From George Mattson:
I would like to get Ken’s story out to the world, validating the successful experience of Ken Phillips, who began training with no background in Uechi-ryu, resulting in his successful Shodan black belt testing this March. Ken trained exclusively with the Mattson Academy Virtual Dojo for two years. His in-person, physical test took place at the 2022 Winterfest held in Florida. Ken’s only training, until Winterfest, was his individual, on-line Platinum member sessions, following the Mattson Academy’s coaching system.
Dan Kumite: George Mattson’s coaching method, which teaches the attacking and defensive moves of this drill as kata-like segments, utilizing Mattson’s “visualization-Uke” as a partner. This video shows Ken’s first performance of the drill with a physical partner.
Seisan Bunkai: This IUKF dantest requirement, has candidate demonstrating defensive-counter attacking segments of the kata. Again, this video shows Ken performing this drill for the first time with a physical partner.
Free-style Sparring: Ken trained using Mattson’s coaching tips that utilized OldWay movement/Kimi, along with actual rounds of sparring with visualized opponents. Again, the video shows Ken in a first-time match with a physical partner.
