Students perform it for their first test and perform it mirror-image for their greenbelt test.
The name comes from Kanbun and Shushiwa. Kanbun's other teacher was Shushabu and some therefore refer to this kata as Kanshabu. Kanshiwa is considered a basic kata, but its closing shoken is taken from Sanseiru and its sequence of waukes and double bushikens reflects a sequence found in suparempi, a kata some martial artists believed would have been taught to Kanbun Uechi as a fourth kata of Pangainoon had he studied longer before leaving to teach. In musubi dachi, bow. The opening in Kanshiwa is different from that in Sanchin.