I’m interested to know why you train.
I would say I am not interested in which system you chose to train, but, I suppose, that can be quite revealing as to why you train.
Before posing the question to you I should reveal my reasons for training and why I choose to continue practicing the Uechi-ryu system.
1. Initially, I wanted to learn self-defense.
2. I try to stay fit, and the practice of martial arts keeps my interest while I get exercise.
3. I value the camaraderie and the friendships I’ve made.
4. I like the sense of history attached to a “traditional” system. (What is “traditional? That’s another subject for contemplation.)
Now some reasons I’ve stayed with Uechi-ryu:
An important reason I’ve stayed with Uechi-ryu is because I feel it is an effective “civil defense system”. Note that I don’t use the terms: military, defense (by itself), or combat. Are there “gaps”? Is there something missing? It depends on the individual and how the individual practices and views the system. This brings me to the most important reason I stay with Uechi-ryu: After many years of practicing the system, I am always amazed at how much more there is to learn within the system.
The practice of Uechi-ryu has led me to an endless path of self-discovery in that I am able to explore how body movements work and how body mechanics affect the manifestation of power, timing and application. This is information that no one could have told me in words. Even if I had been told (and probably was), the lessons would not have stuck nearly as well as when I discover them myself, and discover how they relate to me. I learned long ago to try not to “force” myself into the system but rather mold the system to me.
I’m not suggesting I’ve changed anything in the system—I haven’t begun to discover everything in it, and even if I were so foolish as to say I had, I wouldn’t presume to change anything. Instead, I try to understand how the system works with my temperament, physical makeup, and perception of things around me. Not many of us practicing the same system will look the same.
Regarding the self-defense aspect of practicing Uechi-ryu, I feel the system will provide me with the tools I need, should I ever need them. Do I think the system is all encompassing? Here’s a straight answer—yes and no. When I feel there is something missing, it forces me to take a closer look at the system to discover if that something can be addressed. Of course, this means that I can’t be what I call a “kata literalist”—a person who does not look at all the aspects and applications of techniques practiced in kata, or the “it’s not in the kata, it must be wrong” type of person. (I wish I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard “Gee, that’s not in Uechi-ryu”.)
How does the system stand up when compared to other systems? I suppose that depends on the individual. Of one thing I am sure: no matter how skilled one is in any system, there are many other people out there who are better, stronger, smarter, meaner and/or more talented. Practicing any system with the intention of having discovered the ONE system that that makes one invincible is a fool’s errand.
So, now I ask you. Why do you train?
Steve
Why do you train?
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Beautifully stated Steve..
I've been doing Uechi for so long, I've forgotten why I do it. It is just a habit! 
I do know one thing. I get bored easily, so if it weren't for Uechi-ryu, I'd be an out-of-shape business exec who would jump onto every new and trendy exercise program offered and would last about two weeks.
I do Uechi-ryu because it is what I term a "Thinking person's way to exercise." The fact that I'm learning something of value in the way of self-defense gives me something to measure my progress and keeps me looking into the core of the program, but it certainly isn't nor has it been, something that drives me to the dojo every couple of days.
Would I have taken some self-defense courses while experimenting with the latest exercise fad? Absolutely!
Would I have stuck with these self protection courses as a long term physical fitness program? Absolutely not. I would have become just as bored with having someone put me in an arm lock and getting out of it as I would have been jumping rope, exercising to the "oldies" or shadow boxing to some Taebo video.
There is something about the Uechi training that transends the obvious and keeps many more people coming back.
The biggest mistake teachers can make is to try and convert Uechi-ryu into something it wasn't designed to be. You know... to cut away the thing about it that appeals to the "thinking person". and attempt to make it a just another course to be taken after Taebo and before signing up for the Juniper sniper course.
Hey Steve... thanks for the great thread.
I do know one thing. I get bored easily, so if it weren't for Uechi-ryu, I'd be an out-of-shape business exec who would jump onto every new and trendy exercise program offered and would last about two weeks.
I do Uechi-ryu because it is what I term a "Thinking person's way to exercise." The fact that I'm learning something of value in the way of self-defense gives me something to measure my progress and keeps me looking into the core of the program, but it certainly isn't nor has it been, something that drives me to the dojo every couple of days.
Would I have taken some self-defense courses while experimenting with the latest exercise fad? Absolutely!
Would I have stuck with these self protection courses as a long term physical fitness program? Absolutely not. I would have become just as bored with having someone put me in an arm lock and getting out of it as I would have been jumping rope, exercising to the "oldies" or shadow boxing to some Taebo video.
