Eugene Fliman Second-degree black belt

I would like to start saying that it was a great weekend! I got promoted to second-degree black belt (Nidan). It was not an easy road for me, and it took a lot of effort and dedication both on my side and on my family’s side, especially my wife Sofya, who was totally supportive and very proud of me.

After the test on Friday, we had a day and a half of seminars, covering many aspects of Uechi-ryu. I would like to list here what I have learned, and how I am going to improve my Karate using this newly acquired knowledge.

It was very interesting to see how little changes in my Karate can impact overall performance, in particular soft movements instead of hard; they really freed up the energy of my body, and allowed me to move easily, with less energy loss, and better breathing.

Hands rubbing exercises were looked at under a new light, giving us a chance to make it a very useful exercise, allowing me to practice balance, Uechi hands, stance, and body movement. Actually, Sanchin hands are a very important aspect of one’s training, and should always be used, giving us advantage over other martial arts, and are one of the fundamental principles of our Karate style.

It was also very useful for us to continue working on speed, non-stop movements in Dan and Kyu Kumites. We were also encouraged to experiment with Dan and Kyu Kumites, and to think about new finishing techniques.

We did Sanchin Kata for a few minutes using three different timing sequences – traditional, strike chambered on step, strike completed on step. This actually makes it a very interesting practice, opening new venues in this basic, but very important Kata.

During exercises we learned to practice “touch” kicks, which really means better targeting, which is important in Uechi-ryu. We also learned to follow through on punches – to do it slow speed, and to not pull back. Following this teaches us how to use Karate in real life situations, where some practitioners fail, since they have never done real punches with the partner.

Sensei Mattson also showed us how to correctly use hip movement at the advanced belt level, emphasizing that it should go from the ground, using it to add power to the movements.

We were also introduced to the concept that the shoulder can be used (not in Sanchin) to finish the smoothness of the movement, especially in the Wauke blocks. Also, we were taught to not straighten the arm during Wauke block – to keep it always in Sanchin.

Sensei Mattson demonstrated how the breathing should be such that you can breathe at any moment in the Kata. Sensei Mattson also demonstrated different ways to block – not to hit the opponent with your block (even though it could be used as one of the techniques if so desired), but rather defend your line of the body.

And another very important point that he made – we should accelerate all the moves, giving us additional power, without really adding any additional effort to the move. Sensei Mattson also showed us another way to do the hammer-fist strike – we shouldn’t open the arm, but rather do it from Sanchin.

My final lesson learned was to keep the semi-circle (not straight arms) during the two-arm strikes in the Kata.

Overall, I felt that this was an extremely useful seminar, and I would like to thank Sensei Mattson for his time and dedication, and I would like to thank Sensei Kahn for all that he has done for me in preparation for my Nidan test.

No matter how much I think I might know about the study, practice and teaching of Uechi-ryu, a short visit from Sensei Mattson never fails to humble me.

As always, I am honored and grateful that Sensei Mattson was able to travel to Chicago to spend a weekend working with me and my students. I am not going to write about all of the training concepts that were shared with us by Sensei, as the essays written by the other students did a great job of covering those topics. Instead, I am going to approach this essay from a different perspective; I am going to discuss the concepts that were taught by Sensei will enhance my teaching ability.

The first, and most repeated, concept that Sensei mentioned was the tendency for students to attempt to generate power solely through the use of muscular strength. While this seems like a perfectly logical way to generate power, it is in fact, counterproductive. When a student attempts to generate power through muscle strength alone, it is likely that all of the muscles will be flexed. When this happens, the movement of the particular technique in question is slowed considerably, as both set of antagonistic muscle pairs are fighting against each other.

While the muscles appear, or even feel, as if they are working hard, they are simply “spinning their wheels.” The reason is quite simple when explained kinesthetically. The most important variable in generating power is speed, not strength. As speed increases, so too does the power one can generate. In order to maximize speed, one must keep opposing muscle pairs from working against each other. Therefore, students should be encouraged to refrain from overtly flexing their muscles during any kinetic movements as they perform their techniques.

Using the mass from their entire body (and from the Earth itself if they are properly rooted), coupled with maximum speed generated from a properly relaxed body, students should be able to maximize the power generated, and hence the force applied to their target as they flex their muscles at the point of impact, or focus. Sensei also spent time with the students encouraging everyone to move naturally. While what is natural for one student might not apply to another, the overall concept applies to each student as a human being.

