The Untold Story Of Kanbun Uechi

The Footprints of Kanbun Uechi magazine articles

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hoshin
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Re: The Untold Story Of Kanbun Uechi

Post by hoshin »

Thanks for posting this Van. Its all very interesting and i really want a copy myself.
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Van Canna
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Re: The Untold Story Of Kanbun Uechi

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Welcome my friend. It is certainly very interesting to read and to get an insight into old training methods.
Van
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Re: The Untold Story Of Kanbun Uechi

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S.K.
"His karate techniques would not have been so good if he had not trained intensely for at least 7 or 8 years"
Referring to the some who might have questioned the 13 years length of time Kanbun trained in China.

Evidently S>K> felt that to be any good at the style techniques, one would have to work out intensely for 7 or 8 years.

[S. K.]
We trained everyday from 8 pm to around 11 pm.
Van
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Re: The Untold Story Of Kanbun Uechi

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The following is not from the book but from an article on the web:

Training with Tools/kigu undo
In an age where karate training is often viewed as a family pastime for some or a career path for others, many of the older and more traditional forms of training have slipped from use, replaced in many cases by a quest for physical entertainment.

But in the dojo of Okinawa and in the few other dojo around the world where karateka cling to their traditions, training methods that challenge martial artists and students still exist.

One such method is known as hojo undo, meaning supplementary training; and within that is kigu undo, training with tools or implements designed to test the karateka’s physical and mental tenacity and endurance.

In a confrontation of any kind, weakness is likely to be exploited.

So it is better to discover these flaws while working with the tools of hojo undo than to wait until we find ourselves facing off against a foe.
Michel Clarke
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Re: The Untold Story Of Kanbun Uechi

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Hojo undo: Okinawa roots
Except for the makiwara, few of the other tools found in hojo undo made the transition from Okinawa to Japan in the early years of the twentieth century.

But even back then, Okinawa’s indigenous fighting art of karate was beginning to spread beyond its island shores, taking its first tentative steps toward the eventual world-wide phenomena it is today.

These days who has not heard the word karate? Although well known by name, few actually know karate through experience, and even fewer can lay claim to understanding it. This is because to grasp the true depth of karate often takes more than a single lifetime.

Far beyond the fighting techniques and the acquisition of rank and titles coveted by many these days lie the true values found in traditional martial arts, the perfection of character through diligent training.

Even so, serious karate practice over many years will not develop a person’s true character, but it will reveal it.
Michael Clarke

Well, ain't it the truth...
Van
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Re: The Untold Story Of Kanbun Uechi

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Sometimes called “conditioning,” hojo undo plays an important role in the overall education of the karateka.

Although the majority of karate is best practiced against a training partner, the tools being introduced in this article will also provide resistance and impact and over time will help to improve the skill level of those individuals who pursue this type of training.

Increased muscular growth, enhanced breath and body coordination, and greater physical strength are just some of the benefits inherent in hojo undo training.

These reasons alone make the practice worthwhile.

Okinawan karate is based on four main doctrine, fitness, strength, strategy, and application. Hojo Undo forms the genesis of the second of these.
Michael Clarke
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Re: The Untold Story Of Kanbun Uechi

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Hojo Undo: Chiishi Tool
The chiishi is, in my opinion, the best single tool to use for overall body conditioning and body and breath coordination. With it, strength can be improved across the whole length of the body from the fingers to the toes.

Simply by picking up the chiishi, the grip employed strengthens the fingers, wrists, and arms.

The various exercises that use the chiishi target specific muscle groups in the arms, shoulders, and upper body, also, the continual squatting in to and out of shiko dachi (low stance) also strengthens the legs.

Over time this tool will help create physical and mental endurance as well as harmony between body, breathing, and our physical movements. Indeed, control of this tool is difficult, even impossible, if this harmony is not achieved.

We draw closer to the value of this type of training by understanding that such harmony is brought about by the spirit (intention) of the karateka.
Michael Clarke

And this is what tells us if our Uechi is up to Okinawan standards.
Van
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Re: The Untold Story Of Kanbun Uechi

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Hojo Undo: Nigiri gami
The nigiri gami (gripping jars) are used primarily, as the name suggests, to strengthen the power of the karateka’s grip.

Modern karate, taught by commercial instructors, has changed into a striking art, a type of karate that has become over-reliant on the use of punches and kicks, using boxing to get out of trouble.

Okinawan karate has always included grappling and strangulation, as well as strikes, within its arsenal of techniques.

Kumite (fighting) is looked upon as a last resort that should, if physical conflict breaks out, be brought under control with the minimum of activity; boxing serves only to prolong the fight, and the longer the combat continues the greater the risk of suffering injury, or worse.

A powerful grip around the throat, the groin, or the softer inner areas of the arms and legs, has a way of focusing the aggressor’s mind in ways that a punch or kick never will.

Far from obsolete, developing a potent grip provides one more opportunity to bring violence to a quick and decisive conclusion, a principal that lies at the very heart of traditional karate.
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Re: The Untold Story Of Kanbun Uechi

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Hojo Undo: Ude kitae
This tool is made from nothing more than a round post fixed firmly into the ground. A pad consisting of rope wrapped around the target area is optional, as are the arms and even legs that can be fixed to the tool to enhance this no-partner-needed practice of karate.

