For anyone who truly understands Uechi Ryu, it is easy to see how correct Art Rabesa is in his analysis of the use of Uechi blocks. So why the performance of the blocks in the traditional method and traditional kata? Such traditional, mainstream execution achieves the objective of creating the criti...

At any rate, Makabe-Udon took every opportunity to ridicule and insult Kanbun, or to make jests at Kanbun's expense. Consequently, Kanbun left the Dojo within about three months. Where he went and what he did between this departure and his acceptance as a fighting arts student elsewhere is unknown,...

In the early summer of 1897, Uechi Kanbun began his studies in KojoRyu at the Koshiro Dojo with a fellow Okinawan, Matsuda Tokusaburo (who later became a famous instructor of KojoRyu Karate), but Kanbun soon had a falling-out with the instructor, Makabe-Udon (Chief Master Makabe). It seems that Kan...

This goes to what Art Rabesa wrote about the understanding of Uechi Ryu Kanbun Sensei was very strict about teaching his karate in stages of increasingly deeper development and understanding. Some of these stages took years to achieve. It still took about three years to learn Sanchin alone! But toda...

This helps understand_Excerpt from page 410 in the 2nd half of the UechiRyu Kyohon Uechi Kanbun deeply remembered the appreciation that Shuu Shiwa gave him. He believed that strictly passing [the training that Shuu Sensei gave him] on to the next generation was the highest [honor] he could show. So ...

On kata, I strongly feel change from the original movements _is something that is best left alone. You don't change the dictionary. There are so many infinite things which can be done with what is already there, there is no reason to make a change for its own sake. The serious student of Uechi Ryu w...

Changing kata? No, for the same reason one does not change the dictionary. Katas IMNSHO, are the encyclopedia of the art and, as such, should be open to expansion, augmentation and the like, but the kata itself, which is primarily a teaching and training tool, should have a basic function, such as ...

The Okinawan masters tell you that the real skills develop over a very long time of the system practice as the student attempts to understand the application potential of their system. Take any movement in the Uechi Ryu system and spend hours and hours to find different applications without changing...

For the sake of fairness, I want to clarify that what Art Rabesa wrote above, is in no way related to my good friends, Rick Wilson and Marcus, as per the good natured arguments people read in the thread I deleted. Rabesa is a Uechi perfectionist, a 10th Dan in the system, with an admirable, covetabl...

Here we take a look at the most beautiful traditional Uechi we'll ever see as per Master Nakahodo's teachings. The smoothness and explosive performance of the traditional execution of the system is quite addictive to look at. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acbx8V2bQG0 The techniques lash out as the...

Take kata for instance. The Uechi Ryu kata is not only beautiful, but laden with proven powerful techniques. Why would anyone simply change the kata and still refer to it as Uechi Ryu? Are you making up another karate style? If you change the kata, or omit parts of traditional Uechi Ryu, than it's ...

That's one great post Art. The shock of the moment when we come to realize, this is not the dojo, this is not the tournament I won, this is not the forum discussion I am on, this is not the class I am teaching...can be a great paralyzing moment as you point out _that affects our decision making in a...

I like the "Rock In The Sock" method of striking analogy.

Great example of explosive body torque and compression, Art.

Those were funny days indeed...the 'follow the money' days. You may also remember the concrete slabs on the chest of someone, being crushed by a sledge hammer...and the 'supermen' lying on a bed of nails then sticking needles through their arms...WOW...supposedly that was the 'warrior spirit' being ...