Originating in southern China, the style we refer to as half hard, half soft was brought to Okinawa in the early 1900's by Kanbun Uechi. Over the years it has gained respect for its unique blend of tiger and crane movements built on sanchin kata.

Renamed Uechi-Ryu in the 1940's it was introduced to the USA by George Mattson in 1958. New Mexico's chief instructor Steve Vosa, a student of George Mattson and Robert Campbell, began training in 1972. Steve trained with top Okinawan instructors in 1974 and 1984 and has been actively teaching in Albuquerque, New Mexico since 1983.

Classes consist of traditional training methods and formal exercises designed to build physical and mental strength while developing power in form and breathing. There are 8 katas in the system.

Uechi-Ryu is an extremely effective close range system of defense utilizing circular blocks, open hand strikes and fast leg techniques.

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You must be 18 or older to train at the Albuquerque dojo.