Originating in Okinawa, Uechi-Ryu karate was developed from a Chinese fighting system called Pangainoon (half hard, half soft). Its movements are a combination of the tiger, crane, and dragon fighting arts. Some modern scholars believe that Pangainoon kenpo is closely related to or was previously referred to in China as the Five Ancestors system. Unique to Uechi-Ryu is the regularity of three techniques. These are the pointed toe kick, circular block, and the single knuckle punch.
On May 5, 1877, Kanbun Uechi was born in Izumi, Okinawa, and a descendant of samurai heritage. In March of 1897, Kanbun left Okinawa for China to avoid Japanese military conscription. He arrived in the city of Foochow in Fukien province near the end of the month. In the summer of 1897, Kanbun joined the Kugusuku karate school, but later left due to a personality conflict with one of the senior students. He then began to study Pangainoon under the tutelage of a Buddhist monk named Shushiwa (also referred to as Shushiabu or Chowtseyho).
In 1904 Kanbun received certification in Pangainoon and in 1907 opened his own school in the village of Nansoe, China, where he taught for approximately two years until one of his students killed a neighbor in a dispute over irrigation. Kanbun accepted responsibility for the actions of his student, closed the school, and vowed never to teach again. He held the distinction of being one of the few non-Chinese to teach in China.
