Permanent link to this article: http://uechi-ryu.com/june-28-2010-newsletter/
Jun 18 2010
Meaning of “Chinkuchi”
Re: Chinkuchi – a hogan term for what?
Originally posted by Dana Sheets
So what doesthatmean?
From my experience, these fuzzy word problems come either from a word
or concept not translating well, or from a problem in the culture of origin.
Words can be funny things. I was once involved in the use of a
survey instrument designed to get patient-reported information
on physicaland mental health. The SF-36 is a 36 question survey asking
about your ability to do various things in the last year from walking to climbing
stairs to socializing with your friends. The full questionnaire is here.
Question 9a. is the following:
did you feel full of pep?
Well… apparently in some African American circles, the word “pep”
is interchangeable with the British slang “mojo.” You know…
kind of like how it’s good to be bad – if that makes sense.
Or when blacks say you have an attitude, it doesn’t mean you
have a GOOD attitude.
So… Don’t get too worked up over words that come from local
dialects. Sometimes they just don’t translate very well out of
their social context.
I find it easier to understand these Eastern concepts by arriving
at them independently. Then when you try to communicate
something YOU get, the words start coming out fuzzy. THEN you
know you just might be on to something that previously you
didn’t get by other language and words. A really good example of
that for me is the concept of yin and yang. More and more, I find
it easy to use those concepts when approaching martial arts as
a parsimonious set of principles rather than a massive bag of
nifty techniques.
Ever tried to explain the difference between mushin and zanshin
to beginners? I totally get it now. But in the past, it was a bit of
mumbo jumbo to me. Now when I quiz my students about it
(as I’m teaching), I see that many don’t get it in spite of my
best efforts to communicate it.
This is a very real thing in math. When I first saw the definition
of a derivative (expressed as limits), I just didn’t get it. Honest
to God, it took about 4 years for it to sink in so that I “knew”
it at an intuitive level.
- Bill
Permanent link to this article: http://uechi-ryu.com/test-2/
Jun 18 2010
Uechi-ryu Seminars
Darin Yee, an IUKF board member is willing to teach seminars in all IUKF dojos upon request and if time is available. They need to call or email Darin to arrange a date and time.
This is a fantastic opportunity to train with one a senior Uechi instructor who has an extensive Chinese Martial Art background and more importantly, able and willing to help Uechi practitioners understand how our art relates to its Chinese heritage and the many different systems Uechi-ryu is derived from.
A most interesting and educational experience.
Darin is one of the senior presentors at this year’s SummerFest. Don’t miss working with him. Best,
George E. Mattson
Permanent link to this article: http://uechi-ryu.com/uechi-ryu-seminars/
Jun 18 2010
Free Seminar. . .
Darin Yee, an IUKF board member is willing to teach seminars in all IUKF dojos upon request and if time is available. They need to call or email Darin to arrange a date and time.
This is a fantastic opportunity to train with one a senior Uechi instructor who has an extensive Chinese Martial Art background and more importantly, able and willing to help Uechi practitioners understand how our art relates to its Chinese heritage and the many different systems Uechi-ryu is derived from.
A most interesting and educational experience.
Darin is one of the senior presentors at this year’s SummerFest. Don’t miss working with him. Best,
George E. Mattson
From: TOWNSNDLAW@aol.com
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:41:56 -0400
Subject: Darin Yee’s Seminar
Dear Darin,
I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to come up and visit and teach at my Dojo on Memorial Day. My students in attendance have been talking non stop about the different perspective you bring to Uechi teaching and the interrelationship between Uechi and your Kung Fu experience.
It is truly special to know that as an IUKF member and member school that we have access to such teaching and history. My students have asked if you will be able to come back again soon and I assured them that we would definitely make that happen.
It is great to know that belonging to the IUKF affords us the opportunity, like we just had, to bring quality and different instruction into our Dojo to give the students the very best martial arts experience possible.
Thank you again my friend,
John Page, Sensei
Permanent link to this article: http://uechi-ryu.com/free-seminar/
Jun 16 2010
IUKF Update
Free Seminars. . .
