Shito Ryu History

Brief Summery of the History of Shito Ryu

Kenwa Mabuni was born in Shuri, a district of Naha, Okinawa in 1889. Mabuni-sensei was a descendant of the famous Onigusukini samurai family. Perhaps because of his weak constitution, he began his instruction in his home town in the art of Shuri-te at the age of 13, under the tutelage of the legendary Anko Itosu (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, Sensei Chojun Miyagi (co-founder of Goju-ryu Karate) introduced Mabuni to another great of that period, Sensei Kanryo Higaonna (Higaonna Kanryo), and began to learn Naha-te under him as well. While both Itosu and Higashionna 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 Naifanchi and Bassai kata; the Higashionna syllabus, on the other hand, stressed circular motion and shorter fighting methods as seen in the popular Seipai and Kururunfa forms. Shito-ryu 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 Seisho Aragaki, Tawada Shimboku, Sueyoshi Jino and Wu Xianhui (a Chinese master known as Go-Kenki). In fact, Mabuni was legendary for his encyclopedic 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) 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: Sensei Gichin Funakoshi (founder of Shotokan), another contemporary, had moved to Tokyo in the 1920s to promote their 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-ryu, or "half-hard style". In an effort to gain acceptance in the Japanese Butokukai, the governing body for all officially recognized martial arts in that country, he and his contemporaries decided to call their art "Karate" or "Empty Hand," rather than "Chinese Hand," perhaps to make it sound more Japanese. Around the same time, perhaps when first introducing his style to the Butokukai, is when it is believed the name of the style changed to Shito-ryu, in honour of its main influences. Mabuni derived the name for his new style from the first kanji character in their names, Itosu and Higashionna. With the support of Sensei Ryusho Sakagami (1915–1993), he opened a number of Shito-ryu dojo in the Osaka area, including Kansai University and the Japan Karatedo Kai dojo. To this day, the largest contingent of Shito-ryu practitioners in Japan is centered in the Osaka area.
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-do, yet forward thinking enough to realize that it could spread throughout the world. To this day, Shito-ryu recognizes the influences of Itosu and Higashionna: the kata syllabus of Shito Ryu 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, Kenzo and Kenei. Currently, the Shito-ryu International Karate-do Kai lists Kenzo Mabuni as the second Soke of Shito-ryu, while the World Shito-ryu Karate-do Federation lists Kenei Mabuni.

Kata Rank Requirements

Mudansha Kyu
10th Kyu  White Belt    Kihon Kata Ichi
9th   Kyu  Yellow Belt   Pinan Nidan
8th   Kyu  Orange Belt  Pinan Shodan
7th   Kyu  Blue Belt      Pinan Sandan
6th   Kyu  Green Belt    Pinan Yondan, Pinan Godan
5th   Kyu  Purple 1       Naifanchin Shodan, Bassai Dai,
      Matsumora Rohai, Jitte
4th   Kyu  Purple 2    Jiin, Aoyagi, Sanchin, Tensho
      Gekisai Dai Ichi
3rd   Kyu  Brown 1    Naifanchin Nidan, Kushanku Dai
2nd   Kyu  Brown 2    Wankan, Wansu, Jion, Niseshi
1st   Kyu  Brown 3    Saifa, Juroku, Gekisai Dai Ni

Yodansha
Black Belt

Naifanchin Sandan, Seipai, Bassai Sho, Seienchin, Chinte, Chinto, Kushanku Sho, Matsumura Bassai Dai, Itosu Rohai Shodan, Seisan, Kururunfa, Superinpei, Shiho Kushanku, Nipaipo, Gojushiho, Itosu Rohai Nidan

Kobudo Class Kata

Kobudo Class Kata 

Kobudo History:

Kobudo古武道 is the art of weapons, which include bo, sai, tonfa, kama, nunchaku, tekko, and eku as being some of the basic and more common weapons. In addition, there are however still many other weapons which are not as populare. Kobudo first gained its prominence around the year 1314 AD (the 4th year of showa), when the Japanese Government passed the first of its laws to ban the possession of all weapons on the island of Okinawan. The second banned took place in the 1600's, were karate and kobudo took more of a stronger hold in the society of the Okinawan's. The Okinawan weapons (kobudo 古武道 literately old martial way) was developed by the population of Okinawa, which suffered under the Japanese occupying forces very much. The weapons served for self-defense against the Japanese Samurai. In addition, the systems which are practiced in the kobudo today are influenced very differently. On Okinawa exists only one old book with the name Omorososhi which documents the early martial. It contains about 1500 long and short poems, written in Ryukyu-dialect of the 13. and 17. century. The poems describe the culture, the politics and aspects of the daily life on Okinawa. Several of this were translated of Kenzaburo Torikoshi. They also contain sections about helmet, armour, sword and bend. The concepts Sai or Bo are missing. The only Kobudo weapon which is mentioned in the Omorososhi is the Jo.

