HistoryofUechi‐Ryu

TheknownhistoryofUechi‐RyubeginswithKanbunUechi(kan‐

boonway‐chee.)KanbunUechiwasborninOkinawa,Japanon

May5,1877andgrewupinthemountainfarmingvillageof

Izumi.BeingofSamuraidescentMr.Uechistudiedkarateand

weaponsasayouth.InMarchof1897,attheageof19,he

traveledtosouthernChinawithasmallgrouptostudyShaolin

KungFuormartialarts.

IttooktendaysbyseaforKanbuntoarriveatFuzhou(foo‐joe)cityintheFujian

province.AftersearchingforasuitableKungFuorChineseBoxinginstructorfora

periodthere,Mr.UechifoundaShaolin

MonkknownasShushiwafromthe

NanchingTemple(southofFuzhou.)

YoungKanbunbegantostudyChinese

medicineandaKungFusystemcalled

Pangainun(pon‐guy‐noon)underMaster

Shushiwa.Asatestofhisdedicationand

character,Kanbunwasonlyallowedto

practicethefirstform(Sanchin)forthree

years!

Eventually,KanbunUechiwasacceptedasafullstudentandstudiedwithShushiwafor

thirteenyears,masteringChinesemedicineandPangainunKungFuhimself.Pan‐gai‐

nunhadonlythreekatasorforms:Sanchin,Seisan,andSanseiryu,butanintense

regimenofstrengthandconditioningexercises.MasterKanbunsometimesreferredto

thesystemas“Min‐chin‐chu‐ryu”meaning“speed‐with‐glare‐way.”

Tomakealivingduringthistime,MasterUechisoldherbalmedicineasastreetvender.

Partofthisjobwasdemonstratingmartialartsinthestreetstoattractacrowdtosell

medicinesto.HewaschallengedmanytimesduringhistimeinChinaduetohis

occupation,andracialtensions.

UechiSenseireceivedhisteachingcertificationfrom

Shushiwain1904andin1906hebecamethefirstknown

non‐ChinesemartialartsinstructorinChina,openingaschool

inthetownofNanching.In1909oneofMasterUechi’s

studentsbecameinvolvedinanaltercationwhichresultedin

hisfatallyinjuringhisopponent.Consideredresponsiblefor

thestudent’sactions,Kanbunclosedhisschoolandvowedto

neverteachagain.

InFebruary1910,attheageof32,KanbunUechireturnedtoOkinawa.Legendhasit

thatpartofthereasonhehadleftOkinawawhenhedidwastoavoidbeingdraftedinto

theJapanesemilitary.Thiswasnotuncommonatthetimeduetopoorrelations

betweentheOkinawanpeopleandtheJapanesecontrolledgovernment.MasterUechi

wantedtoavoidbeingjailedforevadingmilitary

draftyearsearlier,sohecontinuedwithaChinese

appearanceandlifestyleuponre‐entryintohis

homeland.OncebackinIzumi,Mr.Uechipursued

alifeoffarmingandstartingafamily.InMay

1910,KanbunUechimarriedGozeiToyamaand

theirfirstson,Kaneiwasbornthefollowingyear.

MasterUechiassumedthelifeofafarmerfor

yearsavoidingtheembarrassmentoftheincident

inChinaandproblemswiththelocalauthorities.

Overtime,

rumorsofMasterUechi’sstatusasagreatkung

fuMasterspreadandtheOkinawansbeganto

pressurehimtodemonstrateandteachhis

knowledge,butheresisted.

In theyearsfollowingWorldWarI(whichendedin

1918) theworldsufferedeconomicdepressionand

Okinawawasgrippedwithpoverty.In1924

Master

UechimovedtoWakayamainsouthernJapanforemploymentataspinning‐mill,andto

escapethepressurehewasexperiencinginOkinawa.Therehebefriendedayoungman

namedRyuyuTomoyosewholikedto“scuffle”withothers.SuspectingthatMr.Uechi

wasexperiencedinthemartialarts,Mr.Tomoyosewoulddescribeanaltercationtothe

Master,whocouldnotresistadvisinghimonhistactics.Beforelong,itwasobviousthat

KanbunUechiwasaveryskilledMaster.

Ryuyu Tomoyose and Kanbun Uechi

Mr.Tomoyoseeventuallyconvincedhimtosharehis

skillswithothersandinApril1926MasterUechi

resumedteachinginJapan.Atnearly49,Kanbun

openedthe“ShatakuDojo”withasmallnumberof

students,ledbyRyuyuTomoyose.Thedojowas

actuallyasmallhouseownedbythespinning‐mill,butKanbunhadstrictrequirements

tojoin.ByApril1932MasterUechihadseveralstudentsandthePangainun‐RyuKarate‐

JutsuInstitutewasestablished.Kanbunandhisstudentsthenopenedalargerfacility

calledthe“Tebiradojo”inWakayamawhereamoreopendoorpolicywasadoptedand

studentsweremorereadilyaccepted.AlsoatthattimeKanbunUechi,resignedfrom

thespinning‐millandopenedasmallgeneral

storewherehesoldmedicinesandother

Chinesemerchandise.

