AndrewGreen

Anything you can get with a yell, you can get without. Yelling helps bring out the aggression, it will help focus you, but it's not neccessary for powerful strikes. If it really did give you more power baseball players would use it as well. Watch some full contact fights, you'll never see one. If you have your mouth open and get hit your jaw will break, better of just keeping your mouth closed.

Probably the best Uechi site around is George Mattson's http://www.uechi-ryu.com Forums, lots of articles and some really dood video clips showing kata, application and sparring

First the translations, Tsuki is thrust, not punch. Uke is recieve, not block Agreed, I don't like trying to define karate as a sport, it is not, a sport is goverened by rules, Okinawan karate is not. However this may simply be because it is directed at non-karate folk. Now you can set up rules and have a sport contained within karate but to often the rest is neglected. Point fighting and kata performance is not what my karate is about, but it may be for others, thats there choice. It certainely wasn't about that 50+ years ago in Okinawa. Huh? Keep your feet on the ground, unless your kicking or blocking a kick. This is typical of Shotokan, Okinawan styles tend to use a more upright posture. Feet far apart gives you less mobility, your lead leg becomes an easy target, and its really hard to sprawl. Little note: Yoko-geri is not really found much in Okinawan karate. Most side kicks are more of a stomp kick done while holding on to the opponent. That is at least how they exist in kata. The side kick was a development of sport karate, it compromises your position greatly, unless you have rules which don't allow the opponent to take advantage of this, which there where. umm... Ship the rest, I'll get to the point, thats a long article Okinawan karate is, as you said, not easy to define. It comes in many different flavours, all of which do share some things in common. Modern versions make the task even trickier as some schools follow the sport karate path, training in kata, for performance and point fighting. Both of which would probably seem silly to someone 100 years ago. Trying to define what is karate and what is not, restricts it. This is the main problem with karate, and other arts, today. Karate is defined by the practice of karate kata. Within those kata certain things can be seen which might best describe what is at the heart of Okinawan karate. Thrusting strikes, not punches. Open handed thrusts are there as well. Power generation varies, but as a general rule the body is used (not just the hips) to accelerate the strike, at contact relevant muscles are tightened in order to penertrate through the target. Controlling the opponent is important, according to the kata anyway. This is done through grabs, redirections, pulls, off balancing, locking, etc. One often receives the incoming assault, receives it (Uke) in such a way as to prevent an immediate follow up, and proceeds with a strike, lock and/or take down. Strikes target the vital points of the human body, the groin, the solar plexus, the ribs, the neck, etc. My definition would be something along the lines of: Okinawan Karate is a close range hand to hand combat art which mixes striking and grappling with the goal of eliminating an opponents ability to attack, either by restraining and immobalising them or incapacitating them through the use of strikes. (ex. forearm smash to the carotid artery) But if pushed on that I'd admit that that not really correct, there is more to it then that. But that may be what is at the core of it...

LeaF, First Shihanryu is not an Okinawan style, it is a North American style, based primarily on Shotokan (Japanese) according to there webpage. Second I don't think that article really describes what Okinawan karate is about, likely as a result of the first point. Off to class now, when I get a chance I'll explain myself.

I'm not an aikido stylist but based on my experiences, Aikido has some of the best "theory" out there, the understanding of body mechanics and how things react is very high. BUT it lacks in application of that theory. By that I mean training against a resisting opponent. Without that gaining the timing to make any of those techniques work will take a very long time, if it ever happens.

If this is the case, then perhaps there is an error in your method of practice. or maybe your practicing something which was in fact not intended as a block...

As for sai, according to the Ryukyu Kobudo Hozon Shinko Kai: http://www.ryukyu-kobudo.com/ "passed through India and China to enter the Ryukyu where it was further developed. During the Ryukyu Kingdom Era, it was originally devised as a policing tool for the protection of the King and high ministers. Used in combat situations and in the arresting of ruffians, criminals. The Busa (martial artists) formulated Kata so people could train by themselves in offensive and defensive techniques. The primary emphasis being self-defence and policing" and while I'm at it "Nunchaku Popular myth says that the Nunchaku was used as flail, however it is not true. The Okinawan flail, like European, had long handles. The Nunchaku was originally used as a horse bit. As in the picture on the left. It was not very popular as it has a low effectiveness when used against the sword or staff. In situations against Tonfa or Kama, it had more chance of defeating the opponent. Nunchaku exists in many martial arts forms all over the world and became very popular due to Bruce Lee and other high profile moviemakers. This weapon is never the less effective in self-defence, if the time is taken to become proficient with it. Beware, this weapon has the tendency to cause bruises, especially when learning." They even have pictures of the horse bit, they're quite usable, but feel funny at first.