2005 Uechi-ryu World Championships
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Friday Party!
At
this time, I am not sure we will be hosting an adult Uechi tournament.
It has been a difficult task trying to motivate Uechi adults to participate
in this event. If anyone would like to host this tournament, please contact
me and we will find a way to continue the adult series.
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Although the action will be spirited and exciting, the competition emphasis will be on control and not on excessive power. The rules will be strictly and fairly enforced.
I've probably experimented with more types of rules than any other promoter in the martial arts. Beginning with the first heavy contact tournament in America back in the 60s to "tag" tournaments in the 80s and everything in between.
Fighting competition has become highly specialized today. Students have the opportunity to fight in the most realistic type matches to very safe "point" events. In the past, all types of fighters were bunched into a single competition format and few followed the rules. There was no relationship to the the martial spirit being taught in the dojo and exhibited in the ring. Injuries were commonplace. Competitors joked among themselves how they never lost a match. . . they didn't consider being disqualified as losing. . .
Today, however, there is no excuse for competitors to enter a "point" competition and not follow the rules. Although the "point" events are not as realistic as the Ultimate Fighting Octagon matches, the thousands of "point" tournaments attest to their popularity. The fact that injuries are rare, speak well for the officiating and rules that govern these events.
Uechi students and seniors have stayed away from these events, primarily because they believed Uechi techniques were being scored lower than techniques from other styles. There is also a feeling that the popular point fighters were able to score with poor techniques, which placed the Uechi competitor at a disadvantage. It is interesting though, that many top Uechi fighters have been able to do well in these events, playing by the rules.
I've stated many times in the past that rules do not demand poor techniques to score. In fact, no where in the rules of any organization is this stated. No where in the rules does it require that a competitor not use a controlled, accurate and technically excellent technique.
Given a choice, even the worse official will score the excellent technique over a terrible technique that happens to tag the opponent.
Ten years ago I believed that a safe and popular Uechi tournament was possible and I rebuilt the Uechi Championships. I've continued to experiment with the rules and officials, tryinig to find the formula that is best for the majority of competitors. The object of the tournament is to attract the best trained and most competent competitors our Uechi dojo have to offer. We are not looking for Ultimate Fighter Wanabees who elect to fight full contact against fighters who use controlled "point" techniques.
The other fallacy of old, which today's best fighters have completely proven false, is that ". . . A good Uechi fighter can't exercise control because of their superior training methods!" We now know that out of control hard contact is diliberate and intentional 90% of the time. Although we don't expect to see this again, all excessive and uncontrolled contact will result in immediate disqualification. Yes, there will be the occasional accidents and the fighters understand the assumed risks involved every time they enter a dojo or a ring. What is not expected is a competitor who elects to use the rules to gain an undeserved advantage over his/her opponent.
I'll be updating this site on a regular basis until the June 5th tournament date. Please drop in on a weekly basis for updates.
Thanks,
George E. Mattson