Uechi-ryu Martial Artists Are The Big Winners
by: Manny Neves
Although the Boston Tae Kwon Do Academy of Randolph, MA, took the three (3) Grand Championships in Jr Black Belt Forms, Adult Black Belt Forms and Adult Black Belt Kumite it was the many Uechi-ryu Karate-Do competitors that were the big winners!
8-16-2007: SummerFest 2007 Album #1
Quite a few family members who don’t actually train, take advantage of our inexpensive facilities by accompanying family members to SummerFest. Although the sleeping quarters resemble (by design) those on a ship and aren’t the most comfortable – you can’t beat the price! Where else will you find a room with all meals on the Cape – during the “high season” for this price?
Next year we will be offering rooms at a local high-end hotel and optional meals at the Maritime Academy for those who prefer more conventional and luxurious sleeping facilities. The hotel will be offering a shuttle bus service to and from the Maritime. So. . . make plans to join us the 2nd weekend in August!
Thank you Bill Glasheen! As promised, Bill sent me the 2006 and 2007 FireDragon results. Click here! E-mail me if any names were misspelled. Congratulations to all the athletes who participated and special congratulations to those who succeeded in passing the test.
New!!! SummerFest 2008 update from George Mattson
8-13-2007: FireDragon Action at SummerFest.
Bill Glasheen promises to get the results to me this evening and I’ll be posting them to the FireDragon site tomorrow. Thanks to Sue Dudley, from Rockville, VA for sending me nearly 100 great photos of this year’s SummerFest.
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2007 FireDragon team prepares for the mile run. 
Wow! Not sure which competitor this was, but he was leaping for a record long jump!
John Page finishes first in the mile run this year! Not bad for an “old” guy! 🙂 Woops… Just got this correction:
When I have time, I’ll post them in our Photo Gallery. Meanwhile, here is another photo sent to me by Neil Weicher…
8-3-07: Joe Pomfret’s Seminar was Fantastic!
and geared to the Uechi-ryu community and other “stand-up” martial artist. My team from Florida has been studying and practicing Joe’s program from his two DVD set and this seminar was a great way to fine-tune their methods and according to Mack, Jim and Tim – “Joe is a not only one of the toughest ‘dudes’, but an excellent teacher as well”!
8-1-07: A little late, but I finally had time to scan Bill Glasheen’s and Bruce Witherell’s “Titles” thesis. (For their Renshi degrees) Also posted a few 1993 Uechi-ryu articles from British magazines, written by Simon Lailey. Click Here!
7-31-07: SummerFest was a BLAST! It wasn’t the biggest one I’ve ever hosted, but everyone who attended, worked hard and had a great time: Here is a very kind letter that best sums up the kind of e-mail received:
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Wow. I had a great time. This camp was fun, informative, and a good place to be. From George and Susan’s welcome, to my last seminar, with Art Rabesa (whose book on Explosive Karate I will now have to reread) it was just a wonderful experience. Al Wharton’s Seichin bunkai alone was worth the price of admission, but I also got a chance to see feel and experience Evan Pantazi’s Kyusho. His use of restorative technique had the entire seminar wanting more and lining up to experience his skill. Walter Mattson provided insight into Uechi that only be gained by years of dedicated practice.
Meeting and training with Mark Brelsford was an honor. I hope to recover from his demonstration of Nakahodo inspired technique in time for next year. Vicki, Sue, Jim and Harry did a phenomenal job of putting together and running the Fire Dragon challenge. The energy created by the competition among Fedele, John Felipe and others was incredible. They each seemed to inspire the best from one another.
It was also great to feed off the energy of the other participants. For my roommate Russell, this was his first camp, and he was putting every ounce of energy into experiencing all he could. And there were the seniors, like Vinny Christiano, who gave of their time and their talent to anyone who sought advice, feedback or encouragement. I was also delighted to be there for the master ceremony, and to watch John, Henry, Roy and Shelly demonstrate the richness of Uechi.