In1940KanbunUechi’sstudentscreatedthe

Uechi‐RyuKarate‐JutsuAssociationtohonor

theGrandmaster.Mr.Uechicontinuedto

teachhisartuntilhisdeathin1948inIe

Jima,Okinawa.TheTebiradojowaslater

movedtoanearbylocation,butstilloperatestoday.

KaneiUechi–KanbunUechi’sson,Kanei,wasbornonJune

26,1911inIzumi.Kaneiwasasicklychild,butattheageof

16(1927)hemovedtoWakayamatostudyPangainunandbe

withhisfather.There,youngKaneiworkedinthedaytimeat

theHiromaruIndustryJointStockCompanyandinthe

evening,hetrainedwithstrictguidancefromhisfather

Kanbun.PracticecenteredaroundKata(forms),KoteKitae

(conditioningdrills),andJiyuKumite(sparring.)

ThethreekataofPan‐gai‐nuntaughtbyMasterKanbun:

Sanchin,Seisan,andSanseiryuarethenucleusofthepresent

dayUechi‐Ryu.

KaneiUechiprovedtobeatalentedanddrivenstudent,earningthenickname“Practice

Demon.”InApril1937hereceivedateachingcertificateandbeganteachingatabranch

dojoinOsaka,Japan.TheOsakadojoonlyexperiencedmoderatesuccess.This

probablyduetoKaneibeingquiteyoungat26yearsold,andthatitwasinanarea

wherenewstudentswereprimarilyJapanese(whodidnotunderstandthevalueof

Karatetrainingatthattime.)

InOctober1939KaneimarriedShigeNahaharainOsaka,amarriagewhicheventually

producedsevenchildren.Inearly1940,KaneiandShigemovedtoHyogo,Japanwhere

heestablishedadojoinhishome.In1941,KaneiUechiwaspromotedbyhisfatherto

Masterlevel.In1942,Kanei,withhiswifeandfamily,returnedtohismother’snew

homeinthevillageofMiyazato(near

Futenma Dojo

Nago,Okinawa.)KaneiUechibecamethe

secondGrandmasterofUechi‐RyuKaratedoin

1948withhisfather’sdeath.

HeandhisassociatesincludingRyuko

Tomoyose(Ryuyu’sson)expandedhisfather’s

originalcurriculumbycreatingand

standardizingadditionalkata.ThemostsignificantadditionswerethekatasKanshiwa,

Kanshu,Seichin,Seiriu,KonchinandYakusokuKumitesparringdrills.Grandmaster

KaneiUechiisconsideredbymanytobeamartialartsgeniusinhisownrightbasedon

justthesecontributionstothestyle.MasterKaneiUechitaughtathisdojoinFutenma,

Okinawa(thenthe

Ryuko Tomoyose

headquartersofthestyle)from1949untilbecomingillin

1988.

TheOkinawaKaratedoAssociation–WithGrandmasterKanei

Uechibecomingillin1988apoliticalshakeuprockedthe

Uechi‐RyuKaratedoAssociation(UKA.)Atthattimethe

organizationwasrunbyhismostseniorstudents(whohad

becomeMastersthemselvesbythattime.)ButwithKanei

Senseiincapacitated,hisoldestsonKanmeibegantoforcibly

assumecontroloftheassociationbasedonanoldtradition.

ManyoftheseniorMastersregardedKanmeiasunfittoassumesucharoleatthattime

andadvisedhimtobe

patientandworktowardsthegoalofleadership.Kanmeidisagreedand,asaresult,

manyoftheSeniorMastersandofficersoftheUKAwereeitheraskedtoleave,ormade

thedifficultdecisiontoleavetheorganization.

Tsutomu Nakahodo

InAprilof1989thebulkoftheOkinawanMastersfromthe

UKAformedthe

OkinawaKaratedoKyokai(orAssociation.)Includedinthis

groupwereSeniorMastersRyukoTomoyose(Ryuyu’sson),

TsutomuNakahodo,HiroshiInada,ShintokuTakara,

KosukeYonamine,NobuhideAsato,ShigeruTakamiyagi,

andToshioHiga.Thenewname(abbreviateasOkikukai)

waschoseninparttoaccommodatetheinternationalgrowthoftheorganization.