Bo (Kon, Kun) 棒

 (棒: ぼう) or kon, is a long staff, usually made of tapered hard wood, for example white oak, bamboo and in some cases for training purposes, rattan. Sometimes it is made of metal or plated with metal for extra strength; also, a full-size bo is sometimes called a rokushakubo (六尺棒: ろくしゃくぼう). This name derives from the Japanese words roku (六ろく), meaning 6, shaku (尺: しゃく) a Japanese measurement equivalent to about .994 ft and bo. The rokushaku-bo refers to a staff about 6 feet long. The bo is typically 1 inch thick, sometimes gradually tapering from the middle to 0.8 inch at both ends. This thickness allows the user to make a tight fist around it in order to block and counter an attack. The most common shape, maru-bo, is a round staff, while kaku-bo (four-sided staff), rokkaku-bo (six-sided staff), hakkaku-bo (eight-sided staff) also exist. Other types of bo range from heavy to light, from rigid to highly flexible, and from simply a piece of wood picked up off the side of the road to ornately decorated works of art.

Bo (Kon) Kata

1. Bo Kihon No Kata

2. Tenryu no Kon
3. Shushi No Kon Sho
4. Shushi No Kon Dai 

5. Suishi no Kon

6. Ko-Ryu Shushi No Kon
7. Choun No Kon
8. Sakugawa No Kon

9. Shihonuki o Kon

10. Sueyoshi No Kon

11. Yonegawa No Kon

12. Ryubi No Kon

Sai 釵

The Sai is a short medal weapon with three sharp edges. Usually two or three Sais were used at the same time; their purpose was to block the opponent’s weapon, while their sharp tips were used to strike powerful and swift penetrating blows. It is difficult to trace the exact origin of the Sai- but it closely resembles a tool once used in China.

A third Sai could often be seen hanging from one’s belt behind one’s back; this was used to replace one of the other two Sais , in case it fell off one’s hand.

Another type of weapon similar to the Sai is the nunti sai or manji sai; its distinctive feature is that one of its edges points towards the opposite direction that the other two. It was often placed on a Bo (Nunti-Bo) and it is believed to have been used as a fishing tool.

Sai Katas:
1. Sai Kihon No Kata
2. Chatanyara No Sai Sho
3. Tawada No Sai

4. Chatanyara No Sai Dai

5. Tsuken Shitahaku no Sai

6. Hama Higa No Sai

Tonfa 柺

The tonfa (tuifa) was originated from a farming implement.  It was a handle that was used to turn a millstone in order to mill grain.

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Tonfa Katas:
1. Tonfa Kihon No Kata

2. Ode No Tonfa Ichi
3. Hama Higa No Tonfa

4. Chikina no Tonfa

5. Chatanyara No Tonfa

6. Yaragara No Tonfa

Kama

Kama Katas:
1. Kama Kihon No Kata
2. Kanegawa No Nichougama
3. Tozan No Nichougama

Nunchaku

Nunchuku Katas:
1. Nunchuku Kihon No Kata
2. Sosetsu Kon No Kata

3. Maezato No Nunchaku

Eku

Eku Katas:
1. Eku Kihon No Kata

2. Tsuken Akachu No Eku

  

Tekko

1. Maezato No Tekko

Suruchin

1. Kihon No Suruchin Ichi

2. Kihon No Suruchin Ni

Hanbo-jitsu

1. Kihan No Hanbo

Jo-jitsu

Tsukizue

Suigetsu

Hissage

Shamen

Sakan

Monomi

Kasumi

Tachiotoshi

Raiuchi

Seigan

Midaredome

Ranai

Iaido

 Seitei Ryu

1. Mae

2. Ushiro

3. Uke-nagashi

4. Tsuka-ate

5. Kesa-giri

6. Morote-zuki

7. Sampo-giri

8. Gammen-ate

9. Soete-tsuki

10. Shiho-giri

11. Sou-giri

12. Nuki-uchi

Omori Ryu
1. Shohatto

2. Satto

3. Uto tari-to

4. Inyoshintai

5. Ryuto

6. Junto

7. Gyakuto

8. Seichuto

9. Koranto

10. Gyakute

11. Inyoshintai

12. Batto

Toyama Ryu

1. Ippon Me

2. Nihon Me

3. Sanbon Me

4. Yonhon Me

5. Gohon Me

6. Roppon Me

7. Nanahon Me

8. Happon Me