This article came to me via email from Mr. Tom Ferguson; with kind permission to post it.

Why would someone choose to study Uechi-ryu in favor over another school of self defense?

Without any speculation on the reasons that others may have i would like to share some observations on karate in general and some of the reasons that I prefer Uechi-ryu over all others. At one time in my life I was a member of the United States armed forces. In the branch that I served in we were required to train in unarmed self defense.

This training was modeled upon the Fairbaine system. In this system we learned straight, fast moves. We learned the ready stance before closing with the enemy [almost the sanchin stance, open hand], we learned the targets of opportunity for attack.

We also learned the weapons of our own bodies; hands feet elbows and knees. We learned above all that this was life or death training. If it were ever to be applied to it’s intended purpose it would be in mortal combat against an enemy combatant. ” kill or be killed .. ”

It is upon reflection very serious training, I believe that this also was the original nature of karate. Suffice it to say that this training ( military hand to hand ) is a different species of creature than what karate is today.

I will give an analogy by way of a true story; while shopping for groceries once I remembered that i was in need of a can opener. I hurriedly plucked one from a rack not paying attention much to its details. I returned home and put it in a drawer in the kitchen. A while later I chanced upon a can that had not the pull tab top.

I’m ready I thought, I bought my can opener. I took the can opener out of the drawer and went to use it. It had a church key on one end of the handle and a turn key on the other with a thin lever underneath. I opened the handle and slipped the rim of the can between the gears and then closed the handle.

It did not grip. Then I thought to use the other end. My idea was to use the church key to make one puncture next to another around the top until the lid could be opened; but when I tried I saw that the lower handle was made a little too long and obstructed the body of the can disallowing the function. I held the can opener in my hand and reflected humorously upon it’s construction.

At first glance it looked like an ordinary can opener. When put to the purpose however it failed. I thought that whoever designed this particular can opener copied it from one that did work. but they did not know really it’s purpose and so as long as it looked similar it would work. They obviously did not understand that to work properly it had to be designed properly and constructed properly.

It was in it’s end a toy. 

I like uechi because in it’s essence it comes closest in priciple to the strategy and tactics of the Fairbain hand to hand system that Iearned in the military; and the Fairbaine system works. It’s function and pupose are compatable. The strikes, low kicks, targets and simplicity are very similar and complimentry to the other.

However the Fairbaine system is without kata. The katas are good in Uechi-ryu; every technique can be found also in the Fairbaine military type.

Speaking of kata I especially like the three kata concept. There was a man who had a tool box; in the box he had one medium sized hammer; he had also one medium sized screwdriver and he also had one medium sized pliers.

Just three tools. But he knew those three tools so well it was amazing. He could do any job simply by improvising upon the knowledge he possesed of those three tools. They seemed like part to him when he used them. Others had tool boxes full of all kinds of tools and even some novelty tools thrown in. But when it came time to do the job they had to rummage through all that stuff looking for the right tool. They had so many tools that they took them for granted. But the first man not so. Every night at home he cleaned up his three tools and oiled them to prevent rust.

He even thought of using parts of these tools in ways you’ve never even dreamed of. I might offer a few “training tips” in closing.

1. Learn the targets well.
2. Reflect upon the most efficient tool that could be used on the target. ( this is a big factor in defense )
3. Develop ‘exercises’ of the kata without the enbusen lines. ie practice them ‘linear’ (in a straight line, making one turn for economy of space only) and also practice them ’statically’ or in place. (taking one step up or back as the exercise neccessitates.)
4. I think that any karate student would benefit from a reading of the following material a.) Department of the army field manual FM 21-150 edition 1954 ” Hand to hand combat’ and war depatment FM 21-150 edition 1942 “Unarmed self defense for the american soldier”.
5. Be your own oponent.. that is, dismantle your kata and try to see the sequence being used against you. Gently choreograph what it would be like to receive the techniques. e.g. the opening of sanchin. what effect on your body would occur if… it were to receive the double down strike, then your belt or hips were grabbed and pulled sharply forward then your chest was pulmelled with double back fists and finally, an upward palm heel strike under the chin. This practice will really help you to understand  how truly devastating simple moves can be in combination. Be very cautious and slow. just going through the reaction sequeneces could be injuriuos thank you for the form.

(ps. if your wondering how karate lost its meaning, just follow the money trail)