Oftentimes we get focused on the details of kata techniques and lose sight of the overall strategy that defines what it is we are trying to accomplish and how. The strategy of Uechi-ryu karate is implied by the movements of the kata and guidance by our teachers. However, it is useful to understand the strategy that the techniques we practice support.
Before defining the strategy, a perspective on the origins of traditional martial arts is helpful. Whether for military reasons or protection of one’s life, traditional martial arts evolved during very violent times. War, robberies, challenges, and duels to the death were common. Today we are learning a fighting system that is rooted in dealing with deadly violence, not in the handling of a social misunderstanding or in competing in sport karate. So, with that perspective, here is the strategy of Uechi-ryu karate.
Uechi-ryu karate is a traditional fighting system of Okinawa designed to end a violent encounter as quickly as possible using the weapons of the body to strike vital areas that disable an assailant. The system uses the principles of intercept and control where one intercepts by moving into the personal space of the aggressor to simultaneously disrupt and strike.
We bear the responsibility in learning Uechi-ryu karate to avoid using the skills that are developed unless there is absolutely no other choice. We are using our Uechi-ryu karate when we choose to not provoke, to deescalate, and to walk away.