This tool in its simplest form is used to temper the blocking surfaces of the user’s arms and legs, as well as those parts of the body used in certain strikes such as shuto uchi (outer edge of the hand), shotei uchi (open palm strike), and tetsu uchi (hammer-fist strike).

Once limbs are attached to the post, it is used to practice trapping, grabbing, and joint locking in combination with the already-mentioned strikes.

Overall, the ude kitae makes an ideal training partner for those wishing to try their techniques on ‘someone’ willing to take everything, and then some.
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Re: The Untold Story Of Kanbun Uechi

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Hojo Undo: Kongoken Tool
Of all the tools used in traditional Okinawan karate, the kongoken is different in that it was imported not from China, as many ideas and training tools were, but from the mid-Pacific islands of Hawaii.

The famed karate teacher Chojun Miyagi visited Hawaii in 1934 and while there witnessed the local wrestlers working with a heavy iron ring, almost as large as a man. So impressed was he by its use he returned home with a kongoken when he left the islands in early 1935, and immediately introduced the tool into the hojo undo training program of his students.

Used in various ways to grapple and wrestle, the kongoken is also used to develop a startling level of explosive thrust of the hips, known in karate as ‘koshi’ as well as building the size and strength of the upper chest and arm musculature.

In common with all the lifting tools and as a result of constant use, the grip is developed into a devastating weapon.
Michael Clarke
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Re: The Untold Story Of Kanbun Uechi

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Hojo Undo: Benefits
The key to acquiring benefits from hojo undo or kigu undo is through diligent and regular training over a lengthy period of time.

Patience and common sense must prevail when dealing with weights and hard surfaces that will prove immediately unforgiving to those who show a lack of either.

Be content to develop skills and power slowly, and in doing so learn to push back your physical and cerebral limits to levels you perhaps never thought possible.

By doing that you will gain the confidence that comes with knowing not only your limits, but your potential too.

This training is not merely old-fashioned weight training coming from a time before the existence of the home gym and community health spas; it is an integral part of a karate education.

At its heart is an opportunity to connect strenuous physical effort with a calm and determined mind, and the ability to do that when under pressure is a powerful weapon indeed.
Michael Clarke, Kyoshi 8th dan, Okinawan Goju-ryu has trained in karate since 1974. He has written over two hundred articles for international martial arts magazines, and authored three books. Starting as a young ‘street-fighter’ in England, to a disciplined student of budo in Okinawa, Clarke enthusiastically teaches traditional Goju-ryu Karate in his dojo near Launceston Tasmania, Australia.
Van
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Re: The Untold Story Of Kanbun Uechi

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Re: The Untold Story Of Kanbun Uechi

Post by JonathanJ »

Hello,

I'm looking to get a copy of this book. Could anyone provide information on where to get it? I'd really like to read it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,

Jonathan
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Van Canna
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Re: The Untold Story Of Kanbun Uechi

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Sorry JJ...book is no longer available.
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Re: The Untold Story Of Kanbun Uechi

Post by hthom »

Hello Van,

I have been away for a while. Hope you and yours are doing well.

Thank you very much for the post. I have a few comments and hope you don't mind. They are just my opinion so whatever anyone feels about it is fine with me.
I imagine he (Master Uechi) would likely be a little disappointed. The reason for this is that he probably thought he had perfected the karate he taught in Wakayama and Iejima (Sanchin, kotei kitae, kata, sparring).
I see it differently. I speculate Master Kanbun Uechi would be happy seeing how his style is developing and where it is today. Time changes and progress are being made in most everything including martial arts. Due to the internet we have exposure to various styles of martial arts and see what other styles are doing, and what may be we should modify/add to improve ours. No one style is perfect. I certainly hope that "traditional" karate doe not mean that things must be done the old way. There are people who loves their Model-T Ford but I rather have an up to date car with all the high tech stuff.
We have heard about a billion arguments on how 'Uechi Ryu -breathes' in contrast to my simple belief that the best way to breathe, is to breathe out at the same time one strikes, and breathe in on the drawing back for the strike.
I recall you (Van Sensei) had several posts on the subject 20 or 30 years ago and suggested breathing the way the boxers or athletes do. I have bought into that concept totally. Thank you. Also, since Uechi Ryu was originated from China, I do not recall ever seeing any Kungfu practitioners hold their breath while striking. The two Kungfu styles I studied (Hung Gar and Northern Shaolin) certainly do not.
Okinawan karate has always included grappling and strangulation, as well as strikes, within its arsenal of techniques.
A powerful grip around the throat, the groin, or the softer inner areas of the arms and legs, has a way of focusing the aggressor’s mind in ways that a punch or kick never will.
I just thought to post a video I did a long while ago which included the groin gripping and grappling/takedown in my version of the Sanseiryu Bunkai:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoBkzaLZZBk

Increased muscular growth, enhanced breath and body coordination, and greater physical strength are just some of the benefits inherent in hojo undo training.
Again, just an opinion, I have observed many Uechi practitioners strain themselves almost to the point of explosion while performing Sanchin or other similar karate activities. Based on the few books I read on Chinese internal Kungfu styles, this straining may not be healthy and may even be harmful in the long run. I am just putting this out for your own consideration. I myself do not strain while performing any katas or Uechi activities.

Again, the above are just my opinion. Who knows, I might be all wrong.

Take care.

Henry
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