Uechi-ryu (上地流 Uechi-ryū) is a traditional style of Okinawan karate.
Uechi-ryū means “Style of Uechi” or “School of Uechi”. Originally called Pangai-noon, which translates to English as “half-hard, half-soft”, the style was renamed Uechi-ryū after the founder of the style, Kanbun Uechi.
Uechi-Ryū is a traditional karate style with strong Chinese roots that emphasizes compact, natural movements and techniques based on the tiger, crane and dragon. It is characterized by open hand techniques, body conditioning and the central Sanchin kata, which trains breathing technique, stability and inner strength. Compared to other karate styles, Uechi-Ryū is shorter, more explosive and places particular emphasis on resistance and efficient body structure.
Karate with Lionel Froidure – practical applications. In karate, or any other martial art, you can intervene in several different phases. In karate, these are called: go no sen, tai no sen and sen no sen.
He attacks Oi Zuki, I block and strike after his attack. I absorb his movement, strike and come back out. We could also do a Go No Sen by pivoting, striking and coming out. It’s still a go no sen. I intervene after the strike. He throws, I block and strike. So it’s in 2 steps.
Tai No Sen
Tai No Sen, it’s the body that moves, the 2 bodies move at the same time. When he attacks, I also attack at the same time, but I step out of his line of attack. I’m in a form where the 2 bodies move, I pivot but attack at the same time. There’s no longer any blocking, just an exit.
Sen No Sen
I must return during the attack. I attack his attack. I have to have a perfect reading to be able to leave at the slightest fault he makes. As soon as he starts to move, I intervene. Even with just peripheral vision, you can do it. As soon as you see something moving, you attack. You have to be under power to move instantly. If you’re behind, you can’t get away. You must attack his attack: Sen No Sen.
Sensen No Sen
In the last sensation, we’re more in a self situation, for example. He’ll think about attacking me. He pushes me and the situation escalates. The attack is imminent. Instead of letting him attack me, I attack first. I attack his intention. I attack before he launches his attack. It’s Sensen No Sen. I attack not an attack, but his intention to attack. I intervene even earlier in time.
So before he attacks, it’s Sensen No Sen. When I attack his attack, it’s Sen No Sen. Tai No Sen, I take out the body. Go No Sen, I absorb, block and strike.
In this article you will gain insight into the decoding of the kata using bunkai rules from experts. It is assumed that the kata and their deeper application are encrypted and were only passed on by masters to trustworthy students. This secret knowledge has been modified in such a way that many movements do not reveal their effective application. This means that when I see a kata, I only recognize the obvious and not the deeper meaning or fighting strategy.
Karate bunkai refers to the analysis and application of techniques and movements in karate kata. Kata are predetermined sequences of movements used in karate training to teach basic techniques, strategies and principles. Bunkai literally means “dissection” or “analysis” and refers to the process of understanding the movements in a kata and recognizing their practical application in real combat situations.
Through bunkai, karateka learn how to effectively apply the techniques from the kata in self-defense situations. It helps to understand the deeper principles and concepts behind the movements, which are often not obvious when practicing only the kata itself. Bunkai can be practiced in a variety of ways, including partner drills where the techniques are applied in controlled sparring situations.
Chojun Miyagi
Don’t let the embuse fool you.
Defense techniques include the attack, attack techniques include the defense.
There is only ever one opponent.
Every movement has a meaning.
The withdrawing hand always holds something.
Use the shortest route to your attacker.
Control the head and you control the opponent.
There are no blocks in the kata.
The kata shows the correct angle.
Touching your own body means touching your opponent.
Hard on soft and soft on hard.
There are no pauses.
Bill Burgar
Every movement in kata has a meaning.
Kata applications are always against realistic attacks.
There are always several applications for a kata movement.
The applications are usually only against 1 opponent.
There are no blocks in kata.
Every kata movement is an attack on vital points (Kyusho).
The withdrawing hand usually holds something (hikite).
Large turns are mostly throws
George A. Dillman
The kata must be interpreted against realistic attacks.
The kata does not contain any blocking techniques.
The kata is designed for practical applications throughout.
The kata contains important information for the applications.
The actual technique lies in the intermediate movement.
There is more than one correct application for each movement.
