In the early days in Okinawan, there were three styles of unarmed fighting: Naha-te, Shuri-te, and Tomari-te, named after the three principal cities in which they flourished. Even today, little is known about Tomari-te, a style somewhat similar to Naha-te.

Okinawan karate today is traced back to two major original groups. One is Shorin-ryu or Shuri-te and the other is Shorei-ryu or Naha-te. Naha-te is itself divided into two styles: Goju-ryu and Uechi-ryu. Shuri-te is divided into three main branches: Shobayoshi-ryu, Kobayashi-ryu, and Matsubayashi-ryu. All three names are still interpreted as Shorin-ryu or “Shaolin way,” reflecting their Chinese heritage. So the three main styles of karate on Okinawa today are: Goju-ryu, Shorin-ryu, and Uechi-ryu.

Uechi-ryu was founded by Kanbun Uechi who studied a system called Pangai-noon (Pwang-gay-noon) kung-fu under the tutelage of Shushiwa (Chou tzu-ho in Chinese) in China at the Central Temple in the Fukien Province during the years of 1897-1910.

Pangai-noon means half hard/half soft, it is the style of interwoven movements of the tiger, crane, and dragon. The half hard/half soft probably refers to the inner softness and outer hardness of one’s body during practice.

Isaac Newton’s second law of physics states that “the acceleration (or rate of change of momentum) of a body is proportionate to the force causing it and takes place in the direction of the applied force.” This acceleration cannot occur when a body, or parts thereof, is tensed or hard. Acceleration can only occur when the body is relaxed or soft. Soft overcomes hard and hard compliments soft. The notion of soft overcoming hard and hard overcoming soft implies some sort of conflict. This concept of conflict must be erased if one is to gain a true understanding of Budo.

After ten years of study and three years of teaching, Kanbun brought back from China to Okinawa three kata: sanchin, seisan, and sanseirui. The names of the kata are believed to mean: 3 steps or 3 conflicts for sanchin (mind, body, and spirit); 13 positions of defense and attack for seisan; 36 positions of defense and attack for sanseirui. In addition to the three main kata, there are five other intermediate kata created by Kanei Uechi: kanshiwa, kanshu or dini seisan, seichin, seirui, and konchin.

Sanchin, the first and foremost kata of Uechi-ryu is the foundation for this system. It develops strength and hardness of the fingers, hands, arms; proper stance, posture, blocking and punching ability, and composure. Sanchin is so important that all Kanbun did for three years was work on sanchin. “Mastering sanchin alone warrants at least ten years of training,” was a favorite expression of Kanbun.

Kanbun Uechi taught only a handful of people, most notably his son Kanei Uechi. When Kanbun died, Kanei Uechi named his father’s art of self defense after his father, Uechi-ryu.

Uechi-ryu is a specialized method of self-defense that concentrates on the use of the single-knuckle punch, spear-hand strikes, the pointed kick, elbow strike, and the circular block. The style emphasizes strong conditioning methods designed to make the body impervious to kicks or punches. The system stresses low front kicks directed to the legs and lower body. The legs as well as the arms are used to block kicks. Uechi-ryu is extremely effective for close range fighting.