Shohei Ryu/Uechi Ryu

[Kyonovice]

Hi all

Does anyone know much about the above "styles"? I understand they are essentially the same as each other having split from an Okinawan style, however that is all I know.

There is a club fairly local to myself that I want to try, but I know nothing about it!

Any help please...

[Nidan Melbourne]

Interesting you don't really find many Uechi-Ryu dojos outside of Okinawa. But haven't heard of Shohei-Ryu before.

From what i know there is approx 7 kata but not much else unfortunately.

[Kyonovice]

Thanks, I found some stuff on wiki but not much else.

Do you know what Uechi Ryu is like? Sparring, stances ec? Coming from mainly shotokan with some kyokushin in the mix, the difference between those 2 in regards to stances is quite stark.

[JR 137]

Thanks, I found some stuff on wiki but not much else.

Do you know what Uechi Ryu is like? Sparring, stances ec? Coming from mainly shotokan with some kyokushin in the mix, the difference between those 2 in regards to stances is quite stark.

Uechi Ryu is very different than Shotokan and Kyokushin. Traditionally, they're very big on iron body conditioning, open hand strikes, and very few types of low kicks. They like using the toes and ball of the foot, and just like their hand strikes, digging into your muscle rather than the way a fist or instep would hit you.

Of all the styles of karate, Uechi Ryu has been called the harshest in the conditioning aspect.

As Nidan Melbourne said, there's only seven or so kata in the system. They're far different than what Shotokan and/or Kyokushin guys are used to. Actually, they're very different from the old-school Okinawan schools too. Search for videos of Uechi Ryu kata on the net, and you'll know what I mean.

As with everything out there, there's good and bad. I've got a serious man-crush on Uechi Ryu, but both schools I tried an intro lesson at left a lot to be desired. They were very toned down shells of the Okinawan practicioners I saw in videos. Yes, videos and real life aren't exactly the same thing, but I was expecting the upper ranks to be training a lot closer to what I was expecting than what I saw and was told.

Uechi Ryu has had some splits relatively recently. The use of Uechi's name has been closely guarded by his family, and former several big names in Uechi Ryu have been asked to not call their art Uechi Ryu. For example, Shinyu Gushi stopped calling his art Uechi Ryu, and started calling it Pangai Noon (as did others).

Here's an interview with Gushi that'll shed far more light onto Uechi Ryu than I can...

http://www.dragon-tsunami.org/Dtimes/Pages/articleg.htm

Like everything, there's good and bad out there. Visit the dojo and see if what they're doing is what you're looking for. With Uechi Ryu, keep a very open mind. If you haven't seen it, it's not like what you'd expect to see (hopefully in a good way).

[MatsuShinshii]

Uechi Ryu is nothing like Shotokan or Kyokushin.

From what little I know of Uechi Ryu it is based on a Chinese style called Pangai-noon. Where many styles of Karate were influenced by White Crane boxing, Arhat (Monk) boxing and Five Ancestors boxing, Uechi-Ryu is base on Tiger boxing.

It may have elements of other Quan Fa but from what I have read it is primarily based on Tiger Quan Fa. I have no idea what style.

Hope this helps.

I have never heard of Shohei Ryu and no literally nothing about it.