FRED VILLARI - A HISTORY
burk...@ccsua.ctstateu.edu
schools of self-defense. As such, I am qualified to answer several questions
concerning the style, how it was taught, what it was, who studied it, etc.
HISTORY:
Fred Villari originally studied in several styles, earning a black belt in
kempo (or kenpo, depending on how you want to spell it) karate. For those
unfamiliar with it, kenpo is a mismash of Chinese boxing, Japanese karate,
jujitsu techniques, and a few other things thrown it for good measure. After
opening a school in northeastern Massachusetts (during the late sixties to
early seventies) he decided to expand his operations. Little did he know that
he would expand, and expand, and exapand beyond anyone's beliefs.
The time he chose to expand, the early seventies, was perfect. The media was
beginning to take an active interest in the martial arts - there were
television shows making it the major subject matter, karate tournaments had
been televised, in February of 1972 the legendary Kung Fu movie starring David
Carradine was shown. The following year saw the kung fu craze of 1973, with
Bruce Lee becoming the official "king of kung-fu", his death adding fuel to the
fire. Anything with kung fu on it was bound to attract a crowd, a fact that
Fred Villari intended to take full advantage of.
The area he chose to expand into, the prementioned northeastern Massachusetts,
was Sutter's mill all over again - a gold mine waiting to be exploited. The
martial arts schools in the area were few and far between. Those that did
exist were more into tournamenting or doing things "the oriental way" than
teaching practical self-defense, facts not lost on Fred Villari. He was going
to exploit the area to the fullest, take full advantage of the fruit just
waiting to be harvested. Unlike others before him, though, Villari would do
things differently - he would do them HIS way!
It is interesting to point out that Fred Villari was not the first to have
attempted such a business in northeastern Massachusetts. An Okinawian karate
instructor, one George Mattson by name, attempted to find fame and fortune via
a martial arts chain, only to end in dismal failure. The reason was simple,
and hardly unusual - the martial arts (judo, karate, etc.) as tought were not
meant for practical self-defense. It was true, kararate and judo were more
oriented to sport than self-defense. There were known styles meant for
self-defense (some forms of karate and aikido), but they took several months if
not years of practice before a person became proficient. People wanted to
learn self-defense, not spend monotonous month after monotonous month puching
and kicking. The martial arts instructors at the time never realized that,
caught up in the mystic of the martial arts they were more inclined to do
things simply because it was the "oriental way" of doing them, some oriental
instructors openly joked that when it came to the martial arts, the Americans
were "more orietal than the orientals!" Well, Fred Villari would have none of
that. Rather than wait for people to adapt themselves to the martial art, he
started adapting the martial art to the people. Students would not only learn
how to punch and kick, but jujitsu defenses against grabs, chokes, and the like
and kenpo defensive manuvers using hand strikes, foot strikes, and flips. The
end result was people who, within weeks if not days, wound up capable of
defending themselves!
Fred Villari's schools spread like wildfire during the early thru mid seventies
(1972-1976). Eastern Massachusetts was honeycombed with Villari schools.
Inevitably, it brought criticism from the other martial arts instructors,
accusing Villari of being a fraud, of saying he taught one thing when he taught
another, or of teaching substandard techniques that "wouldn't work in
tournaments", and used the fact that his students seldom attended tournaments
as proof of his students poor techiques. Indeed, there were several
differences in a typical training center (called a "kwoon") as compared to the
other schools. It wasn't uncommon to see students work out in street clothes,
some actually wore (shock of shocks!) sneakers, breaking the unwritten code
that martial artists must workout barefoot. There were reasons, though.
Students were not required (at least the place I was at in Chelmsford, MA from
1974 thru 1976) to have uniforms simply because new students did not like
having to buy them if they would lose interest in the martial arts after a
couple of lessons. Training was modified so beginners would not have to go
through a strenuous workout as would advanced students. After workouts,
students were first put through their paces with karate techniques, followed by
drills, then came "kenpos" (the kenpo defense techniques), followed by the
jujitsu techniques, followed by kata training or sparring. The style was more
geared to practical self-defense than sparring, as a result the students never
developed interest enough in sparring to want to attend the open tournaments
the other instructors spoke of. The reasoning was understandable - tournament
competition would mean intense training, repetitive boring drills, and the
realization that there WOULD be prejudice directed against them for being
Villari students (the problem was nothing new in the martial arts, politics
constantly caused problems in the tournament scene, they still do!). As
students continued to study in Villari kenpo, they reaped other benefits.
