Our Sensei
The Institute has been founded by Lionel Reynaud sensei.
He was awarded the title of Jun-Shihan by George Mattson in 2019 and is also certified within the French Karate Federation (Federal Instructor Diploma). Additionally, he is internationally recognized by the International Uechi-Ryu Karate Federation (IUKF).
Lionel has also spent many years in cycling and the Olympic/Paralympic world. After coaching a professional team (2005–2007), he went on to work with Olympic and Paralympic athletes at the Beijing, London, and Rio Games.
In 2020, during the pandemic, Lionel participated in the first International Kata Tournament (online) “Suparenpei,” where he finished in second place, earning a gold medal. This kata is somewhat controversial—some consider it the final kata of Uechi-Ryu, while others see it as a modern invention.
As Lionel says:
“Everyone is free to form their own opinion about this kata. For me, studying this kata and participating in the tournament was a breath of fresh air during that grim period of the pandemic and lockdowns. It was an opportunity to bring together many practitioners from around the world. I was truly surprised to achieve second place against much more experienced practitioners.”
Online Program
In 2020, during the pandemic, Lionel Reynaud began teaching Uechi-Ryu Karate online to allow students to continue practicing.
During this period, he received many requests from people eager to train. In response to this, Lionel developed an online learning program called ORYUKAN, which has enabled and continues to enable many students to practice, even if they are geographically distant from the dojos.
Mattson Academy
Lionel has been serving as a Senior Instructor at the Mattson Academy since 2022, teaching online for European practitioners (in countries like Italy, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Great Britain, Norway, etc.) as well as for American students who can join the European time slots.
For context, the Mattson Academy was the first Uechi-Ryu school established in the West and has trained many Karate pioneers, such as Jim Maloney and Buzz Durkin.
Useful links about Lionel
If you want to know more about the Institute Founder :
- Lionel & Uechi-Ryu Oryukai Youtube Channel : https://www.youtube.com/@lionelreynaud
- sandairyu.com (All about Uechi-Ryu Karate and Lionel’s Blog) : https://sandairyu.com
- Uechiryukarate.fr (French Informative website by Lionel): https://uechiryukarate.fr
- Lionel’s main page : https://lionelreynaud.com
- For Japanese speakers, Lionel’s Japanese Blog : https://lionelbudo.com
If you want to contact our sensei; you cane use the Institute Contact Form; we promise to forward to him.