Darin Yee, an IUKF board member is willing to teach seminars in all IUKF dojos upon request and if time is available. They need to call or email Darin to arrange a date and time.
This is a fantastic opportunity to train with one a senior Uechi instructor who has an extensive Chinese Martial Art background and more importantly, able and willing to help Uechi practitioners understand how our art relates to its Chinese heritage and the many different systems Uechi-ryu is derived from.
A most interesting and educational experience.
Darin is one of the senior presentors at this year’s SummerFest. Don’t miss working with him. Best,
George E. Mattson
From: TOWNSNDLAW@aol.com
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:41:56 -0400
Subject: Darin Yee’s Seminar
Dear Darin,
I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to come up and visit and teach at my Dojo on Memorial Day. My students in attendance have been talking non stop about the different perspective you bring to Uechi teaching and the interrelationship between Uechi and your Kung Fu experience.
It is truly special to know that as an IUKF member and member school that we have access to such teaching and history. My students have asked if you will be able to come back again soon and I assured them that we would definitely make that happen.
It is great to know that belonging to the IUKF affords us the opportunity, like we just had, to bring quality and different instruction into our Dojo to give the students the very best martial arts experience possible.
Thank you again my friend,
John Page, Sensei
Permanent link to this article: http://uechi-ryu.com/iukf-update/
Jun 13 2010
New Karate Kid Movie Review
Karate Kid – A major disappointment
By Bill Glasheen
Having seen this movie on the first night, here are my impressions.
* It isn’t karate. It’s kung fu. Correction… it’s mostly Wu Shu. Gone is the authenticity of the original movie, where virtually all techniques (except for the stupid crane thingie) were real and the pedestrian teaching methods ingenious. Now we have flash replacing real self defense. It’s Hollywood without a soul.
* Jackie Chan sold out being part of this movie. He’s a genuine physical genius. And yet we have just one fight where he takes on a gang of 13-year-olds. Okaaay…
* There’s nothing original about the plot. It’s a re-make of Karate Kid. Wax on, wax off becomes take the jacket off, hang it up, throw it down, pick it up. And as far as physical motion goes, it doesn’t transfer. I’ve used “wax on, wax off” to teach Uechi principles, as I have paint the fence and the house. But the clothing thing? It’s empty movement. There’s no effort involved in hanging a jacket up. Okinawan karate was about taking SERIOUS physical movement (farming and fishing), and transferring those body mechanics to martial movement. There’s no caffeine involved in lifting a coat.
* I know I’m going to offend people when I say this, but… What’s up with the fat chick in the Master Cho’s Taequondo Academy uniform hawking Korean martial arts in the lobby? To start with… this physical wreck of a human being needed a tailor. The obvious commercialism made me want to take a bath when I walked by her. And when they approached my 11-year-old son… Big mistake. Don’t send a girl out to do a woman’s job. And don’t send The Michelin Girl out to sell a commercial venture that’s supposed to be about fitness. (They’re certainly NOT about self-defense.) And the fashion statement? Don’t get me started.
* Gone is the charm of Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio. The movie is all about Jaden Smith’s acting debut. Ten years from now, people will be forgetting that it was a martial arts movie, and remembering that it was Jaden’s debut. Will Smith used martial arts, and gave nothing in return.
* What’s with the chi reference? Jackie Chan writes the character on the window of a train. And then of course they can’t really deliver on what “it” is. They could have skipped that entirely. But I did chuckle with Dre Parker’s (Jaden Smith) predictable “Star Wars” and the force allusion.
* The fight scenes in the tournament (yes, the plot is almost scene by scene a copy) were fun in a gymnastic sense, but I wasn’t inspired.
* Dre Parker (Jaden) is a kid and not a teenager. He doesn’t really pull the part off very well.
On the plus side…
* The movie makes my Snowball thread appear ingenious. Those involved in embellishing the plot get what I see in terms of the many benefits of music.