There is something about the Uechi training that transends the obvious and keeps many more people coming back.
The biggest mistake teachers can make is to try and convert Uechi-ryu into something it wasn't designed to be. You know... to cut away the thing about it that appeals to the "thinking person". and attempt to make it a just another course to be taken after Taebo and before signing up for the Juniper sniper course.
Hey Steve... thanks for the great thread.
GEM
"Do or do not. there is no try!"
"Do or do not. there is no try!"
Fighting incorporates just about every ability humans have. I-- and I'm clearly biased-- feel it's the pinnacle of athleticism. Speed, explosiveness, balance, dexteritiy, timing, general cooridination, hand-eye coordination, strength, muscle stamina, lung and heart stamina... you have to have quick reflexes, think a lot but not think about anything...
Sheesh, I'd get so bored just playing whiffle ball all day after reading that list.
Sheesh, I'd get so bored just playing whiffle ball all day after reading that list.
Well, I was "sucker-punched" by Uechi, pure and simple.
No way I could sit in a gym cranking away on a machine with my mind on the beach, I'm just not that kind of person. I'd rather be on my mountain bike sweating across the salt marsh in the open air with a buddy.
It was Winter that brought me to Uechi--I have no winter sports interests, and I knew Karate is practised indoors in the winter.
I was both very keen and very un-confident to attempt martial arts of any kind, being a small person and a musician needing my hands.
However, once I started, I was sucked in by what Mr. David Mott described as:"the sheer imperfectability" of Karate. You're constantly learning something you can never perfect, and yet you continue to try.
There's something else too:
The routine enactment of attacks and defenses puts you in a headspace where you become very familiar with contact--not in a brutal way, but you definitely have to lick your wounds on occasion. This reduces the "latent anxiety" many people feel when they envision a possible physical encounter.
To them it's a fearful, alien concept.
To you (the trainee) it's just another Tuesday night class; go home, rub in some liniment.
Ouch! feels good!
One final thought:
I've had people say:" Gee, it must be a great way to relieve stress: go pound a bag or kick a partner or whatever..."
But what I've found is that Karate has given me a way to PREVENT stress so I really have none to relieve; the state of mind prevents it in the first place.
Trying to relieve stress through violent training is a REALLY bad idea, as any partner to such will attest; plus, it impedes your mind as far as receiving and imprinting information is concerned.
NM
No way I could sit in a gym cranking away on a machine with my mind on the beach, I'm just not that kind of person. I'd rather be on my mountain bike sweating across the salt marsh in the open air with a buddy.
It was Winter that brought me to Uechi--I have no winter sports interests, and I knew Karate is practised indoors in the winter.
I was both very keen and very un-confident to attempt martial arts of any kind, being a small person and a musician needing my hands.
However, once I started, I was sucked in by what Mr. David Mott described as:"the sheer imperfectability" of Karate. You're constantly learning something you can never perfect, and yet you continue to try.
There's something else too:
The routine enactment of attacks and defenses puts you in a headspace where you become very familiar with contact--not in a brutal way, but you definitely have to lick your wounds on occasion. This reduces the "latent anxiety" many people feel when they envision a possible physical encounter.
To them it's a fearful, alien concept.
To you (the trainee) it's just another Tuesday night class; go home, rub in some liniment.
Ouch! feels good!
One final thought:
I've had people say:" Gee, it must be a great way to relieve stress: go pound a bag or kick a partner or whatever..."
But what I've found is that Karate has given me a way to PREVENT stress so I really have none to relieve; the state of mind prevents it in the first place.
Trying to relieve stress through violent training is a REALLY bad idea, as any partner to such will attest; plus, it impedes your mind as far as receiving and imprinting information is concerned.
NM
I, too, tend to get bored by mindless, repetitious exercise (except swimming).
I could argue that karate is repetitious, but it’s repetitious in a different kind of way.
And here Uechi is a system that has only eight kata (only three?), and relatively short kata, at that. But they sure keep my interest.
2Green, one of my old training partners is a professional saxophonist. Broke his thumb training. Somehow, he managed to slip the cast off for his gigs.....
Karate......”sheer imperfectability”.........I like that.
SG
I could argue that karate is repetitious, but it’s repetitious in a different kind of way.
And here Uechi is a system that has only eight kata (only three?), and relatively short kata, at that. But they sure keep my interest.
2Green, one of my old training partners is a professional saxophonist. Broke his thumb training. Somehow, he managed to slip the cast off for his gigs.....
