Why Uechi
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Jim Robinson
- Posts: 29
- Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2005 11:34 am
My journey through Uechi started the day I walked into Charlie Earles Dojo decades ago. Didn't know a karate chop from a pork chop about the martial arts but fell in love with what I saw. Along the way I met some of the nicest people one could ever meet and some of the finast Okinawan instructors in the world.
Uechi style is what you make it. Uechi style has proven itself and withstood the test of time while other styles have long since gone.
Uechi has kept my mind alert and my ageing body in pretty good shape. My journey is not over yet by golly.
Jim Robinson
Uechi style is what you make it. Uechi style has proven itself and withstood the test of time while other styles have long since gone.
Uechi has kept my mind alert and my ageing body in pretty good shape. My journey is not over yet by golly.
Jim Robinson
Ref: Body type
Alethia, if U are conserned about body type and Uechi, think no more on the subject as Uechi (in my ever soo humble opinion lol) is universal. It works well for 5'6", 160lbs Sensei Spoon and big guys like D Pasquarelli. (Hi Dave) I studied with both as a teen when we had small women in the class who could definitely hold their own as well. I was always one of those really skinny kids. Wiry and quick. It worked for me. Now I'm 5'10", 180lbs+ and it works a bit better for me, but only because I understand body mechanics better. And U'll definately learn that.
I like Uechi over other styles because, thanks to people like GEM, Van, Bill, Dana, Spoon, Maloney and many other incredible sensei, Uechi is such a broad system. People can work for different goals or the same goal and get there by different routes. Then those same people can get together and learn even more stuff from eachother. I don't think there is an end to the possibilities Uechi can provide for U. And best of all, the seniors in Uechi are open minded enough to realize that they can learn from others. Even if that other person is of lower rank. There isn't ego like one might find in other dojo where sensei is God and his word as good as law.
I like Uechi over other styles because, thanks to people like GEM, Van, Bill, Dana, Spoon, Maloney and many other incredible sensei, Uechi is such a broad system. People can work for different goals or the same goal and get there by different routes. Then those same people can get together and learn even more stuff from eachother. I don't think there is an end to the possibilities Uechi can provide for U. And best of all, the seniors in Uechi are open minded enough to realize that they can learn from others. Even if that other person is of lower rank. There isn't ego like one might find in other dojo where sensei is God and his word as good as law.
dumb luck...
Why Uechi? For me it was just dumb luck. I practiced Chito-ryu and Judo for a little over 5 years in NY. When I moved to New England I couldn't find a Chito-ryu school anywhere. I also had marriage, first home, and graduate school while working all going on my first 5 years in Massachusetts. I didn't have time!
Then, once my MSEE was done, I started looking around for another martial arts school. After several visits to various cookie-cutter dojos (i.e., "pay me enough and you'll have a black belt in no time") I was very discouraged. The few good karate schools I went to would have required me to adapt my chito-ryu training in uncomforatable ways. They were doing things close to the way I learned them, but not quite. I knew I would have to unlearn things that had become instinct for me and the nit-picking of technique would drive me nuts!
Then I stumbled upon a Uechi dojo in central MA and was blown away! Here was this style of karate that looked like nothing I'de ever seen before outside of a chinese martial arts school. I get to spend most of my training in an upright stance? I get to keep my kicks low? More close-quarters fighting? And I'll be allowed to grab/grapple (I missed Judo too you see)? SOLD!!!
Even better, I never once was told by Sensei Saunders or any of her senior students that my techniques were "wrong", my previous martial studies were never made light of, and I was encouraged (and still am) to continue working on my Chito-ryu knowledge as well. In fact I still throw my Jodan Uke's and Gedan Barai's in the Chito-ryu style sometimes, but I don't hear any complaints from the instructors. It was the best of all worlds and I never looked back.
cheers,
chewy
Then, once my MSEE was done, I started looking around for another martial arts school. After several visits to various cookie-cutter dojos (i.e., "pay me enough and you'll have a black belt in no time") I was very discouraged. The few good karate schools I went to would have required me to adapt my chito-ryu training in uncomforatable ways. They were doing things close to the way I learned them, but not quite. I knew I would have to unlearn things that had become instinct for me and the nit-picking of technique would drive me nuts!
Then I stumbled upon a Uechi dojo in central MA and was blown away! Here was this style of karate that looked like nothing I'de ever seen before outside of a chinese martial arts school. I get to spend most of my training in an upright stance? I get to keep my kicks low? More close-quarters fighting? And I'll be allowed to grab/grapple (I missed Judo too you see)? SOLD!!!
Even better, I never once was told by Sensei Saunders or any of her senior students that my techniques were "wrong", my previous martial studies were never made light of, and I was encouraged (and still am) to continue working on my Chito-ryu knowledge as well. In fact I still throw my Jodan Uke's and Gedan Barai's in the Chito-ryu style sometimes, but I don't hear any complaints from the instructors. It was the best of all worlds and I never looked back.
cheers,
chewy
