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| Okinawan Uechi Ryu is a form of ancient Chinese temple fighting
derived from the Tiger, Crane, and Dragon styles of Kung Fu. It
was developed to what we know today by the grandmasters, Kanbun
and Kanei Uechi, in Okinawa. It is a non-acrobatic, non-flashy,
self-defense system of martial arts. It is also an art form and a
fitness program for men, women, and children of all ages.
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A Brief History
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In 1897, a young man named Kanbun Uechi left his homeland of
Okinawa for Mainland China in order to flee the Japanese military
and to study Chinese martial arts and medicine. He was 19 years
old. In the Fukien province of China, Uechi studied Kempo with
Shusshabu and Shushiwa, monks of the Shaolin temple. The system he
learned, Pan gai noon (half-hard/half-soft), was based on the
fighting styles of the Tiger, Dragon, and Crane.
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After 10 years of study, he opened his own school in the Nanching
province. He left for his homeland of Okinawa after 2 years,
vowing never to practice or teach martial arts again, after a
student of his killed a neighbor in a dispute over irrigation. In
Okinawa, he married and lived peacefully until a former student of
his visiting from China, Mr. Gokenkien, the tea merchant, defeated
several local karateka in combat. This newcomer declined numerous
invitations to teach, saying that his teacher was much better and
lived nearby. When questioned, Kanbun Uechi denied all knowledge
of the martial arts, but was tricked into performing Seisan kata
to protect his honor at a demonstration given by the Motobu
police.
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Kanbun Uechi then left for Japan to find employment. He settled in
Wakayama City in the Kansai region near Osaka. There, his young
neighbor, Tomoyose Ryuyu, persuaded him to once again teach Pan
gai noon. He did so by claiming to have been attacked and asking
Uechi what he would have done. Eventually Kanbun began teaching
once again. The teacher's new students so respected him that they
renamed the system after him in 1948.
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Kanbun Uechi's son, Kanei Uechi, also contributed to the style.
(The second son born to Kanbun and his wife was named Kansei.) To
the original style (consisting of the kata Sanchin, Seisan,
Sanseirui, arm-rubbing/arm pounding called kotikitae, and Chinese
medicine), Kanei Uechi added five new kata (Kanshiwa, Kanshu,
Seichin, Seirui, and Kanchin), the beginning exercises (called
Hojo Undo), and various kumite forms, mainly yakusoku kumite (Kyu
Kumite, Dan Kumite, and the bunkai for Kanshiwa and Seisan). Kanei
died in February of 1991, leaving behind a strong growing system
of Okinawan karate. Just prior to his death, the system began to
splinter. His son, Kanmei, now heads the Soke or family
organization, while many of the Senior instructors banded together
to form the Okikukai Shohei Uechi Ryu organization.
The Birth of Uechi-Ryu Karate Do |
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Kanei Uechi performing a Front Toe Kick |
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Shohei-Ryu Karate Do Naming Certificate
Click
on the image for a larger picture
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The Okikukai Emblem
 The
emblem is really a composite of two symbols, one representing
the old Okinawa and one the new. The off-center
circle-within-a-circle is the official prefectural symbol of
Okinawa; the outer red ring represents the ocean, the inner
white ring peace, and the central red sphere means development
or progress. This symbol of modern Okinawa is enclosed
within a symbol of the ancient Ryukyuan Kingdome consisting of
three yellow waves that circle a white region. The Okinawan
emblem combines symbols to represent the continuity of ancient
Ryukyuan values within modern-day Okinawa, and the concentric
circles motif symbolizes, variously, the eternity of Heaven and
Earth, self-completion, equality, and peace. This whirling
vision of justice and peace, so central to the Okikukai
philosophy, is also the confident expression of the belief that
the ancient Ryukyuan ethos continues and will continue to
enliven Okinawan life.
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Please Contact Us
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webmaster@stoughtondojo.com |
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Okikukai Okinawan
directors and advisors |
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