But most of all, I need to express my gratitude to George, and state what a treat it was to have him leading classes in addition to the San Chin by the Sea (and yes, I made it all three mornings). For those of us who are all too keenly aware of the politics and pettiness that sometimes seems to pervade our art and style, it was just a breath of new life to have George sharing with us his years of study and insight. His emphasis on keeping comfortable in San Chin, and working the body naturally was energizing. I am making a promise to myself to be at the camp again next year (the second weekend in August I believe) and hope to bring some of my friends form Sacramento with me. I hope others are feeling the same way.
Peace
Robb in Sacramento
and geared to the Uechi-ryu community and other “stand-up” martial artist. My team from Florida has been studying and practicing Joe’s program from his two DVD set and this seminar was a great way to fine-tune their methods and according to Mack, Jim and Tim – Help!!!!
I’ve been getting quite a few requests for rides from both Providence and Boston airports to the Maritime Academy in Bourne, MA. Everyone is willing to share expenses. (discuss ahead of time please) If you need a ride or have space in your car, you can hook-up on the SummerFest Forum. There is a bus service running to Bourne as an option. Here is another bus company that makes the run from Logan to Bourne.
Shihan Al Wharton called me yesterday and asked that I let you know he will be 
bringing copies of his new “Seichin Secrets” and “Seichin Combat Bunkai” to SummerFest.
Also. . . IUKF Board member and Newsletter editor David Berndt will have printed copies of the new “All in Uechi” newsletter to be given out at SummerFest. You can view the Adobe version here.
7/18/2007: Good News! John Spencer will be teaching seminars all three days of SummerFest. He will be working with advanced ranks, helping them with their advanced kata.
Vinny Christiano Leads the Sanseiryu Bunkai Team at SummerFest!
Shihan Al Wharton will be conducting seminars on his very creative Seichin bunkai. Although Seichin is one of the newer kata of Uechi-ryu and is usually taught at green belt level, most seniors consider Seichin to be quite an advanced kata. Shihan Wharton impressed the Uechi world two years ago when he and his students introduced the Bunkai at the Masters’ celebration. Because so many people contacted Shihan Wharton, wanting to learn this Bunkai, he created a professional DVD that he will be selling at SummerFest.
Bruce and Jim Witherall will be helping out on those Kata teams. Of course Jim will be teaching at least one class on the correct way to stretch and how to get some real power in those kicks.
John Hassell will be with us the entire weekend, teaching his Bo kata. For those of you who aren’t familiar with John, he is one of the best Okinawa weapon teachers – Anywhere! Don’t forget to bring you Bo!
We are also honored to have Henry Thom attending camp. Also Rob Vandervolgen. . . from the West Coast. . . All regulars at SummerFest and all fantastic Uechi teachers who will working with the various teams. Time is running out… Please Click Here and send in your application. I promise that you will have the time of your life.
SummerFest Historical Moments! . . .
It was a long time between visits, but having my teacher attend and teach at the 2001 SummerFest was one of the most memorable events of my life. For those of you who made the journey to Cape Cod and participated in Summerfest 2001, I spent the past two days pulling this 30+ minutes of video off a DVD and uploading it to the internet. Those of you who were there will remember what a great time we had and you were also able to share with me, the memories of a very young soldier who learned Uechi-ryu from this wonderful person.
I’m hoping that we will be able to bring Sensei Tomoyose back to America very soon, so we can all once again benefit from his experiences, training and presence. Our SummerFest is a wonderful experience for martial artist who truly love their art. It is a time for challenging old and ingrained mindsets – meeting old friends and making new ones – exchanging and exploring new and old training methods, techniques and applications.
It was a long time between visits, but having my teacher attend and teach at the 2001 SummerFest was one of the most memorable events of my life. For those of you who made the journey to Cape Cod and participated in Summerfest 2001, I spent the past two days pulling this . Those of you who were there will remember what a great time we had and you were also able to share with me, the memories of a very young soldier who learned Uechi-ryu from this wonderful person.I’m hoping that we will be able to bring Sensei Tomoyose back to America very soon, so we can all once again benefit from his experiences, training and presence. Our SummerFest is a wonderful experience for martial artist who truly love their art. It is a time for challenging old and ingrained mindsets – meeting old friends and making new ones – exchanging and exploring new and old training methods, techniques and applications.
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