Kanbun Uechi

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Kanbun Uechi (May 5, 1877 – November 25, 1948) was an Okinawan martial arts instructor. In 1897 at the age of 20, Kanbun fled to Fuzhou in Fukien Province, China to escape Japanese military conscription. There, he studied a Kung Fu system called Pangai-noon (or Pangainun). After returning to Okinawa, he moved to Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture, where in 1925 he established the Institute of "Pangainun-ryu (half-hard and soft) Todi-jutsu", and began the process of launching his own dojo.

The style he taught was renamed in 1940 to "Uechi Ryu" Karate in his honor, and is one of the four major styles of Okinawan Karate. It has students and dojos around the world, and it is particularly popular in the Northeastern United States (along with one of its variants, Shohei-ryu).

[edit] Related Sites

• Uechi-ryu academic journal

• Canadian Uechi-ryu site

• Biography from the official site of the Okinawan Prefecture