Originally called Pangai-noon, which translates to English as "half-hard, half-soft", the style was renamed Uechi-Ryū after the founder of the style, Kanbun Uechi,[1] an Okinawan who went to Fuzhou in Fujian Province, China to study martial arts and Chinese medicine when he was 19 years old.

[11][12] Research by the Fuzhou Wushu Association reported in 1984 revealed that he was born in the Zhitian Village (直田村) in 1874 to family wealthy enough to have him educated in letters and fighting arts which included weapons and Tiger Fist Kung Fu[13] or Huzunquan (虎尊拳, Fujian Tiger Boxing).

[20] Three years later, Kanbun Uechi returned to Okinawa, determined never to teach again because reportedly one of his Chinese students had killed a neighbor with an open-hand technique in a dispute over land irrigation.

In 1912, a tea merchant and White Crane Kung Fu master Go Kenki (Wú Xiánguì) who knew him settled in Okinawa.

[22][23][24] As word spread from Go Kenki that Kanbun Uechi was a skilled martial arts teacher, he received requests to teach but refused.

[25] While he was working as a security guard for a local cotton spinning mill,[26] he was persuaded by a co-worker, Ryuyu Tomoyose, to teach him privately.

[27] After two years of private lessons, Ryuyu Tomoyose and about 30 other men interested in learning convinced Kanbun Uechi to resume teaching.

On account of this emphasis on simplicity, stability, and a combination of linear and circular movements, proponents claim the style is more practical for self-defense than most other martial arts.

In contrast to the more linear styles of karate based on Okinawan Shuri te or Tomari-te, Uechi-Ryū's connection with Chinese Shorin-ken means the former shares a similar foundation with Naha-te (and thus with Gōjū-Ryū) despite their separate development.

[30] Thus, Uechi-Ryū is also heavily influenced by the circular motions which belong to the kung fu from Fujian province.

[31] Only Sanchin, Seisan, and Sanseiryū come from Pangai-noon; the others were designed and added to the style by Kanei Uechi and other senior students of Kanbun.

"Okikukai" – 沖空会 ("Okinawan Karate-Dō Association" 沖縄空手道協会) from the late 1990s to early 2000s developed a "San Sei Ryū Bunkai".

Interestingly, a recent project headed by the Okinawan government involving many Uechi groups in Okinawa to publish a manual with a DVD for the style has non-"Okikukai" members demonstrate a form of the bunkai that has some slight variations from the current "Okikukai" version.

Uechi-Ryū also trains with makiwara, as well as incorporates other traditional Okinawan physical conditioning exercises as part of their training, such as plunging hands into baskets full of rocks, or performing Sanchin kata stepping while gripping nigiri game (握り甕) (heavy ceramic jars).

Barred by Kanmei Uechi from using his family name, the Okinawan Karate Dō Association eventually decided to rename its system Shōhei-Ryū (昭平流)[41] which combined the Late Emperor Hirohito's reign name Shōwa and his son Emperor Akihito's Heisei to mean "to shine brightly with fairness, equality, and peace."

With the name "Uechi-Ryū" passing out of copyright in Okinawa, an easing of political and personal disagreements, and a desire to promote the style in anticipation of the 2020 Summer Olympics, on September 18, 2016, the Okinawa Karate-Dō Association officially dropped "Shōhei-Ryū" and returned to the name "Uechi-Ryū.