I am proud to announce to the Uechi World that Ian Quitilen, student of Sensei John Felipe from the East Bay Karate dojo, was appointed the new Vice President of the IUKF. We will be hearing a lot from Ian this day forwards as Ian is an intelligent and hardworking leader of this era.
New VP, Ian Quitilen
Ian
partners with Sensei John Felipe teaching and maintain the operation of their
dojo. He has proven to me his dedication, loyalty, and respect for all
Uechi-Ryu people regardless of affiliations. His progressive ideas have always
shown promise and remarkable results.
Many
of you will get to know Ian as he is also appointed as our new Black Belt Test
Administrator. Our promotion process has shown enormous improvements since
Ian assumed the office. Testing is as simple as going onto our IUKF
website and filling simple information required. There is no more
confusing back and forth with the candidates and their senseis, trying to figure
out information and payment before a certificate is created and sent.
Thanks
to Ian, you’ll find our Black Belt promotion process a lot less complicated.
Welcome
Ian, and thank you for your commitment to the IUKF.
I want to thank Sensei George Mattson for his trust in me to carry on the IUKF as president. Along with this position comes a huge responsibility involving fairness, compassion and understanding while keeping in mind our enormous affiliations throughout the world. We must also maintain our insistence to all rules and guidelines with no exceptions.
Every effort will be utilized to grow and to advance the IUKF. As expected small changes will be announced. Please follow our posting on our website.
I appreciate all the well wishes I’ve received and look forwards to working with all our dedicated members.
I would also like to announce the IUKF is an official 501-C3 organization which means we are a non-profit organization and all funds forwarded to the IUKF could be tax deductible.
As President, I have been a businessman owning and operating businesses for over 30 years. Our Secretary Mario Rizzo is an attorney at Law who will address all our legal issues. Andrew Fink is a CPA with an abundance of experience dealing with the IRS and well versed with “non-profits”.
The IUKF thanks you for your support through the past years. We hope to maintain our relationship as the torch is passed and continue to help grow and improve the legacy of Sensei George Mattson our Grandmaster.
“Sitka Uechi-Ryu karate club from Sitka, Alaska is proud and honored to have Darin Yee as our uplink. His style of teaching and philosophy strongly agree with our approaches and views. We value Darin’s input on evolving techniques. If certain techniques are not effective, why teach them? It is very important to teach responsibly, by analyzing and understanding moves and executing them to their fullest effectiveness. We are also proud and honored to be an IUKF dojo of good standing. The IUKF is an extremely supportive group with high standards.”
I was asked these questions by a member of the IUKF from overseas, and I wanted to share my answers with the rest of the IUKF community.
1) Is Uechi Ryu about breaking boards?
The quick and easy answer to this question is NO. Breaking boards is not what karate is about. Breaking boards just demonstrates personal qualities one was gifted at birth. Not everyone was fortunate enough to have the size, strength, or speed to be the greatest fighter.
Karate was and always will be the science of fighting and teaching every student to use movements to be the best they can be. We should all realize that every martial arts student is different, and not everyone can do what someone else does. We should all train and study to understand what’s best for ourselves and not try to be exactly like someone else.
The greatest fighter does not mean the greatest martial artist. I grew up in a neighborhood where tremendous fighters never took one martial arts lesson. Train honestly and diligently, and you will gain the respect of everyone.
2) How do I achieve control in the vicious attacks of Sanchin? How many students train in an aggressive way?
We are a product of our beliefs and training. If you are asking about the Sanchin kata, I agree Sanchin is an aggressive kata. I’ve always been taught that defense is usually a move backward. In my opinion, Sanchin is a continuous forward kata which demonstrates our intention to be aggressive.
Although most people just perform their katas with strong, powerful movements, my firm conviction is that everyone should train like the Dragon with slow, decisive, exact actions seeking perfection in balance and stability. Second, train like the Crane and flow with smooth, connecting movements while the body adjusts to the timing and feeling the natural body movements to create the most powerful strikes and intercepting blocks. The power of the Tiger can be achieved in so many different ways.
As for how many students train in that fashion? I try not to judge others for what they do. I have always trained to improve myself and freely offer my acquired experiences to anyone wanting what I have to offer. Everyone should train in whatever way they feel would make them the most productive martial artist they can be.
3) Does the kata end with each one in the corner of the Dojo?
While I’m not sure of the intent of the question, I hope the following will suffice.
As performed by contemporary practitioners, Uechi-Ryu Kata will begin at one spot and end up wherever they end up. However, I trained in the old Chinese belief where I would start on one spot and end my kata in the same spot. Much Chinese nuances and philosophy have been lost since Pong Gai Noon was brought to Okinawa.
The sad truth is most people study believing they will become a great fighter. That may be true. Training will give most people more confidence, and that alone will increase your fighting abilities.
Always remember, you are who you are. You will hopefully become the best that you can be. Please do not compare yourself with others. No matter how good of a fighter you may believe you’ve become, sooner or later, there will always be someone younger, stronger, and faster.
Always be proud of your training and accomplishments. You can always share and pass on your knowledge, but no one can transfer their abilities. Being a good fighter does not automatically make you a great teacher.
4) Should you fight like you fight in Kyokushin, letting the blows in? Or are you looking for a knockout?
I’ve met a lot of students who believe Uechi-Ryu is a one-strike one-kill system. I cannot speak for others, but I’ve trained continuously for over 60 years, and I honestly cannot expect that outcome with most of my Uechi-Ryu strikes. We train to understand our personal abilities and limitations.
I trained to use my Uechi-Ryu movements to deflect an attack while injecting a counterattack simultaneously.
Please understand the most important thing in a fight is not how much you can hurt your opponent. The most important thing about getting into a fight is not getting hurt yourself.
The IUKF is proud to announce that we are now represented by incredible practitioners in Cuba! Read on to see pictures!
This picture is from a martial arts festival in Cuba. All the different recognized styles and teachers were present, including Uechi-Ryu. Uechi-Ryu is now an official recognize style in Cuba!
We would like to recognize Noslen M. Torres, who is the IUKF’s Cuban authority for Uechi-Ryu.
A small demonstration in the Antonio Maceo Park, Cuba.
Una pequeña demostración en el Parque Antonio Maceo, Cuba.
Sensei Jorge Félix is the representative of Kokusai Shinzen Ryu Tai Jutsu Kyokai for Cuba.
Sensei Jorge Félix Representante de la Kokusai Shinzen Ryu Tai Jutsu Kyokai para Cuba.
Sensei Eddy Joaquín is the representative for Cuba for Ryuei Ryu Karate Kobudo; he is a direct student of Master Tsuguo Sakumoto.
Sensei Eddy Joaquín representante para Cuba de la Ryuei Ryu Karate Kobudo, estudiante directo del maestro Tsuguo Sakumoto.
Gregorio Emilio Morales is the representative for Cuba for Muso Shinden Ryu. Picture features Iaido, Jorge, and Félix.
Gregorio Emilio Morales representante para Cuba de la Muso Shinden Ryu Iaido y Jorge Félix.
Shihan Nubia Bregado is the teacher of Shotokan Karate and Naginata. He is the President of the National Association of Martial Arts.
Shihan Nubia Bregado, maestra de Shotokan Karate y de Naginata. Presidenta de la Asociación Nacional de Artes Marciales.
