Pangai-noon was a style of Southern Chinese kung fu  taught by Shu Shi Wa which formed the basis for Uechi-ryū karate

Karate

is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...

. The name Pangai-noon indicates that the art's techniques are half-hard, half-soft, and is derived from the Okinawan pronunciation of the original Chinese.

Shu Shi Wa (1869-1945) was a teacher and medicine hawker in the Fujian

Fujian

' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

 province of China. His life is not well documented because of his probable connection with the secret societies which worked for the overthrow of the Ching dynasty and the return of Ming dynasty.

His best-known student was Kanbun Uechi

Kanbun Uechi

was the founder of Uechi-ryū, one of the primary karate styles of Okinawa.- Early life :Kanbun grew up in the mountain farming village of Izumi on the Motobu peninsula of Okinawa. Uechi's family were farmers of daikon radishes....

, an Okinawan who was with him from 1897 to 1904. In 1904 when he received his senior instructor grade, Uechi opened a dojo in Nansoye. He continued to visit Shu Shi Wa each year until his return to Okinawa in 1909. Uechi studied with Shu Shi Wa for 13 years.

Pangai-noon technique was based on soft blocks and hard attacks. Uechi learned three Pangai-noon kata

Kata

is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practised either solo or in pairs. The term form is used for the corresponding concept in non-Japanese martial arts in general....

: Sanchin

Sanchin

is a kata of Southern Chinese origin that is considered to be the core of several styles, the most well-known being the Goju Ryu and Uechi Ryu styles of Karate as well as the Chinese martial arts of Fujian White Crane, Five Ancestors, Pangai-noon and the Tiger-Crane Combination style associated...

, Seisan

Seisan

The karate kata Seisan literally means '13', however some people refer to the kata as '13 Hands', '13 Fists', '13 Techniques', '13 Steps' or even '13 killing positions'. However, all these names are made up and have no historical basis.Seisan is thought to be one of the oldest kata quite spread...

, and Sanseirui

Sanseirui

Sanseirui is a karate kata of Southern Chinese origin. The name literally means thirty-six ....

; he did not stay with Shu Shi Wa long enough to learn Supārinpei. Pangai-noon was said to be the fastest of the Chinese styles at that time.

In 1978 a group of Uechi-ryū students (headed by Seiki Itokazu and Takashi Kinjo) broke away from the ryū and formed a style they called Pangai-noon.