About Uechi Ryū
| kitae | 鍛え | training tempering |
| tai kitae | 体 鍛え | body training |
| kote kitae | 小手 鍛え | forearm training “arm pounding” |
Perhaps due to its early years in Wakayama as a practical and tested means of self-defense, Uechi Ryū was known as a realistic fighting system, a killing style, with very fast strikes and intense eyes.
Sōke Kaichō Kinjō believes that Uechi Ryū has sacrificed speed in the pursuit of physical toughness.
Uechi Ryū Under Uechi Kanei
Uechi Kanbun brought only three Pangainoon kata back from China. After Uechi Kanbun’s death, his son, Uechi Kanei, became head of what was by then called Uechi Ryū. In the 1950s, Uechi Kanei added new methods and kata to help students develop the skills of Uechi-Ryū:
| hojoundō | 補助運動 | supporting exercises |
| junbiundō | 準備運動 | warm ups |
| kumite | 組手 組み手 | sparring “mix up hands” |
| yakusoku kumite | 約束組手 | “promise fighting” |
| jū kumite | 自由組手 | free-style sparring |
- Five new kata: Kanshiwa, Dainiseisan, Seichin, Seiryu and Kanchin
- A set of supporting exercises called hojoundō that included basic movements and key elements of the kata
- Warm-up and stretching exercises called junbiundō
- Body conditioning
- Promise fighting for kyū and dan level partner training
Uechi Ryū was the first karate style to include sparring. There were few rules and many injuries. The opportunity to spar was one of the features that drew young Kinjō Takashi to Uechi Ryū – that and the chance to earn a black belt.
The Growth of Uechi Ryū
Karate was largely unknown outside of Okinawa and Japan until after the end of World War II. Because the U.S. maintained a large military base on the island of Okinawa, American servicemen were exposed to the Okinawan fighting art known as karate. Not all karate masters would accept American servicemen. Uechi Ryū grew in popularity because it admitted American servicemen and because it included free-style sparring. Before Uechi Ryū there was no free-style sparring.
George E. Mattson was responsible for bringing Uechi Ryū to the U.S. Mattson studied Uechi Ryū under Tomoyose Ryuko as an American serviceman stationed in Okinawa. He became the first American to earn a Uechi Ryū black belt. In 1958, Uechi Kanei himself requested that Mattson do his best to promote Uechi Ryū in the U.S. Mattson opened the first Uechi Ryū dojo in the U.S. in Boston. He was also the first to write books in English about Uechi Ryū. Uechi Ryū grew in popularity in the U.S., especially on the East Coast where Mattson lived.
Is Uechi Ryū a member of the Naha-te family of karate styles?
There are three main branches of Okinawan karate that grew out of the combination of Chinese chuan’fa with the Okinawan fighting art known as te (ti). Naha-te, Shuri-te and Tomari-te were named after the villages around which they developed.
| Gōjū | 剛柔 | hard soft |
| gō | 剛 | strong |
| jū | 柔 | soft |
Naha-te was founded by Higaonna Kanryō, who first traveled to the Fukien Province of China in 1869 and studied white crane chuan’fa at the Southern Shaolin temple under Ryū Ryū Ko. Higaonna Kanryō’s student, Chojun Miyagi, became the founder of Gōjū Ryū.
Uechi Kanbun traveled to China in 1897, nearly 30 years later. He studied at the same temple but a style of tiger, crane and dragon chuan’fa called Pangainoon under Shushiwa. Pangainoon Ryū was later renamed Uechi Ryū.
Because the Chinese roots of Gōjū Ryū and Uechi Ryū are similar, Uechi Ryū is sometimes considered to be in the Naha-te family. However, due to the nearly thirty year time difference, the different styles of chuan’fa and different masters, Uechi Ryū is usually considered a fourth branch of Okinawan karate.
Are there similarities between Uechi Ryū and Gōjū Ryū?
Both Uechi Ryū and Gōjū Ryū incorporate circular and linear movements, combining hard striking attacks such as kicks and closed-fist punches with softer open hand techniques to block and control. It is this combination of hard and soft that inspired the names Pangainoon and Gōjū.
Both of the founding martial artists brought sanchin, seisan and sanseiryū kata to Okinawa. A fourth kata called Suparenpe was part of Pangainoon, but was never taught by Uechi Kanbun. It is possible that he never learned it. Gōjū Ryū does have a kata called Suparenpe, but it is not known how it would compare to what Uechi Kanbun might have learned.
What is the origin of the name, Pangainoon?
| Pangainoon | 半硬軟 | half hard soft | |
| pan | 半 | half | |
| gai | kō | 硬 | stiff; hard |
| noon | nan | 軟 | soft |
The original name of Uechi Ryū was Pangainoon Ryū. Pangainoon means “half hard soft.”
Uechi Kanbun studied Pangainoon chuan’fa when he traveled to China. In China, Pangainoon may have developed from the combination of two systems of chuan’fa. The first, the Southern Shaolin Ken, was known for rigorous body training and offensive techniques. The second, Eishun Ken, was a soft style known for defensive techniques. Uechi Kanbun’s Chinese master, Shushiwa, is believed to have combined aspects from both systems. Hence the name “half hard soft.”
The pronunciation of the kanji for Pangainoon does not correlate to any modern Chinese dialects. It is thought that the name may have come from a little known and possibly now extinct dialect of Chinese. In the early 1990s, Itokazu Seiki changed the name from Pangainoon Ryū to the Japanese pronunciation of the same kanji. The first kanji, meaning half, was omitted. The new name became Kōnan Ryū, “hard soft style.”
What is the origin of the concept of “hard soft?”
The principle of “hard soft” has its origin in the ancient Chinese military arts book called the Bubishi. A portion of this book was widely studied by Okinawan karate masters during the 19th and 20th centuries. A portion of this book was translated into English, complete with illustrations. The illustrations are reminiscent of techniques found in modern karate.
Bubishi – The Bible of Karate; copyright 1995 by Patrick McCarthy; Tuttle Publishing
Uechi Ryū Today
Speed
In the early days, Uechi Ryū was known for speed. With the current emphasis on keeping your body tight at all times, speed has been sacrificed. Tight muscles can help protect the vital organs of your body from a vicious blow. However, to move with speed your muscles must be loose. Tighten to receive a blow or tighten on contact to deliver maximum power.
The following saying is from a calligraphy is found in Uechiryu Karate Dō, a book written by George E. Mattson in 1974:
Gan Sei Shū Shō
眼精手捷
Glare in Your Eyes With Fast Hands
| gan | 眼 | eye insight; power of observation |
| sei | 精 | energy; strength |
| shu | 手 | hand |
| shō | 捷 | victory or fast |
| ketsu | 抉 | gouge; hollow out; bore; pry |
Note: The saying is traditionally rendered in English as “glare in your eyes with fast hands.” However, in Mattson’s book the last kanji in the above calligraphy is 抉, which has nothing to do with speed. Sōke Kaichō Kinjō believes that this kanji should be 捷, meaning victory or fast.
Kata Performance
Modern Uechi Ryū kata competitions reward only the most basic level of kata performance. There is no incentive to advance beyond this basic level, and therefore Sōke Kaichō Kinjō believes that Uechi Ryū has stagnated at the shokyū level.
Analysis
Analysis in the form of bunkai has never been a strong point of Uechi Ryū. Beginners learned a basic bunkai for Kanshiwa. Bunkai was not revisited until Seisan. Sōke Kaichō Kinjō believes that every move of a kata has a bunkai. Moreover, the bunkai are not static but can be interpreted in many ways.