1998 - 2010 Japan Shito-Ryu Karate-Do Union ®. All rights reserved.
Shito-Ryu Karate-Do..........!
The Shito-Ryu Karate-Do, created by Master Kenwa Mabuni, by combine the features of Shuri Karate of Master Itosu an Naha Karate of Master Higaonna. The name Shito-Ryu is formed from the first hieroglyphs of names of these Masters ("Ito"- old Chinese hieroglyph "Shi", "Higa"-old Chinese hieroglyph "To". While teaching his students and explaining the basic differences between schools Itosu and Higaonna, Master Kenwa Mabuni paid the most attention to Katas. He believed that Katas, which combine both attack and defence techniques are the most important part of Karate-Do, and that is necessary to understand the meaning of each movement in the kata and to perform the Kata correctly. Master Kenwa Mabuni was the first to introduce the concept of Bunkai kumite and Hokei Kumite, which demonstrated the purpose and showed the correct use for each kata. The final result of proper Kata & Kumite training is the ability to apply Karate-Do techniques in free Kumite.The founder (Ryuso) of Karate-Do Shito-Ryu, Master Kenwa Mabuni was born on November 14, 1889 in Shuri, Okinawa. He belonged to the 17th generation from one of the bravest warriors of Ryukyu kingdom Kenio Oshiro. Kenwa Mabuni himself was a physically weak child; however, his family members often told him stories about his famous ancestors and he dreamed of becoming physically controlling. At the age of 13, Kenwa Mabuni was accepted as a student at the school of the famous Karate-Do Master Anko Itosu, who lived in Shuri. Kenwa Mabuni trained every day, even during typhoons, and and within seven years he learned the art of Shuri-Karate of Shuri-te. When Kenwa Mabuni was 20 years old, he began to study the art of Naha-Karate of Naha-te with the Grand Master Kanryo Higaonna, Later both of these major directions of karate-do of Okinawa formed a basis of Shito-Ryu Karate-Do Style Created by Master Kenwa Mabuni
Shuko-kai Karate-Do..........!
"Shu-ko-Kai" roughly translates into "way for all club" or "work together club". Formerly known as Tani-Ha Shito-Ryu Shukokai, it is one of the most dynamic, powerful and popular Karate Styles that developed after 1948. It is the brain-child of late Grand Master (Soke) Chojiro Tani. He studied the Goju-Ryu style for a decade and then studied the world famous style Shito-Ryu style under the legendary Grand Master Kenwa Mabuni. After Grand Master Mabuni's demise, Grand Master Tani became the Shit-Ryu Style Chief. He was always fascinated by the science of body-mechanics and movement. After through study much experimentation he was able to fuse the speed and dynamics of Shito-Ryu style, with the power and strength of Goju-Ryu Style. This is how the famous and uniquely powerful SHUKOKAI style was born. Grand Master Tani did this by re-designing the Kicking
from Right: Sensei Gyana Ranjan Mohanty learns Katas/Kihons under Grand Master Kaicho Toshihiro Inagaki (8th Dan) of Japan
and punching methods of Shito-Ryu to maximize and benefit from plyometric (elastic) contraction of muscles. Along with this, the famous double hip movement for executing strikes was developed. Finally, all this was combined with the powerful and strong elements of Goju-Ryu Style. This combination has given Shukokai style its explosive power, So far, Shukokai Style has developed the most comprehensive and richest variety of Katas (Offensive and defensive sequences). After Grand Master Tani's demise, Shukokai style has been practiced & promoted by his senior students. One of them is Grand Master Kyoshi Toshihiro Inagaki, 8th Dan Black Belt of Japan. He is the President/Kaicho of Tani-Ha Shito-Ryu Karate-Do Shukokai Izushi, Japan & Japan Shito-Ryu Karate-Do Union.
