Uechi Ryu (上地流) is a style of Okinawan Karate originated by Kanbun Uechi (上地完文). Karate or karate-dō is a martial art of Okinawan origin. ... Kanbun Uechi (1877–1948?) was a famous martial arts master from Okinawa. ...

Early history

Kanbun Uechi studied Pangai-noon (half-hard, half-soft) Kung Fu under Shushiwa, also known as Chou Tsu Ho, in the Fukien province of mainland China in the late 1800's and early 1900's. After 10 years of study under Shushiwa, Kanbun Uechi opened his own school in the Nanching province. Two years later, Kanbun Uechi returned to Okinawa, resolved never to teach again because one of his Chinese students had killed a neighbor with an open-hand technique in a dispute over land irrigation. Kanbun Uechi, while working as a janitor was persuaded by Ryuyu Tomoyose, a coworker to teach again. He did this by getting Kanbun to show him ways of defending against different attacks. His confidence as a teacher restored, Kanbun Uechi with the help of Ryuyu Tomoyose opened a dojo to the public. His Okinawan students eventually renamed the system in 1940 to "Uechi Ryu", which translates as "Way of Uechi". Kanbun Uechi (1877–1948?) was a famous martial arts master from Okinawa. ... Pangai-noon (half-hard, half-soft) Kung Fu is a little-known, and most likely extinct, form of Southern Chinese Kung Fu. ... Alternative meaning: Kung Fu (TV series) Kung fu or gongfu (功夫, Pinyin: gōngfu) is a well-known Chinese term used in the West to designate Chinese martial arts. ... Fujian (Chinese: 福建; pinyin: Fújiàn; Wade-Giles: Fu-chien; Postal System Pinyin: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan Hok-kiàn) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of China. ... This article is about the prefecture. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ...

Kanbun Uechi's son, Kanei Uechi, taught the style at the Futenma City Dojo, Okinawa, and was considered the first Okinawan to sanction the teaching to foreigners. One of Kanei's senior students, Ryuko Tomoyose, taught a young American serviceman named, George Mattson, formerly of Boston and now residing in Florida, who authored several books on the subject and is largely responsible for popularizing the style in America. Uechi-ryu emphasizes toughness of the body with quick hand and foot strikes. Several of the more unique weapons of Uechi practitioners are the one-knuckle punch (shoken), spearhand (nukite), and the toe kick. Because of this emphasis on simplicity, stability, and a combination of linear and circular motions, the style is practical for self-defense. Uechi-ryu is principally based on the movements of animals, the Tiger, Dragon, and Crane. Of all styles of Karate, none are closer to the Chinese roots of the art; Uechi-ryu still strongly resembles Southern Chinese Kung Fu. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Chinese dragons Dragon Kung Fu (龍形 Loong Ying) is one of the five animal styles of Shaolin Kung Fu. ... This article is about the Fujian style of White Crane. ...

Kata

There are eight empty-hand katas in Uechi Ryu; the longest has 36 steps. Only Sanchin, Seisan, Sanseirui are from Pangai-noon. The others were added to the style by Kanei Uechi. Many of the names of the newer kata were formed from the names of prominent figures in the art, e.g. Kanshiwa from Kanei and Sushiwa. The current list of empty-hand kata is: Best known by its Japanese name, Sanchin is a martial arts training routine (Japanese: kata) of Fujianese (south China) origin that is considered to be the core of several styles, the most well-known being the Goju Ryu and Uechi Ryu styles of Karate as well as the Chinese martial... Pangai-noon (half-hard, half-soft) Kung Fu is a little-known, and most likely extinct, form of Southern Chinese Kung Fu. ...

1. Sanchin
2. Kanshiwa
3. Konshu
4. Seichin
5. Seisan
6. Seirui
7. Konchin
8. Sanseirui

The Sanchin kata is deceptively simple in appearance. It teaches the foundation of the style, including stances and breathing. Kanbun Uechi is quoted as saying "All is in Sanchin." Though it is not difficult to learn the movements of Sanchin, it is thought to take a lifetime to master the form.

Additionally, some organizations teach that each kata has a 'meaning' or moral; the more accurate meaning however is that each kata teaches a specific concept:

1. Sanchin (Three Modes/Conflicts: Mind, Body and Spirit)
2. Kanshiwa
3. Konshu
4. Seichin
5. Seisan (Thirteen modes of attack and defense)
6. Seirui
7. Konchin
8. Sanseirui (Thirty-six modes of attack and defense)

After Kanei Uechi, some Uechi Ryu schools have added additional kata, such as Shoshu, which can be included between Konshu and Seichin.