Advanced students were taught the use of their martial arts belt for self
defense, they were allowed to wear special uniforms, some were even recruited
to become instructors themselves! There was a high turnover at Villari
studios, but unlike other martial arts schools this did not prove a problem.
Villari had deliberately designed his program to take student turnover into
consideration, he realized that for every 1,000 students that started the
martial arts, only one would achieve the rank of black belt.
Time came and went, the Villari studios, expanded, and then came that fateful
year of years, 1977. It was the year the kung fu craze ceased to exist, the
year of reckoning, the year of great destruction. To martial artists galore,
it was a time they do not like to be reminded of. Too many had spent too much
money on studio expansion and advertising, not realizing that the kung fu craze
of 1973 was just that, a craze, destined to end after two to three years, as
had all crazes. Lacking the business savy to realize that fact, they
floundered! Money was lost, schools were closed, former martial arts
instructor after martial arts instructor went bankrupt. The kung-fu craze,
at one time praised for giving so much attention to the martial arts, was now
cursed for having caused all their woes, or attracting numerous flakes to the
martial arts (I should know, I was one of them. Yuk! Yuk! Yuk!) that never
took the martial arts seriously. One organization that had did not complain,
though, was the Fred Villari organization. While schools were closing down
right and left, Villari continued to expand. Not bothering to involve himself
in the petty politics of the day, Villari proved successful time and time
again, and has continued to do so.
In conclusion, there will always be those who criticize Villari. Sometimes the
crticisms will be justified (in an organization with several hundred brances
you're bound to bad a bad apple here and their), other times they won't be,
irregardless Fred Villari has had a major influences on the American martial
arts scene, one that will continue to increase with the passage of time. The
greatest compliment paid to him has been the teaching of practical self-defense
techniques by the very schools the once criticized him for doing so.
Fred Villari is a true leader in the martial arts.
Joseph Brown
Wait a minute. George Mattson's foray into forming a chain of martial
arts schools failed because Uechi-ryu was not a practical self-defense
style? Gee, why am I really skeptical about that claim? Uechi-ryu
doesn't emphasize sport as much as other karate styles do, and its
movements, low kicks, circular blocks, seem pretty practical to me for
self-defense.
I think Mattson probably failed due to inadequate advertising, perhaps
the venture was undercapitalized. Mattson may not have had the BUSINESS
sense that Villari had. Villari may be a good martial artist, but good
business sense and savvy is probably most responsible for the huge number of
Villari schools. And with regard to quality martial arts teaching, size
doesn't necessarily correlate with quality.
Ciao.
Sean Hartigan
>
> Wait a minute. George Mattson's foray into forming a chain of martial
> arts schools failed because Uechi-ryu was not a practical self-defense
> style? Gee, why am I really skeptical about that claim? Uechi-ryu
> doesn't emphasize sport as much as other karate styles do, and its
> movements, low kicks, circular blocks, seem pretty practical to me for
> self-defense.
The only thing I would add to this is that it does seem to take around
2-3 years before one's Uechi-ryu training starts to yield much in the way
of practical results. It's not "instant karate" at all. Kyu-ranked
Uechi-ryu students tend to be mediocre or poor fighters, in my
experience, mainly because they spend most of their time doing
sanchin kata. But by the time they get to around shodan, the years
of sanchin training begin to pay off. By the time they get to sandan,
they are slightly awe-inspiring, to my (perhaps naive) eyes.
> I think Mattson probably failed due to inadequate advertising, perhaps
> the venture was undercapitalized. Mattson may not have had the BUSINESS
> sense that Villari had. Villari may be a good martial artist, but good
> business sense and savvy is probably most responsible for the huge number of
> Villari schools. And with regard to quality martial arts teaching, size
> doesn't necessarily correlate with quality.
I cannot imagine Uechi-ryu having much success as a commercial venture;
the unglamourous and seemingly non-self-defence-related nature of the
beginner training, the lack of emphasis on tournament fighting, and
the unflashy "unkarate-ish" look of the style would seem to weigh heavily
against it.
The one thing it _does_ have going for it, at least locally, is a
reputation for street effectiveness, to the point where it's considered
slightly lowbrow and "beneath-our-dignity" by some martial arts
"purists."
-- Sean H.
