Techniques

This techniques study guide is designed to aid you in your study of Uechi-ryu Karate-do. It is not a replacement of regular training sessions under the guidance of a senior instructor

The key to training is that you be patient with yourself. You must dedicate yourself to rigorous practice but your training must also be gradual and consistent. After several months of regular training you will start becoming comfortable with the material and you will find yourself well along the path to self-improvement.

The various techniques include:

Jumbi Undo

The main purpose of these exercises is to loosen up the muscles before doing the more complex movements. Therefore, the body should be relaxed while performing these exercises. The stretching exercises aid greatly in the development of physical coordination and balance as well as improving posture and agility.

Hojo Undo

These exercises come from the movements of the katas and serve as a stepping stone for future training. They aid in the development of stamina, physical and mental concentration and coordination, endurance and technical and tactical proficiency.

Katas

A kata is a set of pre-arranged karate movements which are designed to develop certain abilities in the karate student. It is from kata that all karate techniques and principles come. There are eight kata in Uechi-Ryu. Sanchin, the most basic kata, develops the mental principles necessary to truly understand Karate. At first glance, Sanchin may appear to be a simple exercise, consisting of basic movements; however it is a form of moving meditation which teaches the student to blend the physical, the mental, and the spiritual. The name Sanchin translates to Three Conflicts or Three Steps. The emphasis of Sanchin is the mental principles, but basic physical principles are taught too. The remaining seven kata's are sometimes called the fighting kata, because they show the self-defense aspects of Uechi-Ryu more clearly than Sanchin. All these advanced movements are derived from the seemingly simple moves of Sanchin.

The learning of these fighting kata means much more than just memorizing the movements and doing them in the same sequence that you were taught, the student must be able to actually use each technique effectively. This learning process cannot be rushed! The student must take the time to study each movement and see how it can be applied not only by itself, but in conjunction with the preceding movement and the following movement. This is quite important simply for the reason that there may not be just one application for each movement. While doing kata, one must try and visualize each technique in an actual circumstance.

The eight primary Uechi-Ryu Kats include:

Other Material

These various other exercises and technqiues are leveraged to round out a student's training and practice skills.

Exercises include:

Terminology

Uechi-ryu is an Okinawan art. The use of Japanse, the offical language of Okinawa, is designed to maintain the traditions of the art and to maintain an Oriental atmosphere in the dojo. This section provides a guide to some of the common terms used in the techniques. In a number of cases the English terms are not literal translations.