the end of this maneuver your heart rate increases Phase four. This is the recovery period blood rushes back to your heart Ideally your blood pressure rises, but then returns to the baseline as your heart rate goes back to normal There can of course be side effects of doing this if you have heart problems or other underlying conditions So please do not do this without speaking to your doctor first the Valsalva Maneuver can also be used to balance out pressure I'm sure we've all had those moments when we're underwater or in an airplane and we felt the pressure change in our head What do we do to fix that we pinch our nose we close our mouths and we blow until our ears pop So we've basically neutralized the pressure in our head if you've ever done that congratulations You've performed the Valsalva Maneuver The inherent danger with this comes from the risk of afflicting constant state of hypertension and breath holding in the body This type of pressure puts a strain on the heart the lungs blood vessels and if unchecked blow said veins out of said previously In addition it can cause strain on the eyes and do damage to the retina if you have any eye condition Or have had any eye implants or procedures So dang that's nuts. I mean you might be asking why in the heck would anybody want to practice this in the first place if it's so dangerous Well now on to the counter argument The general consensus on why Sanchin is or could be considered dangerous as damaging to the body seems to come down to one simple reason improper practice Just like with any other physical activity if you do it wrong you could do harm instead of achieving the benefits It's supposed to bring you So going back to that same blog I cited a few minutes ago I want to now pull some excerpts from the rebuttal Dr. Bill Glashin offered a counter perspective to Sanchin Now Dr. Glashin's qualifications are and I quote his post directly a doctorate in biomedical engineering with an emphasis in systems physiology a dissertation on rhythms and cardiopulmonary systems which includes Qualifications of how respiration affects arterial and venous pressure heart rate and peripheral vascular flow He also has several years of research study in cardiology. He's also a highly experienced karateka in both gojiroo and Waitjiroo now what I find interesting here is he offers a direct comparison of the two different versions of Sanchin So here are some excerpts from his post that compare the two Moderate tension should exist only to hold the pelvis under keep the abdomen firm Keep the shoulders pulled down and keep the straightened fingers rigid The strikes and blocks are done with focus and with as little counter-resistance as possible Waitjiroo is predominantly open-handed system that employees specialized strikes with pointed surfaces to vulnerable areas Maximum efforts are not necessary. 400-pound bench press ability is not necessary Therefore, there is no need to create a breathing technique with strikes as it makes no difference in the ultimate utility of the strike The bulk of the system is application of low internal resistance focus techniques good relaxed and fluid movement The Valsalva discussion is moved The points of tension for the pelvic tuck firm abdomen lower shoulders and firm hands are identical However, the goju Sanchin has a closed fist instead of an open-pointed hand The hand positions are meant to be abstractions of the types of techniques done in the system The predominant technique in gojiroo is the sacan or closed-handed punch Goju technique allows and to some extent requires more total energy Consequently the practitioner benefits from the resistance training This is done in the goju Sanchin through dynamic tension fist strikes The kata was choreographed long before Olympic weights and weight training machines were invented and in common use However, the way these activities are done can and should be identical The proper breathing in goju Sanchin and the bench press should not be a Valsalva maneuver Now I especially like how he brought up the weight training Especially since it's often brought up as a better alternative to performing Sanchin Now I think we can all agree that weight training has its benefits But only if it's done correctly if you try to lift weights with bad form or improper technique You are increasing the risk of hurting yourself This is really no different than any other physical activity Especially in sports and martial arts in which we are put in our bodies through some demanding practices When you lift weights, you don't hold your breath You want proper controlled breathing the Valsalva maneuver has its uses But many extras such as dr. Glashing warned that it should not be used from a performing Sanchin We don't cork the pressure cooker because we don't want dinner all over the kitchen We don't do a Valsalva maneuver and weight training or karate because we don't want strokes aneurysms hernias hemorrhoids or blackouts So regardless of what martial art you are training or any physical regimen that you are taken apart in You always want to make sure that you fully understand the range of motions the proper technique and get instruction from a qualified Expert and this goes extra for those of you who are training on your own at home or through an online program We've covered that topic before but one of the greatest disadvantages to online or remote training Is that you do not have live instruction at the correct you so the lesson of Sanchin only highlights the risks involved in learning something without a certified Professional so I would love to hear from all of you gojiro practitioners watching I am extremely curious on what you can share on this will gojiro give you hemorrhoids or is this just a myth and Ascension completely safe has done correctly Thank you all so much for watching please subscribe and join us on patreon also I know a lot of us are training at home and on our own these days So I recommend watching the episode we did on training online martial arts So everybody please be careful, please be safe out there and try not to blow out any o-rings