Each kata technique contains vital point attacks (Kyusho-Jitsu).
Lawrance Kane & Chris Wilder
There are always several applications for a technique.
One Minute Bunkai presents 6 videos about Naihanchi Shodan or also called Tekki Shodan as a bunkai serie. This kata really counts in close quarter combat in the street. It is a fundamental master kata and can be seen in almost all karate styles.
Sensei Guy Brodeur, a highly accomplished martial artist with a 7th Dan ranking in Traditional Shotokan Karate. He boasts an impressive background, having been a four-time National Champion in various traditional styles and winning the SKI’s World Championship in Team Kata in 1985.
Despite his success in competition and his strong foundation in Traditional Shotokan Karate, Guy felt a need for further development in his martial arts journey. In 1998, he encountered Sensei Steve Ubl, which significantly altered his perspective and approach to karate. This encounter redirected his path while maintaining his dedication to Traditional Shotokan Karate.
The narrative highlights the transformative power of training with a different sensei and how a single experience can revolutionize one’s martial arts journey. It also emphasizes the importance of solo training. We are happy to give you a brief insight into his skills and ideas here.
Demonstration: Concepts within Kata Bunkai
Demonstartion: Delivering body mass through technique
Back to the roots of karate in Okinawa. This report shows the original and pure Karate styles in the presence of Okinawa with their heritage. A human body becomes the ultimate destructive weapon with its mysterious divine techniques. Karate is a martial art far beyond your imagination. It can only be mastered with years of continuation and practice to reach the state of true self-consciousness.
Motobu Chōki (1870 – 1944) was an Okinawan karate master and founder of Motobu-Ryu. He was born into a branch of the Ryukyuan royal family, and at the age of 12, he and his older brother Motobu Chōyū invited Ankō Itosu to learn karate. Chōyū was also a noted martial artist.
Motobu also studied karate under Sakuma, Matsumura Sōkon, and Kōsaku Matsumora. He excelled especially in kumite and was already known throughout Okinawa in his twenties. As he grew up, he came to be regarded as the best in Okinawa in terms of practical karate techniques. He is reported to have been very agile, which gained him the nickname Motobu no Saru (“Motobu the Monkey”). He distanced himself from the modernization trend in karate, focusing only on kata Naihanchi and concentrating on kumite practice.
Find more information about the basic kata Naihanchi-Tekki of Motobu-Ryu.
Kamae is in the heart, not a physical manifestation.
Everything is natural, and changing.
One does not have to take care to block every single attack by an oppenent with weak stricking power.
One must develop the ability to deflect an attack even from behind.
In a real confrontation, more than anything else one should strike to the face first, as this is the most effective.
Karate is Sente (Here, sente means the initiative, or the first move; Karate ni Sente Nashi – there is no first move in karate).
The position of the legs and hips in Naifuanchin no Kata (Naihanchi/Tekki) is the basics of karate.
Twisting to the left or right from the Naifuanchin stance will give you the stance used in a real confrontation. Twisting ones way of thinking about Naifuanchin left and right, the various meanings in each movement of the kata will also becom clear.
One must always try and block the attack at its soure (i.e. block not the attacking hand, but deeper on the arm).
The blocking hand must be able to become the attacking hand in an instant. Blocking with one hand then countering with the other is not true bujutsu. Real bujutsu presses forward and blocks and counters in the same motion.
One cannot use continuous attacks against true karate. That is because the blocks of true karate make it impossible for the oppenent to launch a second attack.
I still do not yet know the best way to punch the makiwara (note: this statement was made when Choki was over 60!).
It’s interestin, but when I just think about performing a kata, when I’m seated, I break a sweat.
When punching to the face, one must thrust as if punching through to the back of the head.
When fighting a boxer, it is better to go with his flow, and take up a rhythm with both of your hands.
It is necessary to drink alcohol and pursue other fun human activities. The art (i.e. karate) of someone who is too serious has no “flavor”.
It is OK to take two steps forward or back in the same kamae, but over three steps, one must change the position (facing) of their guard.
When I fought the foreign boxer in Kyoto, he was taller then me so I jumped up and punched him in the face. This is effective against people wo are taller than you.
I started having real fights at TsuJi when I was young, and fought over 100 of them, but I was never hit in the face.