As a member of the human species, each student can be expected to have certain physical traits that lend themselves to movements performed in certain predictable manners. When students attempt to perform their techniques in an unnatural manner, overall power and efficiency is lost. A contributing factor in this regard is probably due to the mystical properties newer students try to attribute to Karate techniques. Because Karate techniques are misunderstood by newer students, many attempt to perform them in an unnatural manner, because if the techniques were easy to perform, everyone would have Black Belt level skill.

Students should always be taught to move naturally, as any human normally would. For example, we don’t encourage track stars to run faster by adopting an unnatural toe-to-heel foot roll as they run. Likewise, we shouldn’t encourage our students to perform their Karate techniques in an unnatural manner. On of the most common errors students make when trying to perform their techniques is trying to maintain a stiff, inflexible posture during their movements. Sensei was very clear that when performing movements such as the Wa-uke block, that the shoulders should move naturally as the arm is moved across the body. If the shoulders are kept in an upright and locked position, all of the natural power that the block should generate is lost, thereby causing one of two problems.

First, the block would be so weak when performed that it would be entirely ineffective. Alternatively, the student, in an attempt to make the block strong enough to be effective, would overcompensate for the lack of power by moving the body into an even more unnatural position. Ultimately, this would lead to a breakdown of the basic Sanchin posture, thereby sacrificing all of the benefits of that stance. Another similar problem occurs as students resist the urge to allow their hips to move naturally as they perform their various techniques. While Sensei did not advocate an emphasis of hip movement, and even discouraged it for beginning students, he did state that natural movement of the hips is necessary for properly executing powerful and effective techniques.

This hip movement can include rotational movements, such as would be executed during Sanchin thrusts or Wa-uke blocks, as well as front-to-back movements performed during the execution of a front kick. In keeping with the concept of natural body mechanics, Sensei also spent a great deal of time discussing and training the students on the merits of the “Uechi immovable arm.” The strongest position of the arm is when it is neither fully bent, nor fully extended. Therefore, maximum strength is achieved when the elbow is bent at approximately a 45 degree angle, or the standard Sanchin arm position.

Sensei further demonstrated how that angle should maintained through a wide variety of techniques, including the Wa-uke block, as well as Hiraken blocks and strikes, eye strikes, and countless others. All of these techniques were practiced so that students could see for themselves the difference in the performance of the techniques under both sets of arm positions.

Another teaching tool that I hope to integrate into our classes is the concept of performing techniques, Kata and Kumite in various manners, as opposed to performing them in the same manner each and every time. By varying the manner in which they are performed, whether varying the tempo or the rhythm of the drills, the students learn to be more flexible in how they use their techniques, footwork and posture in order to maximize their effectiveness in any given situation. And, quite frankly, being flexible enough to modify how techniques are used is essential to being able to adapt to any possible scenario in which one might find oneself.

First off, I would like to thank Mr. Mattson for a very exciting and beneficial weekend. We appreciate all the time he spent with us over the course of the three days he was here. We are very lucky to have a man of Mr. Mattson’s abilities to visit Chicago and keep us in touch with what people on the East coast are practicing.

Throughout the course of Mr. Mattson’s seminars, I picked up many useful and practical tips relating to Uechi-ryu. To begin with, after my Nidan test Mr. Mattson pointed out that many of us Chicagoans seemed to be out of breath or breathing heavily. With that said, one of my goals in practicing Uechi-ryu is to generate more power through less exertion and proper body mechanics. Proper body mechanics make a huge difference when it comes to effortless power. The subtle movements of the lower and upper-body can be the key to generating that explosive karate we all strive to achieve. Another key correction Mr. Mattson discussed many times during the seminar dealt with the free hand during the Wa-uke block.

Many of us were putting too much movement in the free hand of the block. Mr. Mattson corrected and told us it should be the slightest of movements. The hand should move only a matter of an inch rather than inches. Mr. Mattson made us aware that those extra inches we moved our freehand can develop into dangerous habits. Another topic of the Wa-uke block Mr. Mattson discussed was the shoulder movement. He demonstrated that a proper Wa-uke block must have shoulder movement. The slightest shoulder movement allowed us to move the freehand less and through the body mechanics we could generate more power in our block.

