RECAP: IUKF EuroWorkout 2026 – Canterbury, England

September 11–13, 2026 | Christ Church University Sports Center

Hosted by Hanshi Hachidan Lee Adams / Shogun Martial Arts

This year’s IUKF EuroWorkout brought together Uechi-ryu practitioners from three countries —  Germany, the UK, and 1 the USA — for three days of testing, training, and camaraderie at Christ Church University in Canterbury.

Presenters

• Darin Yee – Grand Master Judan
• Alton Wharton – Grand Master Judan
• Bruce Hirabayashi – Hanshi Kyudan
• Lee Adams – Hanshi Hachidan
• Paul Kronschnabl – Kyoshi Nanadan
• Philipp Merkl – Godan (English–German translation & Dan Test Board)

Day 1 – Dan Test & Parallel Seminar (September 11)

The weekend opened with Dan Test; Darin Yee also conducted a parallel open seminar for those not participating in or observing the Grading.  All candidates passed!!  Congratulations!!!

Yondan candidates:

• Martin Beiel (Regensburg)
• Michaela Guenter (Regensburg)

Nidan candidates:

• Scott Taylor (Shogun UK)
• Matt Harsent (Shogun UK)

Shodan candidate:

• Fabien Passily (Regensburg)

Test Board: Alton Wharton, Bruce Hirabayashi, Lee Adams, Paul Kronschnabl, Philipp Merkl (Godan)

Day 2 – Seminars (September 12)

Darin Yee opened the seminar sessions with a look at Uechi-ryu fundamentals, emphasizing that every movement in the style has a purpose, which he illustrated through numerous practical examples.

Bruce Hirabayashi followed with a session on core Uechi-ryu principles and provided practical, self-demonstrating examples to the seminar participants as to how and why these principles worked.

1. Single root, not dual root — the idea of 50/50 weight distribution in Sanchin is a myth; students should establish a single root by loading one foot or the other.
2. Center of gravity between the feet.
3. Maintain connection to the ground through an aligned body, achieved by:
   1. Putting weight along the inside of the feet
   1. Dropping the hips (rather than “tucking under”)
      1. A and B together should result in an important spring-like tension along the insides of the thighs)
   1. Drawing the shoulder blades together
   1. Compression on kime
      
      Once the indicated alignment and selected muscle tension has been achieved, a student’s muscles should be relaxed and loose with the framework.

After lunch, Paul Kronschnabl presented 38-Special, the 38-kick kata developed by Bill Glasheen in the 1980s at the University of Virginia.

Lee Adams closed out Day 1 of seminars with a session on understanding the move from Kata to Bunkai applications; he employed Kanshiwa Bunkai to demonstrate the principles.

Day 3 – Seminars (September 13)

Bruce Hirabayashi opened the day with a warm-up session explaining the reasoning behind each traditional Uechi-ryu warm-up movement. He also built upon the previous day’s session by pointing out the style’s close-in distancing assumptions (e.g., the fight starts at 30-40 cm), and emphasizing that Uechi-ryu technique must be performed in such a way that they are effective at that distance.  He provided the participants ample opportunity to experiment with single-root movement and correct body alignment with the goal of increasing speed and power.

Alton Wharton followed with a seminar focused on close-in technique, emphasizing, for example, the correct way of performing elbow strikes.

After lunch, Lee Adams presented a bunkai developed at the Shogun Dojo, a series of 17 techniques utilizing Uechi movements from both Hojo Undo and Kata.  He also presented a stepping kata Un Soku (8 direction avoidance) and hand and feet movement kata (8 movements) based on a variation of Tegatana no Dosa.

Paul Kronschabl wrapped up the weekend with an interactive session exploring practical attack and defense variations on Seisan Bunkai.

Thank You

Thank you to Lee Adams and his Shogun Martial Arts team for all the effort put into hosting a successful event, including (but not limited to) arranging the facility, providing seminar refreshments and lunch, and arranging the Saturday dinner.  Thanks as well to everyone who traveled to Canterbury to make this year’s EuroWorkout a success.  Congratulations again to our newest Yondans, Nidans, and Shodan, and to all the instructors who gave their time and expertise this weekend, whether during formal presentations or