Ranks

These are the ten black belt or Dan ranks:

1. Shodan
2. Nidan
3. Sandan
4. Yondan
5. Godan
6. Rokudan (Master's title: Renshi)
7. Sichidan or Nanidan (Master's title: Kyoshi)
8. Hachidan (Master's title: Kyoshi)
9. Kyudan (Master's title: Hanshi)
10. Judan (Master's title: Hanshi-sei)

These are the ten beginner or Kyu ranks:

1. Jukyu
2. Kyukyu
3. Hachikyu
4. Sichikyu
5. Rokyu
6. Gokyu
7. Yonkyu
8. Sankyu
9. Nikyu
10. Ikkyu

Weapons

There are no weapons in the Uechi-ryu system, although several masters in Okinawa have cross-trained with Kobudo weapon systems and made them part of their curriculum. Okinawan weapons include in part: bo (6' staff), Nunchaku, Sai, Kama, Oar, Tonfa. It has been suggested that Kobudo be merged into this article or section. ... Bo or BO may be: Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (AAR reporting mark BO) Belarus, FIPS Pub 10-4 and obsolete NATO digram (BO) Bouraq Indonesia Airlines IATA code(BO) Bo is the evil aspect of Voodoo practice Bo is a common Scandinavian forename (male) meaning to live or stay and... A nunchaku (Chinese: 雙節棍, shuāng jié gùn; 兩節棍m, liǎng jié gùn; 二節棍, èr jié gùn, also known in English by the plural nunchucks, variously rendered as nunchuks, nun-chucks, nun-chuks, nun chucks, nun chuks, nunchaku, or chucks for short) is a martial arts weapon of the... Sai may be: Sai (weapon), a weapon used in certain martial arts, of Okinawan origin Sai (game), a variant of the game Mancala. ... Kama may refer to several things Kama, a Hindu god The term Kama also refers to one of the 4 goals of life according to Hindu traditions (Purusharthas) - these include Dharma, artha, kama, and moksha The Kama River, a tributary of the Volga river, in Russia Kama, sickle-like weapons... OAR is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below: An abbreviation of the term Original Aspect Ratio. ... A Wooden Tonfa The tonfa, also known as tong fa or tuifa, is an Okinawan weapon from which the modern side-handled police baton is derived. ...

Additional Training Elements

Kanei Uechi, in addition to adding kata, also introduced a sequence of exercises to the Uechi Ryu training regimen. The "junbi undo" are warm-up and stretching exercises based on Asian school training exercises. The "hojo undo" are standardized exercises that incorporate elements of all of the katas of the system. The hojo undo exercises are:

1. Sokuto geri (knife-edge kick)
2. Shomen geri (front kick)
3. Mawashi tsuki (roundouse four-knuckle-fist punches)
4. Wauke shuto uraken shoken tsuki (circle block, chop, backfist, one-knuckle punch)
5. Hajki uke hiraken tsuki (four-knuckle-fist blocks and strikes)
6. Hiji tsuki (elbow strikes)
7. Seiken tsuki (full-fist punch)
8. Tenshin zensoku geri (front-leg angle kicks)
9. Tenshin kosuko geri (rear-leg angle kicks)
10. Tenshin Shoken Tsuki (Step around circular block, punch, circular block, punch) 11. Shomen hajiki (fingertip eye strikes)
12. Koino shipo uchi, tate uchi (fish-tail wrist blocks in four directions)
13. Koino shipo uchi, yoko uchi (fish-tail wrist blocks side-to-side)

Uechi Ryu Today

Like many arts, Uechi-ryu experienced organizational splits after its founder's death. Some seniors split from the main organization and created other organizations or styles, for example, Shohei-ryu and several variants of Pangai-noon-ryu. The original Futenma dojo is headed by Kanmei Uechi of Okinawa, grandson of the founder. Shohei-ryu Karate is a version of Uechi Ryu Karate. ...

References

External Links

[1] Uechi-ryu site in Alberta.

[2] Uechi-ryu Journal.

[3] Canadian Uechi-ryu site.

[4] Uechi-ryu site with much information on the style.

[5] Uechi-ryu information from the University of Virginia.

Books

• Allan Dollar, Secrets of Uechi Ryu and the Mysteries of Okinawa, Cherokee Publishing: 1996.
• George E. Mattson, Uechiryu Karate Do (Classical Chinese Okinawan Self-Defense), Peabody Publishing Company: 1997 (8th printing).