* The “swarming of the wolves” scene where the kung fu academy students hunt down Dre Parker was authentic, creative, and pulse-throbbing. This leads up to the predictable scene where Jackie Chan takes on the gang and then offers to teach young Dre Parker. Well done!
* Cheng (Zhenwei Wang) as the bully kid in the “bad” martial arts school steals the show (IMHO). His acting is almost as good as his martial skills. I wouldn’t be looking for “best supporting actor” awards, but his acting and his martial prowess save an otherwise bad movie. Look for him in future martial arts movies.
* The context of a family having to move from a depressed Detroit auto economy to a vibrant China auto industry was both poignant and… interesting. Wink
I’m not saying don’t see it. But I will say that the entire experience was a big disappointment. I remember how pleasantly surprised I was after seeing Karate Kid with my UVa martial arts buddies. This was as disappointing as that was surprising. And the movie is eminently forgettable.
It’s so bad that I guarantee someone will re-make the re-make. The opportunity is out there for the next generation. And this trio of movies will make for interesting material in some future college film class.
On a final note… The movie will probably do well anyhow. But not all commercial successes are works of art.
- Bill
Permanent link to this article: http://uechi-ryu.com/new-karate-kid-movie-review/
Jun 01 2010
SummerFest Highlights!!!
SummerFest Presenters’ Update
From John Thurston
Hello GEM Sensei:
The Focus of the presentation will simply be on matters often
unarticulated (except perhaps by yourself) in most Uechi classes.
You will recall the number of “points” to remember that I sent you.
For sure my good friend Eric O’Brien will b coming with me as
well as at least one of my students.
We will attempt to discuss TC as it differs from Uechi and as it is similar. Since even
the Yang system is older than Uechi it might be argued that it was available for
the initiators of Pangainoon as a source.
Permanent link to this article: http://uechi-ryu.com/summerfest-highlights/
May 19 2010
Uechi-ryu “Titles”
Gold Bars on your belt. What do they represent?
In 1967 the All Okinawa Karate Federation was formed and one of its primary functions was to bestow “titles” to deserving martial artist. These titles were Renshi (one gold bar), Kyoshi (two gold bars) and Hanshi (three gold bars). There was also a “Hanshi-sei” award, for martial artist still continuing their study of Karate after the age of 70. (No additional gold bars are awarded)
The titles were created, not for the purpose of identifying physical rank (1-9th dan), but for the purpose of recognizing individuals who not only met standard rank requirements, but who distinguish themselves as exemplatory individuals who have advanced the martial arts generally and their style specifically.
The All Okinawa Karate Federation didn’t last very long and soon individual styles began adopting their own methods for awarding stripes. . . generally students would simply sew them on at what they determined was appropriate ranks. In other words, the spirit of the gold bars and titles were lost.
When IUKF was created, one of my goals was to re-institute the “titles” program to represent something more than the ability to sew a stripe on one’s belt. I am very pleased to report that the program is progressing very well and I believe will become once again, an important part of the Uechi-ryu ranking process.
Dr. Joan Neidi heads up this program and has created the following documents which can also be found on the IUKF website:
Permanent link to this article: http://uechi-ryu.com/uechi-ryu-qtitlesq/
May 14 2010
SHINGAKI The Great Outdoor Battle
SHINGAKI The Great Outdoor Battle “This ain’t no Summer Camp!”
By Manny Neves, 8th Dan, Kiyoshi Uechi-ryu Karate-Do
There are a lot of great martial art summer camps to attend throughout the United States. In fact two of my favorites happen to be right here in New England. One, is a periodically held summer camp, in Connecticut, put on by the Strong Fist Kenyukai Group. It features the great Kiyohide Shinjo from Okinawa, Japan. He’s known throughout the world as being one of the best practitioners of the fine art of Uechi-ryu Karate. When you see him break a baseball bat with a single forearm strike, you say to yourself: “That’s one tough guy!” Another of my favorite camps is the annual George Mattson summer camp held every year at the Mass Maritime Academy in Bourne, Ma. That’s a beautiful spot for training in the open air next to the ocean. Susan and Sensei Mattson spare nothing to insure the integrity of the camp. They always have highly skilled instructors. People attend every year to see one another and train rigorously together.