The improved block felt more natural, and Mr. Mattson even talked about putting more hip into the block which emphasized more body mechanics to create the smooth, effortless power. On the first day of seminars, Mr. Mattson had us focus on the acceleration of our techniques. Mr. Mattson stated that it is very important for us to accelerate up to full speed through the strikes, rather than try at the beginning of each strike to force the movements at one hundred percent. Allowing the acceleration of each movement made me feel a great deal smoother in all of my katas.

The strikes were just as powerful or even more with the bettered acceleration. This correction made a big difference in the feel of the katas, and for me, I think it is one of the most important concepts he touched on. Mr. Mattson also showed us how we could generate powerful kicks for longer periods of time in our life. Mr. Mattson touched on a point that could save our knees in the long run. Many of us had the tendency to lift the knee up and slam it down while thrusting the leg out. Mr. Mattson showed us that by doing this, there is tons of stress on the knee and could provoke easy injury and long term problems with the knee. Mr. Mattson discussed of how important it is to practice doing different Sanchins. While he was in town we did multiple Sanchins that were different in length, speed and purpose.

It was the best way to practice Sanchin. Mr. Mattson brought to our attention that if we only practice things one way, that’s the only way we will be able to do them. One of the Sanchins we did was very long and smooth focusing on acceleration, another one was the new “in your face Sanchin”, and the final one we did had multiple variations of how we stepped off the sides and did our Wa-ukes. For the one with multiple variations we did many steps and strikes, and when Mr. Mattson instructed us to do so, we would turn off, step, block and strike each on a different count, and another where we would step block and strike as we were turning. The drill is a great training aid and it helped mix things up in the dojo.

The part of Mr. Mattson’s seminar which I felt was most beneficial to me was the flinching technique. Mr. Mattson showed us how to flinch into the proper position. We did a drill where one person would punch from a relaxed position and the other would have to react by flinching. Mr. Mattson demonstrated the ideal way to flinch. He basically flinched into a Sanchin arm position where most of the upper body was covered. In order to train one’s self to get into the Sanchin position on a flinch takes an immense amount of practice. Mr. Mattson showed us that it is the ideal position to be in. I really believe in this training aid because I feel it will help me in about any situation where I could be attacked. It may seem like a simple concept, but in order for it to work; it has to be second nature. It will take a great deal of practice, but I feel confident that it will help me react quicker and get into in better positioning when I’m not thinking about karate.

Mr. Mattson made sure to let us know that it is very important to make contact while training. He emphasized that if we do not practice making contact that we will end up pulling all of our techniques on real encounters. Mr. Mattson had us practice this by doing Kyu Kumite slowly but making sure all counter attacks made contact on the suggested targets. This drill also helped me with my targeting and gave me a better idea of where more effective strikes are in the Kumite.

One of the last major concepts I remember Mr. Mattson discussing was about the center line. He emphasized that we must remain centered in all of the Kumites and two man drills because it eliminates extra movement. He gave us an example in number three of Dan Kumite. When Mr. Mattson goes for the downward block of the front kick, he pointed out that you will not see him pushing the kick outward, but instead, blocking downward through the centerline and only moving his arm through Sanchin. This gets rid of the kick with minimal extra movement.

His concept of centering will help me eliminate extra movements in the Kumites and become more efficient. Once again Mr. Mattson’s seminars were very beneficial. I would like to thank him again for all the great help he has given me and the rest of the people in Chicago. He helps us keep in touch with the latest of happenings in Uechi-Ryu. And, I would also like to thank my sensei, David Kahn for arranging a great weekend.

B.J. Monson

Dear Mr. Mattson,

Thank you for teaching me new ways of doing Uechi-ryu. I think it helps to learn different ways and forms of karate.

When I do my blocks I get more power when I keep my arms bent. When I do the chop-backfist-nukite, I learned not to keep my hand by my face. I also think I get more power when I don’t put it by my face.

I thought it was fun when we did the flinch block. It helps because you don’t know when a punch or a kick is coming. What I think helps my power is when I move my hips when I do my katas. During the kata, I also think doing this gives me the ability to hit my target better.

Thank you for giving me some of your time to teach me new ways and forms of Uechi-ryu. I enjoyed your seminar.

Thank you,

Jake Monson, age 10