Shitō-ryū
Shitō-ryū
(糸東流)
Date founded 1931
Country of origin Japan
Founder Kenwa Mabuni (1889–1952)
Current head Many independently led organizations
Arts taught Karate
Ancestor schools Shōrin-ryū • Shōrei-ryū
Descendant schools Shitō-kai • Shūkō-kai • Seishin-kai • Kuniba-kai • Japan Karatedō Hayashi-ha Shitōryūkai
Practitioners Tadashi Hashimoto • Fumio Demura

Shitō-ryū (糸東流?) is a form of karate that was founded in 1931 by Kenwa Mabuni (摩文仁 賢和 Mabuni Kenwa?).

Contents

History

Kenwa Mabuni (Mabuni Kenwa 摩文仁 賢和) was born in Shuri, a district of Naha, Okinawa in 1889. Mabuni was a 17th generation descendant of the famous warrior Oni Ufugusuku Kenyu.[1] Perhaps because of his weak constitution, he began his instruction in his home town in the art of Shuri-te (首里手?) at the age of 13, under the tutelage of the legendary Ankō Itosu (糸州 安恒 Itosu Ankō?) (1813–1915). He trained diligently for several years, learning many kata from this great master. It was Itosu who first developed the Pinan kata, which were most probably derived from the "Kusanku" form.

One of his close friends, Chōjun Miyagi (宮城 長順 Miyagi Chōjun?) (co-founder of Gojū-ryū Karate) introduced Mabuni to another great of that period, Kanryō Higaonna (東恩納 寛量 Higaonna Kanryō?). Mabuni began to learn Naha-te (那覇手?) under him. While both Itosu and Higaonna taught a "hard-soft" style of Okinawan "Te", their methods and emphases were quite distinct: the Itosu syllabus included straight and powerful techniques as exemplified in the Naihanchi and Bassai kata; the Higaonna syllabus stressed circular motion and shorter fighting methods as seen in the kata Seipai and Kururunfa. Shitō-ryū focuses on both hard and soft techniques to this day.

Although he remained true to the teachings of these two great masters, Mabuni sought instruction from a number of other teachers, including Seishō Arakaki, Tawada Shimboku, Sueyoshi Jino and Wu Xianhui (a Chinese master known as Go-Kenki). In fact, Mabuni was legendary for his encyclopaedic knowledge of kata and their bunkai applications. By the 1920s, he was regarded as the foremost authority on Okinawan kata and their history and was much sought after as a teacher by his contemporaries. There is even some evidence that his expertise was sought out in China, as well as Okinawa and mainland Japan. As a police officer, he taught local law enforcement officers and at the behest of his teacher Itosu, began instruction in the various grammar schools in Shuri and Naha.

In an effort to popularize karate in mainland Japan, Mabuni made several trips to Tokyo in 1917 and 1928. Although much that was known as "Te" (Chinese Fist; lit. simply "hand") or karate had been passed down through many generations with jealous secrecy, it was his view that it should be taught to anyone who sought knowledge with honesty and integrity. In fact, many masters of his generation held similar views on the future of Karate: Gichin Funakoshi (founder of Shotokan), another contemporary, had moved to Tokyo in the 1920s to promote his art on the mainland as well.

By 1929, Mabuni had moved to Osaka on the mainland, to become a full-time karate instructor of a style he originally called Hanko-ryū, or "half-hard style". The name of the style changed to Shitō-ryū, in honor of its main influences. Mabuni derived the name for his new style from the first kanji character in their names, Itosu and Higaonna. With the support of Ryusho Sakagami (1915–1993), he opened a number of Shitō-ryū dojo in the Osaka area, including one at Kansai University and the Japan Karatedō-kai dojo. To this day, the largest contingent of Shitō-ryū practitioners in Japan is centered in the Osaka area.[2][3]

Mabuni published a number of books on the subject and continued to systematize the instruction method. In his latter years, he developed a number of formal kata, such as Aoyagi, for example, which was designed specifically for women's self defense. Perhaps more than any other master in the last century, Mabuni was steeped in the traditions and history of Karate-dō, yet forward thinking enough to realize that it could spread throughout the world. To this day, Shitō-ryū recognizes the influences of Itosu and Higaonna: the kata syllabus of Shitō-ryū is still often listed in such a way as to show the two lineages.

Kenwa Mabuni died on May 23, 1952, and the lineage of the style was disputed between his two sons, Kenzō and Kenei. Currently, the Shitō-ryū International Karate-dō Kai (also known as Seito Shitō-ryū) lists Kenzō Mabuni as the second Sōke of Shitō-ryū,[4] while the World Shitō-ryū Karate-dō Federation (also known as Shitō-kai Shitō-ryū) lists Kenei Mabuni.[5]

Branches

Other schools of Shitō-ryū developed after the death of Kenwa Mabuni, both because the death of a founder typically results in a dispute as to who will succeed him as the leader of a given school and because many prominent Karate teachers choose to modify the style, thereby creating new branches.