The renowned Sensei Gimberline demonstrates his bunkai interpretation of the kata Bassai-Dai with practical exercises.
Bassai translates as “destroy the wall” or “storm the fortress”. Accordingly, the kata should also be performed powerfully. It is said to have been created by Matsumura Sōkon and can be traced back to the Okinawan Tōde-Katas. It is believed that it was taught in its original form by Chinese masters as early as the late 13th century and came to Okinawa as a result of trade relations. Today it is no longer possible to determine how far today’s Bassai Dai still corresponds to its ancient origin.
Bassai Dai belongs to the group of Shorin kata, whose training focus, in addition to the techniques to be executed, is to train the karateka’s speed. The main characteristic of the kata is that the individual techniques are performed very quickly and powerfully. It contains many defensive block and leverage techniques and comparatively few leg techniques. With about 40 individual techniques, Bassai Dai is one of the longer katas. Therefore, it is one of the katas that are very often performed both in Dōjō and in kata competitions.
“In karate, hitting, thrusting, and kicking are not the only methods, throwing techniques and pressure against joints are included … all these techniques should be studied referring to basic kata”
Mixed martial arts champion Erik Paulson from @CSWAssociation tests ancient Karate techniques from Okinawa. These bunkai (kata applications) are found in Bubishi – the Bible of Karate.
What is MMA?
MMA stands for Mixed Martial Arts and is a full-contact combat sport that combines techniques from various martial arts and combat sports. MMA allows a variety of techniques from boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, judo and karate to be effective both in standing combat and on the ground.
Prohibited techniques in MMA include attacks to the back of the head, spine, eyes and genitals, kicks or punches to the head of an opponent lying on the ground, headbutts, biting, hair pulling and unsportsmanlike behaviour such as holding on to the cage.
Further applications and examples of self-defence can be found here under the heading Bunkai Videos.
“Winning Kumite” is a karate training video showcasing practical and innovative techniques from South African team coach Keith Geyer.
This video was created to help prepare for the 2000 8th World Shoto Cup in Japan. It follows team member Johan La Grange, who made it to the kumite final. Keith Geyer has represented South Africa internationally for 14 years and has won the South African kumite championship six times. The training techniques in this video are useful for karate practitioners of all styles who want to improve their kumite skills (Source: JKA SKA Australasia www.jka-skc-australasia.com.au).
Meitatsu Yagi sensei, International Meibu-Kan Gojyu-Ryu Karate-Do Association.
Master Meitatsu Yagi shows how effective karate techniques can be applied. Everything is based on the best possible efficiency, between technique, power and intuition.
The goal is to use as little energy as possible and with simple and targeted movements to incapacitate the opponent. Because there is never a second chance to correct a mistake.
In simplicity lies success, if you look behind the technique.
André Bertel is a prominent figure in the world of traditional Shotokan karate. Known for his dedication to the teachings of Master Tetsuhiko Asai, Bertel has achieved international recognition for his technical expertise and deep understanding of karate principles. He holds a high Dan rank and is often sought after for seminars and workshops worldwide. His approach to karate emphasizes precision, fluidity, and the integration of traditional techniques with modern training methodologies. Bertel’s contributions to the martial art continue to inspire karate practitioners globally, maintaining the legacy of his mentor while advancing the practice of Shotokan karate.
Main Points for Full-Body Weight Techniques in Karate
Kime (Focus) Maximize power at the moment of impact.
Hara (Center of Gravity) Use core muscles for balance and stability.
Kinetic Chain Coordinate body parts to generate power.
Proper Breathing Exhale sharply at impact for energy focus.
Oizuki (Lunge Punch) Drive from the back foot, rotate hips, snap punch.
Mae Geri (Front Kick) Thrust hip forward, snap kick, retract quickly.
Gyaku Zuki (Reverse Punch) Rotate hips/shoulders, back heel grounded, punch.
Mawashi Geri (Roundhouse Kick) Pivot, swing leg using hips, contact with instep/ball.
Age Uke (Rising Block) Step forward, drive arm up with body momentum.
Stance and Footwork Stable stances and precise footwork.
Hip Rotation Use hips to add power.
Relaxation and Tension Relax before impact, tense at contact.
Visualization Visualize target and technique path.
