our Founders
Joan Neide
10th-Dan, Hanshi
Joan Neide began her training in Uechi-Ryu Karate in 1969 at the University of Vermont. Under the tutelage of Howard Flynn in Vermont and David Finkelstein in New York City she received her Shodan rank in 1972. In 1973 she moved to Okinawa where Shinjo Seiyu became her main instructor. During her extensive stay on Okinawa she trained daily at the Futenma dojo with Uechi Kanei. Joan returned to the United States in 1974. Since her initial stay in Okinawa she has returned periodically to continue her training with the Shinjo family.
Joan’s academic endeavors have always focused on Asian culture. She received a Master’s degree in the history and philosophy of physical education. The title of her M.S. thesis was “Karate and its relationship to Zen Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism.” Her second Master’s degree was in Asian Studies, with the required M.A. thesis entitled, “Physical education and its relationship to the martial arts and Meiji Nationalism.” Her doctorate in educational administration from the University of Massachusetts produced the dissertation title, “A study in the short term sojourn of Japanese foreign students.”
In 1991 after being hired at California State University, Sacramento, Joan was asked to develop a course specifically focusing on the historical and philosophical foundations of Asian martial arts. She continues to teach this course to this day. Her research agenda includes papers on the relationship of martial arts breathing patterns and the generation of power and embracing multi-ethnic complexities in Okinawa through physical education and martial arts, to name just a few.
Joan also has benefitted from the rare gift of being trained by a master, Shinjo Seiyu, and, to his memory, she passes on his legacy. She has the complete gratitude for her mentor, Dave Finkelstein.
Joan explains her love of Uechi Ryu karate:
Spirit, according to Chinese medicine, is the fundamental texture that is unique to human life. It is this quality that allows me to have an experience that is not restricted to physical or temporal contact. Through this definition of spirit, I can appreciate the beauty of movement for movement’s sake. I can feel energy that is not defined. I am allowed to forge a compelling and special bond to Uechi Ryu. I have the ability to be awed by the history and culture of the martial arts. I can be devoted, but I can also self reflect. I can be transformed by Uechi Ryu, without knowing the outcome. Spirit allows me to shape my destiny. I am never content; always seeking and becoming.
