History

Uechi-Ryu

Uechi-Ryu developed from the Okinawan style of martial arts practiced by Master Kanbun Uechi (1877-1948) and his son Kanei Uechi (1911-1991.) Kanbun Uechi trained in Okinawa and then in the Fujian province of China before founding his style. When he first taught his fighting style, he also founded a Zen Society for self-improvement. Since the membership of karate club and his Zen Society overlapped, he combined the two into what became Uechi-ryu.

Uechi Ryu is characterized as a close-in, brutal, empty-handed self-defense system and a powerful method for self-development. The backbone of Uechi-Ryu is the exercise Sanchin. Sanchin develops: a practitioner's connection to the ground (called "root"); dynamic, whole body strength built with proper breathing technique, spiritual concentration and mental discipline, a so-called "iron" body, and explosive-yet-fluid movement.

Uechi-Ryu uses hand and foot techniques aimed at precise targets. Hand techniques are often done with open hands for faster deflection, controlling grabs, and ease of striking. Strikes using a fist include a spear hand called "nukite," a one knuckle strike known as the "shoken", and palm thrusts to support thumb knuckle strikes called "boshiken." Kicks are primarily delivered at or below the mid-section using the toes for target penetration or the shins for breaking power. The legs, knees, elbows, and forearms are also used for redirecting and striking.

To begin training in Uechi-Ryu does not require exceptional strength or athletic ability. People from all walks of life enjoy the benefits of martial arts traing, regardless of their level of proficiency or physical capabilities.

Keiko

In the practice of Martial Arts, one must distinguish between training and practice. In Japanese the word "renshu" is used for training, which means to do repetitions to prepare or train the body; and "keiko", is the word used to define practice, which means to train or prepare the spirit.

The word keiko is important not only in the study of martial arts, but also in many other cultural activities where the spiritual aspects are of fundamental importance, for example, in the tea ceremony and in flower arrangement. Keiko literally means "to reflect on, review the past"; it imbues training with a reflective character, consisting of respect toward the maintenance of the best of past traditions while preparing the spirit to learn.

History Timeline

1877 Birth of Kanbun Uechi
1897 Kanbun Uechi went to Fuzhou, the capital city of Fujian Province, China and studied martial arts and Chinese medicine under a man named Shū Shiwa, a name also written as Zhou Zihe.
1907 Kanbun Uechi opened his own school in Nanjing, China
1910 After he or one of his students killed a neighbor in a dispute over land irrigation, Kanbun Uechi returned to Izumi, Okinawa and proclaimed that he would not teach
1926 Co-workers convinced Kanbun Uechi to teach karate in Wakayama City, Japan where they are working at a tile factory. At the same time, he founded founded a Zen Society. Within a short period of time, the society and the karate training group were combined as a “Mantis Boxing” school. “Boxing” or ch’uan fa was a common term for martial arts schools and systems at the time—later becoming known in the West as “gung fu.” He later renamed the system Pangai-noon boxing (half-hard, half-soft boxing).
1927 Kanei Uechi, Kanbun’s son, began studying under his father in Wakayama
1940 Kanbun Uechi's students awarded him the title of Grandmaster and convinced him to rename the system to "Uechi-Ryu" in honor of him as their teacher
1942 Kanei Uechi returned to Okinawa and opened a school in Nago only to close it two years later because of World War II
1946 Kanei Uechi reopened his father's dojo in Nago
1948 Kanbun Uechi died at the age of 81 years.
1949 Kanei Uechi and some of his senior students began teaching United States servicemen
1958 Kanei Uechi and some of his senior students began teaching United States Servicemen
1959 Kanei Uechi was awarded a Master Instructor certificate
1967 Kanei Uechi was promoted to Hanshi Judan (tenth degree black belt) rank by his peers
1991 Kanei Uechi died at the age of 80 years
1991 Frank Gorman began studying under Ken Nakamatsu, at the direction of Kanei Uechi
1992 Robert Kaiser, a Frank Gorman student, founded the Washington Karate Academy
2022 Washington Karate Academy celebrated its 30-year anniversary!