Major existing branches of Shitō-ryū include:

Characteristics

Shitō-ryū is a combination style, which attempts to unite the diverse roots of karate. On one hand, Shitō-ryū has the physical strength and long powerful stances of Shuri-te derived styles, such as Shorin-ryū and Shotokan (松涛館), on the other hand Shitō-ryū has circular and eight-directional movements, breathing power, hard and soft characteristics of Naha-te and Tomari-te (泊手) styles, such as Gōjū-ryū (剛柔流). Shitō-ryū is extremely fast, but still can be artistic and powerful. In addition, Shitō-ryū formalizes and emphasizes the five rules of defense, developed by Kenwa Mabuni, and known as Uke no go gensoku (受けの五原則), Uke no go genri (受けの五原理) or Uke no go ho (受けの五法) [16]:

Modern Shitō-ryū styles also place a strong emphasis on sparring. Shitō-ryū stresses speed, and fighting is generally initiated from a higher, more upright stance than Shotokan employs. On the other hand, because the style has so many kata, a great deal of time is spent perfecting any one of its 40 to 60 forms.[3]

Opening ceremony (Reishiki)

Ritsu rei - Standing bow to Sensei

Seiza - Sensei sits (formal sitting position), the class sits in seiza facing shomen and prepares for class. Head student (sempai) calls out:

Mokuso! This means "Close your eyes and Clear your mind!" After about a minute, the sempai student calls out:

Kaimoku! This means: "Open your eyes!" or Mokuso Yame! This means “Finish meditation”

Zarei - Next the class performs three zarei or sitting bows. The head student calls out:

Shomen ni rei! This means "Bow to the front of the dojo." After the class finishes this bow, the Sensei will turn around and face the class and the head student will call out:

Sensei ni rei! - This means "Bow to the Teacher!" As the class bows to the teacher, the teacher will return the bow. As each student bows, they recite "Onegaishimasu" which means "Please (teach me!)"

Otagai ni rei! - This means "Bow to each other!" Both the teacher and the students will bow to each other at the same time. This is to acknowledge that we are all students of the art of Karate Do.

At this point the Sensei will indicate that the class should stand up and practice will begin.

Katas

kata list ordered by level.

Basic Katas

1st Dan

2nd Dan

3rd Dan

4th Dan

5th Dan

6th Dan

Kunshi no Ken (The Noble Discipline)

Master Mabuni's motto "Kunshi no Ken" which means to concentrate on cultivating oneself to become a well-rounded, respectful individual. The person who is able to accomplish this as well as to exercise good manners in all situations with self-discipline and respect, who is able to assume accountability for one's actions, and to keep one's integrity as to set an example for others, is considered a Shito-ryu practitioner. This motto can be followed by all Karate Practitioners.

Heijutsu no Sanbyo

The three weaknesses or sicknesses of Martial Arts by Kenwa Mabuni.

Hitotsu - Giryo (One - Doubt or Skepticism)

Hitotsu - Ketai (One - Negligence)

Hitotsu - Manshin (One - Egotism)

See also

References

  1. ^ Hokama, Tetsuhiro (2005). 100 Masters of Okinawan Karate. Okinawa: Ozata Print. p. 39. 
  2. ^ The History of Shito Ryu at martialsource.com
  3. ^ a b The History of Shito Ryu at martialarm.com
  4. ^ Kenzo Mabuni Soke at seitoshitoryu.com
  5. ^ a b History at WSKF
  6. ^ Tokio Hisatomi at shitokai.com
  7. ^ Motobu-ha Shito - ryu Kunibakai Karate - do at Kokino Shitō-ryū karate school
  8. ^ Minakami Karate Dojo - Minakami Shihan at MinakamiKarate.com
  9. ^ Martial Art History at Inoue-ha Shitō-ryū Keishin-kai Karate-dō Kobushi Dojo, Miami FL
  10. ^ Brief History of Itosu-ryu Karatedo at karatedo.co.jp/itosu-kai
  11. ^ Grandmaster Tamas Weber at Sanshin Kan International Karate website
  12. ^ Shihan Fumio Demura at genbukai.org
  13. ^ Minobu Miki - Karate's Modern Traditionalist at American Samurai, 16 December 2007
  14. ^ Andreas Kuntze (2003). "A Brief History of the Origin of Shitō-ryū SEIKO-KAI". http://www.shitoryu.net/html/shitoryu.html. Retrieved 2008-02-09. 
  15. ^ http://www.richardkimmartialartist.com/castilonia.html
  16. ^ "Uke No Go Gensoku". Shitoryu Cyber Academy. http://shitokai.com/uke-no-go-gensoku.php. Retrieved 2007-05-16. 
Origin
Styles
Full contact styles
Techniques
Blocks · Bunkai · Kata · Kicks · Kumite · Punches · Stances · Strikes · Throw · Joint lock
Countries, teams, association and federation actively joining WKF World Championships.
European Karate Federation (EKF)
Asian Karatedo Federation (AKF)
African Karate Federation (UFAK)
Panamerican Karate Federation (PKF)
Oceanian Karate Federation (OKF)
For a full list of articles see the World Karate Federation