Description: Value of "blocking" in this era of MMA, UFC and eclectic "if it works, do it" mentality. George Mattson has been teaching Uechi-ryu for nearly 50 years and feel that much is being discarded from the "old" ways, simply because people today are in too much of a hurry to explore the depth and essence of the martial arts. In this interview, Mattson discusses the possible fallacy with this surface understanding of the martial arts and the benefits of approaching karate "as an art that happens to use self-defense movements". Studying this way, takes the pressure off the student to achieve "instant" results and provides motivation to study and practice the art as it was originally intended. . . less
