Kanbun Uechi lives during a turbulent era in East Asian history from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries, a time in which the Edo Period of Japan, the Sho Kingdom of Ryukyu (Okinawa), and the Ming Dynasty of China, all representing multi-century feudal regimes, come to consecutive and precipitous ends. Like his countrymen in the geographically strategic Ryukyu Islands, Kanbun is thrown about like a leaf upon an ocean of geo-politics, great power struggles, wars, capricious and unstable governments, economic insecurity, and personal danger. Kanbun is the story of one of the three main proponents of karate to bridge the transition from mainland China to Okinawa to Japan and to the rest of the world. His personal growth parallels his training from Ryukyu kobujutsu to Chinese wushu to Okinawan karate.