Don’t forget Sunday’s WinterFest Webinar – 8PM – 9PM
The purpose for this get-together is to discuss the class schedule for this year’s webinar. We have a great group of senior instructors participating and I want to hear what everyone has to say about how we should schedule the seminars. This may be the first year where we conduct more than one seminar every hour. . . depending on what the participants want. . . So, if you are coming to WinterFest (Friday & Saturday – Feb 24,25) please drop in to say hello and let me know your thoughts on the subject. Oh yes. . . I may find a neat video from the Uechi archives to play during our meeting. Send me an email for the webinar information if you didn’t receive my earlier Newsletter.
George
From WinterFest Presenter, Shihan Darin Yee:
Hi George,
This year, I will be teaching a seminar on Chinese Weaponry. As there will not be enough time for anyone to learn a complete form in any of the weapons, I will explain the nuances of each of the basic weapons and bring some to demonstrate.
I will spend most of my time allotted to talk mostly about the hard weapons which are the easiest to use. I will also teach some of the techniques and bring a few extra weapons for participants to use and actually perform/practice those techniques.
The weapons I will be working with will be the Chinese knife (broadsword as it is referred to by non-Chinese) and the long stick. Anyone who may have their own weapons should bring their own as one of the importances is to be familiar with your own personal weapon.
Although the Chinese stick is made of a flexible worm wood, you may also use a Japanese Bo Staff. It’ll be a little stiff but depending on the amount of people learning the movements, we may need more sticks.
I have been studying Chinese weapons almost as long as I’ve been learning martial arts.
I’ve been training and studying since 1960. There is much our community did not learn from the old traditional ways. Please know I will be willing to work with any student of the martial arts and not only those of at the winter fest for Uechi-Ryu.
Please call Sensei George Mattson if you are not a Uechi-Ryu student and would like to attend my seminar on Chinese Weaponry. I’m sure sensei will work something out with you. Thank you and see you at winter fest.
Darin Yee
Getting lots of e-mail about this year’s Martial Art SummerFest. “What are the dates?” “Where will it be held?”
Sensei Victor Swinimer has sent me a schedule of his presentation for this Sunday’s meeting. I’ll be opening the meeting with a short film clip of the 1963 World Karate Championship and a 70s tournament that took place in New York (I think). My new editing equipment has sharpened the old video and competitors can be identified. (although they look much different today than when the matches were filmed)
Sensei Dan Maestas has been working on a video production relating to my Mattson Academy “Virtual” Dojo program. Dan has taken IUKF’s challenge to make his future gold stripe (Renshi) degree something more than just slapping on a stripe when he gets promoted to 6th dan. He believes, as I do, that “on-line” education has a very positive future for martial art dojo and his four year study, documenting his experiences and progress has become his Renshi thesis project. The first phase of his study involves this short video clip that I have been given permission to use in promoting the Mattson Academy. Although Dan has a few more years to go before qualifying for Rokudan, he says that his project will take that long to complete. View Dan’s 