Christopher Lynch
In article <1994Aug12.192523.26590@dal1>, hart...@ac.dal.ca (Sean Hartigan) writes:
......
|>
|> I cannot imagine Uechi-ryu having much success as a commercial venture;
|> the unglamourous and seemingly non-self-defence-related nature of the
|> beginner training, the lack of emphasis on tournament fighting, and
|> the unflashy "unkarate-ish" look of the style would seem to weigh heavily
|> against it.
|>
I would agree if you mean "successful as a mass market business." But note that
in New England, G. Mattson notwithstanding, Uechi has been very successful,
and there are many dojos. Also, look in Rod Mindland's list of Uechi dojos in his
newletter (and the list doesn't include most of the NE dojos).
The Okinawan masters don't seem to care much for reducing their quality
and increasing their cash flow, and their philosophy seems to be against
mass marketing.
|> The one thing it _does_ have going for it, at least locally, is a
|> reputation for street effectiveness, to the point where it's considered
|> slightly lowbrow and "beneath-our-dignity" by some martial arts
|> "purists."
|>
|> -- Sean H.
Not south of the Bay of Fundy. Lots of purists in Beantown.... -ws
Anthony Licalzi
: slightly lowbrow and "beneath-our-dignity" by some martial arts
: "purists."
>ė arTHra o<
Todd D. Ellner
Sean Hartigan <hart...@ac.dal.ca> wrote:
>I cannot imagine Uechi-ryu having much success as a commercial venture;
>the unglamourous and seemingly non-self-defence-related nature of the
>beginner training, the lack of emphasis on tournament fighting, and
>the unflashy "unkarate-ish" look of the style would seem to weigh heavily
>against it.
This is the fate of all good, traditional martial arts. Many people want
flash, name recognition, and fast results. They will not be happy in a
Uechi ryu/Serak/old-style TCC/Su Bak/etc. school. On the other hand, people
looking for a lifetime study will not be happy in a sport-oriented school.
Water seeks its own level, and each type of student will gravitate towards
the teacher who best suits his/her puropses. So it goes. But you are right.
George Mattson had two strikes against his quick commercial success in the
1970s.
>The one thing it _does_ have going for it, at least locally, is a
>reputation for street effectiveness, to the point where it's considered
>slightly lowbrow and "beneath-our-dignity" by some martial arts
>"purists."
Y'know I've seen this said about everything that works. People have told
me that Silat, Escrima, Muay Thai, Uechi Ryu, and Ju Jitsu are "not real
martial arts. They are just street-fighting" as if effectiveness were a minus
for a martial art. I think that the operative word here is jealousy or perhaps
nervousness. As a teacher of mine puts it "If we weren't here to learn how
to fight, then why are we doing [the particular martial art] and not folk-
dancing?".
What's next? Do we denigrate civil engineers because they build bridges that
don't fall down?
Todd
--
Todd Ellner | Your 'reality' Sir is lies and balderdash, and I am
rigel.cs.pdx.edu | happy to say I have no grasp of it whatsoever
(503)557-1572 | -Baron Munchausen
Shinobi2
>The only thing I would add to this is that it does seem to take around
>2-3 years before one's Uechi-ryu training starts to yield much in the way
>of practical results. It's not "instant karate" at all. Kyu-ranked
>Uechi-ryu students tend to be mediocre or poor fighters, in my
>experience, mainly because they spend most of their time doing
>sanchin kata. But by the time they get to around shodan, the years
>of sanchin training begin to pay off. By the time they get to sandan,
>they are slightly awe-inspiring, to my (perhaps naive) eyes.
poor fighters until they reach 2-3 years experience. What one gets out of
karate depends on what you put into it. If the people who you've encountered
are poor fighters it's either due to lack of sparring experience and/or lack
of practice on hojo undo, kata, bunkai, and kumite. Although Sanchin is an
important kata and much emphasis is placed on it, it's because all the
principles taught in sanchin are used in every facet of the style (ie. body
positioning,
breathing, proper blocking/grappling (ie. the grab used after almost every
block), etc.. Remember, there are the other kata which one must also practice
(konshiwa, konchu, seichin, et. al.).
Sean Hartigan
>
> I have to disagree with your statement that Uechi People are initially
> poor fighters until they reach 2-3 years experience. What one gets out of
> karate depends on what you put into it. If the people who you've encountered
> are poor fighters it's either due to lack of sparring experience and/or lack
> of practice on hojo undo, kata, bunkai, and kumite.
This is probably true. I can't decide if the lack of sparring training
I see at my dojo is a problem or not. A lot of the students don't like
sparring, and get kind of frowny and unhappy whenever it's done. As a
result, they can't fight. We found this out in a big way when
some students from our dojo fought students from another dojo
at a promotion and got kicked all over the place.
