High quality – Limited quantity!
Just in. . . High quality, very limited quantities, embroidered T-shirts and golf shirts. They are available in all sizes.
Order yours today while registering for SummerFest!
Permanent link to this article: https://uechi-ryu.com/new-embroidered-golf-shirts/
Jun 10 2013
White Mountain Dojo workout!!!
I wanted to thank Sensei Yee of the IUKF for another great seminar last night. We had 17 students from the dojo attend and Sensei Yee helped train us in the movements of the wa-uke bunkai along with breaking down several techniques in Seichin kata. Sensei Yee has made several trips up to the White Mountain Karate dojo over the past few years and has always been very giving of his time and knowledge of the soft side of Uechi Ryu along with the Kung fu roots that Uechi comes
Christian Maine
White Mountain Karate
W.M.K. Dojo
Speed with Glare Style
603-387-0022
Permanent link to this article: https://uechi-ryu.com/4507/
Jun 06 2013
Butokukai 2013 Graduation Ceremony
Sue and I had a wonderful time once again at the annual graduation ceremony for black belt promotions during 2013. Many thanks to Buzz and Judy Durkin for inviting me and to Bridget for all her helpand assistance arranging the trip and making it so trouble free and enjoyable. Thanks to all the students and teachers who attended my seminars and worked so hard during the classes.
Permanent link to this article: https://uechi-ryu.com/butokukai-2013-graduation-ceremony/
May 22 2013
Uechi-ryu Recipe
The Recipe
There are three ingredients in the good life:
learning, earning and yearning.
-Christopher Morley-
It doesn’t matter whether your baking a cake, some gluten free brownies, (ha ha Susan)
-Christopher Morley-
It doesn’t matter whether your baking a cake, some gluten free brownies, (ha ha Susan)
or trying to develop a successful team with a sense of community……… The blending of ingredients is the benchmark of success, not the ingredients themselves.
Grand Master George Mattson, Uechi ryu Pioneer
Permanent link to this article: https://uechi-ryu.com/uechi-ryu-recipe/
Apr 19 2013
May 11 Workout Big Success
1960s Boston Workout
Our May 11th “regional workout” like the previous 2 was a huge success. Our number of attendees were 50 plus. They came from all of the surrounding states and traveled as far as 3 to 4 hours to honor us with their participation.
Sensei Gary Wong 8th dan and I were both part of the competition team from the Boston Mattson Academy back in the early “70s” who had much success in national and international tournaments. Our workout this time around was some of the simple Uechi techniques which we’ve trained and used in our winning fighting style. I added some of the effective take downs from our Uechi-Ryu movements.
Looking back, that was over 40 years ago. Sensei Gary Wong and I are just overjoyed to have the opportunity to pass on some of the experience and knowledge we’ve accumulated these 40 plus years in diligent, open minded martial arts training.
Our next regional workout will be in Plymouth, NH hosted by sensei Christian Maine. Christian sensei is one of the new, up and coming stars in Uechi-Ryu. He is open minded and has worked out with numerous Uechi organizations while developing a friendship with all that he’s come in contact with. To me, Christian Maine leads by example the true road of Bushido.
Please keep in touch with me and I will announce Christian’s workout plans as soon as I receive them. This workout will be held in New Hampshire which is beautiful during the summer season. Plan to spend a little time there before or after the workout as I’m sure you will love the scenic area. My students and I are going to plan this as a min vacation/road trip and get a great workout also. Hope to see all of you soon.
A special thanks goes to Barry Chu, John Hwee, Harry Skeffington and friends from Boston Chinatown whom I have not seen or worked out with in a long time since I’ve open my Plymouth dojo. It was wonderful to have this opportunity to work out with them again.
Darin Yee
Permanent link to this article: https://uechi-ryu.com/may-11-uechi-ryu-workout-in-plymouth-ma/
Apr 16 2013
Boston Chinatown Celebration
This is just a quick note to thank you for joining me for the annual kung fu dinner in Boston. This was always a great reason for Uechi people to get together for festivities outside of a workout. We get to join the largest martial arts organizations in Boston’s Chinatown and their associates from the entire eastern seaboard.
There were approximately 500 in attendance. Over 70 of the attendee were Uechi-Ryu people from the New England area. The Uechi-Ryu people came from New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts. I apologize if I did not contact you in regards to this event. I will truly try to include you next year. Please do not hesitate to remind me if you are interested for next year. This event will only get bigger as years go by.
Permanent link to this article: https://uechi-ryu.com/boston-chinatown-celebration/
Mar 21 2013
GEM Library Archives
Van Cann’s 80’s Competition Team Members
Amazing how many videos, pictures and memories one can accumulate in a lifetime. I have a storage locker filled with memorabilia that I’m trying to catalog and digitize for the future Martial Art Library my friends are creating. Hope you enjoy some of the memories that didn’t make it into my last book, “The Way of Uechi-ryu Karate”.
