First, I believe that some of what is said above is wrong. Uechi ryu does not do “goju” kata, they are entirely different kata, although some of them have the same names and sanchin is similar but done with shuto (knife hand) instead of fists (goju).

Uechi also employs many precise weapons like one knuckle punch and big toe kicks and likened to one of the three animals the system is based on - dragon, tiger and crane (in these cases a tigers tooth).

In China (where kanbun uechi learned it), it was called pangainoon (half hard half soft) so it is easy to see why some would call this a naha-te style, however i do not consider it naha-te. It is directly from China and originally only contained three kata - sanchin, seisan, and sanseiru. However kanbun uechi’s son kanei added more “lesser” kata to shore up the training.

I wouldn’t in any way call uechi a hard style. It, like goju, is both hard and soft. I think the thing that makes it uniquely okinawan and not just a Chinese art, is the training methods of okinawa applied to the chinese system.

As for the history I have read, I’ve never read anything that says kanbun uechi ever studied any karate in okinawa, let alone a specific style such as goju ryu. Although he did some weapon work im told but this is not setin stone and is only based on what i have read.

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