On October 24th, Steve Vosa’s dojo in Albuquerque, New Mexico hosted Sensei Darin Yee to share his Uechi Ryu concepts with various Kung Fu interpretations with students. Sensei Yee had the opportunity to workout with IUKF members, Mia and Trevor Parker, along with our gracious host Steve Vosa. 

At the seminar, attendees participated in drills and discussions from Sensei Darin Yee. Darin Yee would like to thank Steve Vosa’s students for their gracious hospitality and the opportunity to share these concepts.

Sensei Darin Yee wanted to share a few words on the seminar, please read below:

“I appreciate the fact Mia and Trevor traveled a great distance with a large number of students and stayed in hotels to participate in my multiday seminars.

Trevor and Mia were also accompanied by a few junior students who’d appeared to have had an excellent time.

Although Sensei Steve Vosa was extremity busy with personal matters, Sensei Steve Vosa was most hospitable. Hopefully, I will have the opportunity to repeat my visit when Sensei Steve Vosa can extend my stay with more intense workouts.”

In the Hawaiian Language, the word “ALOHA” mostly functions as a salutation and a greeting. But the word actually conveys a deeper sense of meaning, which the locals expound upon, by breaking the individual letters down into other Hawaiian terms:

A – Akahai: Kindness, expressed with tenderness

L – Lokahi: Unity, expressed with harmony

O – Olu’olu: Agreeable, expressed with pleasantness

H – Ha’aha’a: Humility, expressed with modesty

A – Ahonui: Patience, expressed with perseverance

Aloha is more than just a word of greeting or farewell or a salutation. Aloha means mutual regard and affection and extends warmth in caring with no obligation in return. Aloha is the essence of relationships in which each person is important to every other person for collective existence. Aloha means to hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen, and to know the unknowable….

On November 9, 2019, Darin Yee-Sensei traveled 5,046 miles from Boston to Hawaii to share his extensive knowledge of Uechi-Ryu, to offer his continued support of our Dojo, and to spend his valuable time with us. From the multiple meetings and training sessions throughout the week, we gained much insight into the Tiger, Dragon, Crane roots of our art. We are so grateful to have been shown a new perspective from which to dissect, analyze, and maximize our effectiveness in Kata performance and applications. I’m particularly impressed with the humble manner in which Darin-Sensei interacted with our group. From the youngest member to the oldest member, he showed patience, kindness, and understanding in freely sharing his knowledge.

Sensei Yee, thank you for your on-going efforts in building a highly supportive International Uechi-ryu Karate Federation, and especially for traveling so far across the globe to help us become better Karateka! Mahalo nui loa for embodying the Spirit of Aloha! We are proud to be an IUKF affiliated Dojo and look forward to your next visit on January 11^th and 12^th 2020 for our Honolulu Uechi-Ryu Gasshuku Regional Workout.

Sincerely,
Albert Cloutier
Honolulu Uechi-Ryu Karate-do Club