On the other hand, Kanbun Uechi didn't teach sparring until his students
were the equivalent of sandan in rank. I think Kanei said something
about it developing bad habits, if you don't have the solid foundation
in sanchin.
> Although Sanchin is an
> important kata and much emphasis is placed on it, it's because all the
> principles taught in sanchin are used in every facet of the style (ie. body
> positioning,
> breathing, proper blocking/grappling (ie. the grab used after almost every
> block), etc.. Remember, there are the other kata which one must also practice
> (konshiwa, konchu, seichin, et. al.).
This is certainly true. On the other hand, most Uechi techniques are
too dangerous to use unless you really mean to nail someone.
Sparring, then, degenerates into a vaguely kickboxing-ish game of tag
(even when you can convince people to do it). I'm not sure what's to be
done about this.
QUARK
>From: hart...@ac.dal.ca (Sean Hartigan)
>Subject: Re: Uechi-ryu a "tough sell?" (was RE: FRED VILLARI)
>Date: 17 Aug 94 12:09:59 -0300
>In article <xe6SE37....@delphi.com>, Shinobi2 <shin...@delphi.com> writes:
>>
>> I have to disagree with your statement that Uechi People are initially
>> poor fighters until they reach 2-3 years experience. What one gets out of
>> karate depends on what you put into it. If the people who you've encountered
>> are poor fighters it's either due to lack of sparring experience and/or lack
>> of practice on hojo undo, kata, bunkai, and kumite.
>This is probably true. I can't decide if the lack of sparring training
>I see at my dojo is a problem or not. A lot of the students don't like
>sparring, and get kind of frowny and unhappy whenever it's done. As a
>result, they can't fight. We found this out in a big way when
>some students from our dojo fought students from another dojo
>at a promotion and got kicked all over the place.
(That's generally been the case on the U.S. tournament scene since Uechi
practitoners started entering the same. There have been a few good Uechi
tournament fighters, but not many. On the other hand, in Okinawa Uechi-ryu
enjoys a very good sparring reputation. But see below).
On the other hand, most Uechi techniques are
>too dangerous to use unless you really mean to nail someone.
>Sparring, then, degenerates into a vaguely kickboxing-ish game of tag
>(even when you can convince people to do it). I'm not sure what's to be
>done about this.
(I look at Uechi-ryu as primarily a no-nonsense, traditional karate system
that emphasizes deadly strikes. Hence, the whole question of its tournament
value is a moot point. Even though I am primarily a Shotokan stylist myself,
I have a lot of respect for the Chinese hand techniques found in Uechi. It
is interesting that the J.K.A. great Hirokazu Kanazawa (no introduction needed
for those of you who know karate) found Uechi-ryu valuable enough to go to
Okinawa and learn from the system. Enough said.)
Sean Hartigan
>
> (I look at Uechi-ryu as primarily a no-nonsense, traditional karate system
> that emphasizes deadly strikes. Hence, the whole question of its tournament
> value is a moot point.
> Even though I am primarily a Shotokan stylist myself,
> I have a lot of respect for the Chinese hand techniques found in Uechi. It
> is interesting that the J.K.A. great Hirokazu Kanazawa (no introduction needed
> for those of you who know karate) found Uechi-ryu valuable enough to go to
> Okinawa and learn from the system. Enough said.)
Any ideas what in particular he was interested in? Just curious.
-- Sean H
Eselpee
It was the best years of my life. We frequently competed in tournaments in both fighting and forms. We were street fighters with good manners that could totally compete within the rules. I think Lapan's studio was well respected, Freddie certainly was.
I had heard rumors of Studio wars in the old days but I felt that when Villari Studios arrived at a tournament, we were regarded as if we had shown up at the Okay Corral in ten-gallon hats with 6-shooters.
I appreciate your insight!
This thread does seem to have some difficulty resolving self-defense with martial arts. Martial arts is the skill of defending self ethically.
Colored belts start out yang with kicking and punching styles while learning ethics. Its a lost leader. By the time one earns their first black belt, they have begun to transition to the more advanced yin styles.
Sadly, in the stigma against femaleness, who would join a karate class knowing that they would finally learn how to really fight like a girl?
With circular yin, an opponent must attack, lending their power to circular redirection. In a fight, if one thinks - one has already lost. The survivors were in the zone of unconscious awareness acting in the eternal moment, and they do not know what "style" they used.
Using a "style" puts a fighter at a disadvantage. "Styles" are just paths to learning martial arts. This is what I learned from fighting. The studio wars were street fights.
