Mr. George E. Mattson, distinguished guests, my fellow uechi brothers and

sisters, ladies and gentlemen:

I esteem it a great honor to be able to bring my best wishes and greet­

mg to all who are present at this grand meeting. This is a great histori­

cal occasion offered in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of uechiryu

karatedo foundation in the United States of America. I congratulate Mr.

George E. Mattson and all others concerned on realizing their success in

every program made for "Shubukan 1983 Uechiryu Karatedo Summer Camp:'

When looking back on the past 25 years of uechi karate development

m America, we come across with a man who can never be forgotten. It is

Mr. George E. Mattson. He is the Founding Father of American Uechiryu

Karatedo. He was the first man to bring forth on this continent a new

martial art, uechiryu karatedo, since then he has made very strenuous

efforts and built up a strong foundation of uechi karate for its popularization.

He established this firm base and uechi karate has, consequently, spread

out all over the United States. He achieved this great task. However, the

road to success was not so simple or flat. It had ups and downs. He con­

fronted many difficulties but surmounted them. He endured every hardship.

What he has done for uechi karate must be remembered forever. His full

measure of devotion to uechi karate must be highly valued in the history of

the art. Through his teachings and publications his name will be remember­

ed widely as one of the distinguished American martial artists. We highly

honor him for being the pioneer of uechi karate in America.

Now permit me to speak briefly about what karate is and the mental at­

titudes we must keep in our minds are as practitioners.

Karate is one of the cultural assets of our ancestors. It IS the crown­

mg product of human activity and the final justification for all the strivings

of humanity to fight for truth. Thus, we consider it as the noblest way of

life. It is an instrument of character building. It enlightens those who

constantly practice ascetic workouts. It teaches us how to act in our life.

Karate is, technically, the martial art of self-defense and, mentally, the

martial way of self-perfection. These principles should not be separated

but must be combined into one for better activation. Then the practitioner

can develop into a healthy well-coordinated personality, both physically and

mentally.

The value of karate lies in its effects. If it can only gIve pleasure,

however spiritual that pleasure may be, it is of no great consequence. The

world is full of inevitable evils. Karate teaches us not to escape them, but

rather to gather fresh strength to face and beat them. It teaches us how

to be men of humility, tolerance, wisdom and magnanimity when we are in

adversity.

Through karate training we can attain the highest ideals of beauty and

strength. Beauty and strength are inner and outer, mental and physical re­

spectively. However, the greatest value of karate lies in right action. It

drives us to take right actions whenever and wherever such actions need

to be taken. Isn't the very Master George E. Mattson whom we honor today

a living example of what I speak?

The martially-well-oriented artist sets the highest value on courtesy.

Courtesy is of prime importance. Without courtesy, the essence of karate

does not exist. No one is qualified to be a martial artist without courtesy

e\-en if he excels others in his techniques. This is the very reason why

karate practice begins and ends with the traditional bow. The bow repre­

I

sents one's recognition of the meanmg of courtesy. Courtesy must be con­

stantly practiced not only during training periods but all the time in our

daily life.

Courtesy IS universal. It goes beyond everything such as nationality,

race, sex, age and religion. Our human relationships should be developed

on the basis of courtesy. Our mutual relationships can be peacefully main­

tained so long as courtesy is exercised towards others.

We are all in the universal brotherhood. We are all brothers and sist­

ers under the name of UECHIRYU KARATEDO. There will be no barri­

ers for mutual understanding and reciprocal assistance among brothers and

sisters even if our language differs from one nation to another. The sense

of brotherhood will be strengthened by the strict observation of coutesy.

It seems to us that neither age nor seniority is respected in America

as IS in Okinawa. We have seen many cases of perspnal conflicts among

members of uechi family. These conflicts are often called political strug­

gles caused, in our opinion, by power hungry people who are disrespectful

to their superiors and who have no sense of seniority. Karate is not a

tool to be used for political struggles. If we are respectful to our superi­

ors or seniors such power struggles will no longer exist. Our traditional

sense tells that the senior is senior and the junior is junior. This hierar­

chical distinction must be recognised by all people of the world of martial

arts. The senior must be looked up to as the senior. The teacher must

be looked up to as the teacher. We wish you to learn the oriental spiritu­

al tradition. When you have learned it, political struegles will cease to

exisi. Thus, we are able to maintain our traditional societal rules for the

world of martial arts.

Let's respect one another, and extend courtesy to others. Let's pursue

the philosophy of karate not only for self-mastery but also for the martial

art itself. Practice makes perfect. Through the perfection of personality,

the techniques of self-defense become humanitarian arts.

To conclude my address I would like to quote one statement from the

Bible; Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and

it shall be opened unto you.

Master Kanei Uechi

President of the Uechiryu

Karatedo Association.

Master Kanei Uechi's Message to the Participants

in "Shubukan 1983 Uechiryu Karatedo Summer Camp"

Uechi-ryu Karate-do Association

August 12, 1983