Kanei Uechi
上地完英
Okinawan karate master (1911–1991), son of Uechi-ryu founder Kanbun Uechi, who developed the style after 1948 and opened it to American soldiers as well.
Quick Facts
JapanBiography
Kanei Uechi was an Okinawan karate master, the son of Kanbun Uechi, the founder of Uechi-ryu, who developed the style after his father's death and opened it to foreigners. He was born on 26 June 1911 and died on 23 February 1991 at the age of 79.
He was the eldest of the four children of Kanbun Uechi. At sixteen he went to join his father in Wakayama, where Kanbun taught Pangainoon from 1926, and the sources differ on the year he began, between 1927 and 1930. In 1937 his father awarded him a certificate of full qualification, and Kanei opened a dojo in Osaka. In 1940 he moved to Amagasaki, and in 1942 he returned to Okinawa, where he settled as a farmer in Nago.
After his father's death on 25 November 1948 he began to develop the style, and in 1949 he founded the Uechi-ryu research institute in Ginowan. Together with other senior instructors he introduced the warm-up junbi undo and prearranged kumite for examinations, and they created five kata that sit between the original three in the syllabus. Wikipedia attributes to him the kata Seiryu and Kanchin. In 1957 the dojo moved to Futenma.
In 1957 and 1958 he taught the American soldier George Mattson, whom he then asked to spread Uechi-ryu in America. His students included Ryuko Tomoyose, Seiyu Shinjo, Seiki Itokazu and Saburo Uehara, and his son Kanmei Uechi. After his death Uechi-ryu split into many organizations.
Early life
Kanei Uechi was born on 26 June 1911 and was the eldest of the four children of Kanbun Uechi, the founder of Uechi-ryu. His father opened the first dojo in Wakayama in 1926 and taught Pangainoon. Kanei went to join him at the age of sixteen because of health problems. The Fightingarts website gives the year 1927, the history of the IUKF federation 1930.
Training and teachers
He trained with his father in Wakayama, and in 1937 his father awarded him a certificate of full qualification in Pangainoon. At the age of twenty-six he opened a dojo in Osaka with his father's consent. In 1940 he moved the dojo to Amagasaki in Hyogo Prefecture and taught there for two years. In 1942 he returned to Okinawa, married and settled as a farmer in Nago.
Contribution and innovations
After his father's death on 25 November 1948 he began to develop and spread the style. In 1949 he founded in Ginowan the Uechi-ryu Karate-jutsu Kenkyujo, and in April 1949 with Ryuko Tomoyose the Nodake dojo. In 1957 the school moved to Futenma. Together with other senior instructors he introduced the warm-up junbi undo and prearranged kumite for the student and master grades.
According to the IUKF Argentina, Kanei created five kata that sit between the original Sanchin, Seisan and Sanseiryu in the syllabus together with other senior instructors. Wikipedia attributes to him Seiryu (1950) and Kanchin, and it attributes Kanshiwa and Seichin to Saburo Uehara and Kanshu to Seiki Itokazu. Graham Noble gives as his kata Kanshiwa, Seiryu and Kanchin. In 1977 he published the book Seisetsu Okinawa Karate-do.
Philosophy and principles
We have not found a documented statement by Kanei Uechi. Graham Noble cites an interview in the Okinawa Times newspaper from 1961 and his book from 1977, whose wording we have not read. From his actions we infer that he understood the tradition of his father's style as something to be developed and passed on, including outside Okinawa.
Legends and documented facts
When the style received the name Uechi-ryu differs among the sources. Wikipedia and the Fightingarts website give 1940 and Kanbun as the author of the name, while the IUKF federation and the IUKF Argentina website place the renaming after Kanbun's death in 1948. We have not resolved the dispute.
Wikipedia calls him the first Okinawan to allow the teaching of foreigners, but we have not found a direct source for this primacy. The training of George Mattson in 1957 and 1958 is documented. The authorship of the five additional kata differs among the sources.
Legacy
George Mattson studied at the dojo in Futenma in 1957 and 1958, and Kanei then, according to the IUKF federation, asked him to spread Uechi-ryu in America. Mattson opened a dojo in Boston. According to Wikipedia, in 1958 Uechi-ryu opened to the public, including American soldiers. According to Graham Noble, his students included Ryuko Tomoyose, Seiyu Shinjo, Seiki Itokazu and Saburo Uehara.
He died on 23 February 1991, and after his death Uechi-ryu split, according to the Fightingarts website, into dozens of organizations. His son Kanmei Uechi led the family association until his death on 13 September 2015.
Teachers, students and family
Associated Martial Arts
An Okinawan striking art reshaped in the 20th century into Japanese budo and an Olympic sport. Built on kata and hand and foot techniques.
Uechi-ryuMaster→Okinawan karate of Chinese origin, built on tiger, crane and dragon. Recognisable by the one-knuckle punch and by hard body conditioning.
Kata and forms
Ranks and titles
- 10th danUechi-ryu