Karate......”sheer imperfectability”.........I like that.
SG
I started my MA journey when I was too young to know why, except that it was "cool". My dad was an assistant instructor for a Judo class at the local Y, so I started in that when I was about 7 or 8.
We started doing karate together when our judo club folded and the Shotokan teachers across the hall asked us to join them.
Since I was a somewhat uncoordinated, gangley thing at that age, I fell in love with the gains karate gave me. Suddenly I was agile, strong and confident. Those early influences were so intense that they made the practice of MA one of the biggest factors of my being. During the 10 year break I had between the college dojo and now, I always felt the proverbial "missing piece" that was Karate. Religion, family and a career rocket didn't cover that hole.
Someone posted the words "joy of the movement" in another thread a while ago. I think that's a great way to describe it.
The more I learn about Uechi-Ryu, he more I prefer it to my old style. On many levels, I'm gaining a better, more effective karate education now than I ever did from previous dojos. I know that has a great deal to do with Fuller sensei, as he is an outstanding teacher. But there is quite a bit in the overall style of Uechi-Ryu that I find so much more... uh, ... just more.
On a side note, it's interesting to see my son, who is almost 10 going through similar problems with other sports. Not the best baseball player, not the best football player. Kinda' awkward and uncoordinated, ADHD, etc. We were talking about sports at dinner a while ago and he told me that doesn't want to play any little league stuff any more, he just wants to concentrate on Uechi-Ryu. I liked hearing that.
-Walkman
We started doing karate together when our judo club folded and the Shotokan teachers across the hall asked us to join them.
Since I was a somewhat uncoordinated, gangley thing at that age, I fell in love with the gains karate gave me. Suddenly I was agile, strong and confident. Those early influences were so intense that they made the practice of MA one of the biggest factors of my being. During the 10 year break I had between the college dojo and now, I always felt the proverbial "missing piece" that was Karate. Religion, family and a career rocket didn't cover that hole.
Someone posted the words "joy of the movement" in another thread a while ago. I think that's a great way to describe it.
The more I learn about Uechi-Ryu, he more I prefer it to my old style. On many levels, I'm gaining a better, more effective karate education now than I ever did from previous dojos. I know that has a great deal to do with Fuller sensei, as he is an outstanding teacher. But there is quite a bit in the overall style of Uechi-Ryu that I find so much more... uh, ... just more.
On a side note, it's interesting to see my son, who is almost 10 going through similar problems with other sports. Not the best baseball player, not the best football player. Kinda' awkward and uncoordinated, ADHD, etc. We were talking about sports at dinner a while ago and he told me that doesn't want to play any little league stuff any more, he just wants to concentrate on Uechi-Ryu. I liked hearing that.
-Walkman
Defense, Defense, Defense
Steve Sensei,
As you mentioned the vast majority of us initially start to train for self-defense. I stayed with it for a long time for that reason. Now add to that the familiar refrain of "self-esteem careening down the hallways of elementary and middle schools.
Karate and, in particular, the Uechi system has been boosting real self-esteem for decades in the U.S. long before it became a populist term in the 90's.
Lastly, Western culture has largely abandoned rituals that were practiced for centuries that helped juniors bridge the gap to adulthood (especially boys) Ref: the book titled "Iron John". Uechi provides the ritual needed by so many youths to bridge that gap through the dan testing.
To come of age for a teen in a Uechi dojo is synonomous with passing Shodan, by which the one-time importunate and misguided youth has learned fully the hard and soft lessons of the dojo. We thus, replace, the age-old week long tribal solo hunt with a 4 hour dan test.
It all comes out the same in the end.
Mike
As you mentioned the vast majority of us initially start to train for self-defense. I stayed with it for a long time for that reason. Now add to that the familiar refrain of "self-esteem careening down the hallways of elementary and middle schools.
Karate and, in particular, the Uechi system has been boosting real self-esteem for decades in the U.S. long before it became a populist term in the 90's.
Lastly, Western culture has largely abandoned rituals that were practiced for centuries that helped juniors bridge the gap to adulthood (especially boys) Ref: the book titled "Iron John". Uechi provides the ritual needed by so many youths to bridge that gap through the dan testing.
To come of age for a teen in a Uechi dojo is synonomous with passing Shodan, by which the one-time importunate and misguided youth has learned fully the hard and soft lessons of the dojo. We thus, replace, the age-old week long tribal solo hunt with a 4 hour dan test.
It all comes out the same in the end.
Mike