Consequently,theOKKformedalargeinternationalfollowingwithmanyaffiliateddojos

aroundtheworld.Withthis,bothOkinawanandInternationalMastersoftheOKK

rededicatedthemselves

Hiroshi Inada

topreservingandfurtherdevelopingthesystemthattheyhad

spentmostoftheirlivesmastering,andtothegrowinginterest

inthatstyle.

In1995theheadquartersbuilding(orKenshu‐Kaikan)forthe

neworganizationwasconstructedintheKitamesectionofthe

townofChatan,Okinawa.TheKenshu‐Kaikanisthesiteof

training,ranktesting,specialactivities,andcelebrationsforthe

OKK.Thefacilityisalsohasroomsforvisitorlodgingandanofficefortheorganizations

administrativeactivities.

Kenshu Kaikan Building

OvertheyearstheOkinawaKaratedoKyokai

(Association)hashadfragmentsbreakaway

fromtheoriginalgroup,butthecoregroup

ofMasters(includingmostofKaneiUechi’s

mostSeniorstudents)stillheadthe

association.Alargecontingentof

internationalaffiliatesalsoremainconnected

totheOKKincludingschoolsaroundtheUnitedStates,SouthAmerica,andEurope.

Shohei‐RyuKaratedo–Aroundthesametimeastheformationoftheneworganization,

theofficersoftheOkinawaKaratedoKyokaibegantocontemplateanewnameforthe

styleorschoolofkarate(Ryuha.)Afterconsiderationofseveraldifferentpossibilitiesthe

name“Shohei‐Ryu

Karatedo”waschosenandofficially

adoptedinNovemberof1995.Theword

Shohei(show‐hay)consistoftwoparts

meaning“shiningpeace.”Thisnamehas

historicalsignificanceandspecialmeaning

relatedtothesituationwhichcausedit’s

creation.Thenamealsohassignificanceto

peopleofJapaneseheritage,symbolizinga

combinationofoldandnewerasofexistence.Itrepresentsanattitudeofremembering

thepastwhile,makingthebestofthepresent,andpreparingforthefuture!

PangainunandIt’sOrigins–Legendtellsusthataboutthreethousandyearsagoa

BuddhistPriestormonkfromIndianamedBodhidarmatraveledtoChinatoteach

Buddhism.Healsotaughtthesestudents,orShaolinMonks,a

Zheng Bu Su, believed to be Shushiwa’s teacher.

seriesofexercisestomaintaintheirhealthandteach

themself‐defense.ThesemonksofancientChina

neededtheseskillstodealwiththeiroftenlawless

andhostileenvironment.Manypeoplebelievethat

theseexerciseswereactuallyfrommartialarts

developedinIndiabased,inpart,onancientGreek

fightingarts.

Overtimetheseexercisesweredevelopedfurtherby

combininginfluences

frompre‐existingChinesemartialarts.Manyofthese

“KungFu”styleswererefinedtoincludeinfluencesfrommovementsofanimalslikethe

tiger,leopard,crane,monkey,snake,dragon…oreveninsectslikethePrayingMantis.

ThePangainunsystemwasderivedfromthreeofthesestylesfromtheShaolintemplein

FujowCityintheFukienProvinceofsouthernChina.ThesestylesweretheTiger,

Dragon,andCraneandwereeachbasedonthemovementsandbehaviorsofthose

animals.ThewordPangainuntranslatesto“hardandsoft”styleindicatingthatitisa

blendofbothyeildingstrategieswhichrequirelittlestrength,andthosemoredirectand

powerful.Itcombinestheinfluencesofthethreeanimal‐basedstylestobalancepower

techniques(utilizingstrength)andfinessetechniques(utilizingprecisionandgrace.)It

alsoutilizesabalanceofstrengthandrelaxationof

thebodyandmind.

TheTiger(TorainJapanese)styleinfluenceis

characterizedbystrength,daring,quickness,

confidence,agility,andoverwhelmingforce.

Physically,Tigertechniquesaregrasping,tearing,

palmandfiststrikes,circularblocksandthe

penetratingeye.TheCrane(TsuluinJapanese)style

influenceischaracterizedbygrace,balance,precision,evasion,andrelentlessness.

Cranetechniquesincludedirectkicks,one‐leggedstances,fingerstrikes,attackstovital

areas,anddeflectingblocks.TheDragon(DioinJapanese)style

Shoalin Temple in Fujian, China

influenceischaracterizedbycunning,

wisdom,deception,stealth,andspirit.

Dragontechniquesinvolveattackstothe

limbs,circularkicking,sweepingand

tripping,andopenhandstrikes.Advanced

practitionersofPangainoonorShoei‐Ryu

Karatedowillunderstandtheseinfluences

whilemasteringtheirharmonization.