Two of the best tourney fighters of the time – “Moto” & “Tanaka”
Probably the best fighter of the era, Nev Kimbrell
Permanent link to this article: https://uechi-ryu.com/gem-library-archives/
Mar 19 2013
First Mattson Academy group picture
Wow! Either 1959 or 1960 group picture of my advanced class at the first outdoor workout in a park in Newton, MA. I can still identify a couple of individuals. . . Me, Tom Bruno, Charles Couflin. . . Can you identify any of the others???
Permanent link to this article: https://uechi-ryu.com/first-mattson-academy-group-picture/
Mar 17 2013
“Family of Uechi Organizations”
From my Newsletter Archives – 2003
North American seniors meets with kanei uechi circa 1984
Uechi-ryu Family of Organizations!
by Steve Goss
As many of you know, the late 1980’s heralded a major shift in organizations practicing Uechi-ryu. Prior to that time, most of us were members of the Uechi-ryu Karate-do Association. Now there are many more associations. During my last trip to Okinawa I was told there are currently as many as 15 different associations practicing the system we all know as Uechi-ryu. In my opinion, it was inevitable that this kind of change should occur. There is a “maturing” of the practice of martial arts internationally, and with the passing of Kanei Uechi, arguably the tie that kept the Uechi-ryu Karate-do Association together, there were individuals and groups of vast experience and skill who would form associations and groups of dojo with the purpose of practicing the system as they understand it.
In order to accommodate these changes, I have heard more than once of the intent coming out of Okinawa to maintain a “family of organizations”-a loose affiliation of support and maintenance of the system. Different organizations include kobudo in their training and practice different yakusoku kumites, but the agreed upon exercises that are to remain constant are Sanchin, Seisan, and Sanseiru. At this point I would argue that the other five kata should be a part of the core system, but that is a discussion for another time.
We have witnessed the changes occurring in other systems and the results of those changes. In some cases the changes were drastic and included personal agenda (to put it gently) and the end result is that, often, one does not even recognize a system as being the same from one dojo to the next. I would encourage all who practice Uechi-ryu, by whatever name, to work together to see that this does not happen to us.
There are a number of things of which we can be proud in the practice of Uechi-ryu, not the least of which is the fact that we can walk into any dojo in the world and know what to expect and what is expected of us. With the exception of minor technical differences, we all do kata the same way. We all need to work to keep it that way.
I encourage all, especially the young people training and coming up in the system, to support the concept of a family of organizations and to actively work to maintain that ideal. One does not become a better practitioner by saying anything negative about the “other guys”-one’s skill and understanding of Uechi-ryu should be demonstrated on the dojo floor. Accommodate differences in training. Practice the different yakusoku kumites developed by the different associations. Keep an open mind. And work to keep us all together.
We have the rare privilege of practicing a pure system. We can trace our history straight to Southern China with no “forks in the road”. Let’s keep it that way.
Steve Goss
California
Permanent link to this article: https://uechi-ryu.com/family-of-uechi-organizations/
Mar 13 2013
March 9th 2013 Seminar
Note: May workout changed to Saturday, May 11th!
March 9th, the “HUT” hosted a regional workout lead by Sensei Paul Giella and Sensei Vinny Christiano. This was a classical workout conducted by 2 “down to earth old time instructors” with a lot of skills and teaching experience.
The workout was invigorating and intense. We covered everything from exercises, kata and techniques. Paul Sensei introduced and worked on a 3 part San-Chin. This 3 part San-Chin went from a posing kata to a blocking kata and finished with a striking/attacking kata. These drills were both interesting and challenging. They worked our coordination and forced us to focus as each step incorporates a different mindset and a different process in movements. Sensei Paul was constant in his insistence on stances and a good base.
Vinny Sensei, as always, introduced his innovative ideas and variations on kata and dan kumite. A lot of what Vinny Sensei emphasized was our softer aspect within our system. We explored the strength within our core and the generation of power from rotation. We are always in search of the hidden power within ourselves. Vinny Sensei worked diligently throughout this seminar to help us realize how to find our strengths.
It is needless to say I respect and admire both of them as martial artists and teachers. My only wish is to have more chances to work out with them and the many talented people who work out at the Hut.
The next regional workout will be hosted by me, Darin Yee, on Saturday, May 11. The location is 8 Natalie Way, Plymouth, MA 02360. The start time will be 12 noon. After our workout we will go next door to a well-known Hibachi restaurant named New Tokyo for Japanese food. There is both hot and cold food. They have also agreed to give us a discount.
The presenters will be Sensei Gary Wong and I. We have both studied Uechi-Ryu since 1969. Gary and I have also spent as many years studying Chinese Kung-Fu. Our seminar on May 18th will introduce many movements we’ve studied in Kung-Fu and relate them to our movements in Uechi-Ryu. As we have been taught since the beginning of everyone’s training, our Uechi-Ryu from Okinawa was derived from “Pong Gai Noon” the system taught to our Grandmaster Kunbun Uechi.
Sensei Gary Wong and I, through our 50 plus years of studies and training in both avenues of martial arts, will demonstrate and teach different uses and understanding for our similar moves. We will also drill on some of the fighting techniques which help us become the successful competitors we were in the early “70s”. Hope to see you here on May 181at 12 noon.
Permanent link to this article: https://uechi-ryu.com/march-9th-2013-seminar/
