About Uechi-Ryu

A Martial Art that originated in Okinawa, Uechi-ryu karate-do is an authentic Okinawan type of karate. Uechi-ryu’s roots are in Southern China’s Fukien province. This is where the famous Shaolin Temple was located. Kanbum Uechi, already well trained in Okinawan te traveled to Fukien Province to learn Chinese Martial Arts. Kanbum learned and mastered pwange-gai-nun, a system described as “flowing between hard and soft”. Eventually Kanbum’s art returned to Okinawa where it became known as Karate (originally written as “Chinese Hand”). Kanbum’s way (ryu) was renamed Uechi-ryu in his honor. The symbols often associated with Uechi-ryu are the tiger, crane and dragon. Each of these represent a Chinese style and a concept. Uechi-ryu has been passed down from teacher to student, from generation to generation maintaining its historical roots. We teach Classical Okinawan Karate-do as our foundation. We stress Uechi-ryu’s outstanding standup grappling, striking power and versatility of concepts. To this we add Boxing and Grappling allowing for the most versatile training available.