What my wife Sheila, who has her own dojo and is a 5th Dan in Uechi-ryu Karate-Do and I are putting together this Summer is an event which will follow-up on the various summer camps being held this year. But make no mistake about it…This ain’t no Summer Camp! We call it: Shingaki-The Great Outdoor Battle. I got the idea by watching some of those old Ronin Japanese Samurai movies of feudal Japan. Those guys took on all comers. They didn’t care what style you were, how tough you are or where you studied. They just wanted to test their skill and see how good you really are basically without any rules. Although, unlike the movies martial art tournaments today are not “fights to the death”. Although some of the mixed martial art stuff we watch on the tube today resembles “fights to the finish”. Although I’d love doing that stuff, I wonder how some of those guys end up. At martial arts tournaments with rules, you can be sure of heading home safely. So, we promise a safe, fair and competitive tournament when you attend Saturday, August 21, 2010. Check: www.neveskarateacademy.com for the latest information.
This outdoor martial arts tournament has many new and never before seen divisions. We’re having a Gi and No-Gi Grappling portion with several weight classes, similar to what you watch on Pride, UFC, etc. My cousin , Manny Neves who owns the Elite Martial Arts School in Pawtucket, RI and who, himself has an outstanding MMA/Muay Thai record will co-ordinate the grappling portion. For those of you who practice Olympic Style Tae Kwon Do sparring, there’s a category for the various ages who will compete in this illustrious Olympic Sport. Our tournament, with all the standard competitive divisions, is a Gold rated MASMAL sanctioned event and will be co-ordinated by undefeated world point fighting champion and MASMAL region 3 Vice-President and Co-Owner, Anthony “Mafia” Holloway. That website is: www.masmalonline.com. It’ll provide the rules and all pertinent information for the Open tournament and Grappling Divisions.
I, along with Darin Yee and Len Testa have put together a format for three Uechi-ryu Karate Championship tournaments. At this tournament, Shingaki The Great Outdoor Battle we’ll be hosting the 2nd Uechiryu Karate Championship Series tournament in the Series. Start time for the Uechi-ryu events will be 12 noon. Keep up-to-date information on the Series by checking out www.uechiryukaratechampionshipseries.info .
When I say we’ll be having “never before seen divisions” I mean just that. Specifically, we’ve created what I’m calling a “Theme” division. Let me explain what the concept of this division is. In order to engage the theater of martial arts, which is what a large part of martial arts is, my thought is to have a theme, which will vary as the tournament is held each year. This year, we’ve selected “Feudal Japan” as the “theme”. This division requires the contestant to, in approximately 3 minutes time, to excite, energize and illuminate the judges with their vast knowledge of the given theme. It will require the contestants to study the eras clothing, mannerisms, martial arts, attitude, etc. and convey that to the larger audience, not just the judges. The judges will select the finalists based on very specific parameters. Check with the promoters as to the specifics. This ought to be fun and enlightening at the same time. I wouldn’t think you’d want to miss this first.
So mark the date and time on your calendar, Saturday, August 21, 2010. Start time 8:00am. If it’s inclement weather it’ll be held the following weekend, Saturday, August 28, 2010. The location is 100 North Main Street, North Carver, MA. If you have any questions, please call me at (508) 367-9458. Again, stay posted on our website: www.neveskarateacademy.com .
Yours, in the Martial Arts, Manny Neves
Permanent link to this article: http://uechi-ryu.com/shingaki-the-great-outdoor-battle-this-aint-no-summer-camp/
May 08 2010
Nothings better than this!
There is nothing as exciting as catching a near record breaking Dolphin on a spinning reel with 20 pound test line.After nearly an hour fight, Roy Bedard landing this beauty.
I caught four good sized Amber-jacks. Manny Ayala caught this beautiful Sailfish after a 30 minute fight, also on 20 pound test line.
Permanent link to this article: http://uechi-ryu.com/nothings-better-than-this/
