Evolution of Shito-Ryu
To understand the evolution of Shito Ryu, take a look at the masters of Okinawa that helped
shape the style. The record concerning the evolution of Shito Ryu is, fortunately, very well
defined. One of the first great masters of Okinawa was Satanuku "Tode" (Chinese Hand)
Sakugawa. Tode Sakugawa was born in Shuri in 1733 and died in 1815. At the age of 17,
Tode Sakugawa began his martial arts training under an Okinawan monk named Peichin
Takahara. At age 23, Sakugawa was advised by Takahara to go and train under Kusanku, a
Chinese master in Kung Fu. For the next six years, Sakugawa learned all that he could.
Sakugawa learned valuable lessons from karate and became a great master. Tode
Sakugawa was an important factor in the development of TE on the Okinawan Islands. Tode
Sakugawa was credited with forming several Bo katas which are still practiced today. In
addition, Sakugawa also created Dojo Kun which has become a tradition with many styles,
including our own. When Tode Sakugawa was 78 he taught his greatest student, Sokon
Matsumura the art of Te. Sokon Matsumura was born on Okinawa in 1796 and lived until
1893. During this time, Matsumura had learned karate well and went on to become chief of
the military for the king of the Ryukyu Islands. Matsumura also was credited with the
formation of Shuri Te. This was the first time that someone had called their style by
something other than their own name. Among the many students Matsumura taught,
Yasutsune Itosu was one of his greatest!
Yasutsune Itosu, also named "Anko", was born in 1830 in Shuri and died in 1915. It is Itosus'
style of Shuri Te which was used to create Shito Ryu in 1930 by Kenwa Mabuni. Itosu was a
large indivdiual, well known for his strength and power. He was the first Okinawan master to
teach karate in the public school systems. Itosu's hard, dynamic style was influential to many
others including Kenwa Mabuni, Gichin Funakoshi and other important Okinawan masters.
Another master who's style was influential to the creation of Shito Ryu was Kanyro
Higashionna (Higaonna). Higashionna was born in Naha in 1845 and died in 1915.
Higashionna is credited with creating Naha Te in 1890. As a young boy, he traveled to China
and learned Kung Fu from a Chinese master. Higashionna was instrumental in the
introduction of Sanchin stance and kata. Naha Te eventually became Gojo Ryu. The hard
style of Shuri Te and the slower more circular moves of Naha Te were critical to the
formation of Shito Ryu.
The founder of Shito Ryu was Kenwa Mabuni. Kenwa Mabuni was born on Okinawa in 1889
he moved to Osaka in 1928, to teach karate, and died in 1957. Mabuni took the benefits of
both styles and created Shito Ryu in 1930. Kenwa Mabuni originally named his style
"HANKO RYU" meaning "Half-Hard Style", but, later changed it to reflect the deep respect he
felt towards his two great masters, ITOSU and HIGAONNA. Using the alternative reading of
the Kanji for "ITO" from master ITOSUs’ name, (read as "SHI" ), and 'HIGA' from master
HIGAONNAs’ name, (read as "TO", Kenwa Mabuni created the new name, "SHITO" for his
style of Karate-do!
.
Master Mabuni developed an extensive repertoire of kata based on the teachings of Shur-te
(Itosu) and Naha-te (Higaonna). It also included kata of the white crane teachings of
Gokenki. Shito-Ryu is also one of the few Japanese styles to maintain the practice of
kobudo (Okinawan weaponry). Modern Shito-Ryu is characterized by fast, linear movement
in kumite, and sharp, well-defined movement in kata.
Master Mabuni developed his system around five basic principles of defense which he
termed “Uke no Gogensoku”. These include:
Teni: Avoiding your opponent's attack through body movement .
Ryusui: The ability to flow with your opponent's movement in a way that is
controlling and which permits the defender to gain an advantage.
Kushin: Control of an attack that utilizes body movement originating in the
knees, keeping the back straight to maintain balance and strength.
Rakka: To block in such a decisive manner that one's opponent is
physically and psychologically defeated with one blow.
Hangeki: To counter an opponent with a decisive blow. Seen as the
last resort on the continuum of use of force to defend one's self.
Another element fundamental to Shito-Ryu is that of “Tenshin Happo” or the eight directions
of defensive movement. Utilized by many forms of martial art, Tenshin Happo allows a
defender to avoid an attack by shifting his/her body position to one of eight directions to
gain a strategic advantage on the attacker.
Even until today, Shito Ryu has become one of the largest practiced styles of karate. Shito
Ryu is also considered one of the four major systems of karate still practiced in Japan today.
Along with karate, Mabuni also incorporated Kobdo or weapons in his system, learning from
a weapons master named Aragaki. Upon Mabuni's death, the top students formed several
sub-styles of Shito Ryu. The person responsible for creating our particular style of Shito Ryu
was Ryusho Sakagami. Ryusho Sakagami was born on Okinawa in 1915 and died in
December of 1994. In 1953, sensei Sakagami established the Itosu Kai Shito Ryu style in
Yokohama, Japan. Sensei Sakagami was the sensei of our chief instructor, sensei Fumio
Demura. Sensei Sakagami was very knowledgeable about various styles of karate and
Kobudo. He became senior supervisor of the Federation of All Japan Karate do
Organizations as well as being head of Itosu Kai
One of Sensei Sakagamai's best known students is Sensei Fumio Demura. Sensei Fumio
Demura was invited to the United States of America in1965 by Dan Ivan. Since then Sensei
Demura has established Shito-Ryu around the world and taught thousands of students. In
addition to promoting karate, Sensei Demura had appeared in or supervised many movies
including: Mortal Combat, Rising Sun, Showdown in Little Tokyo as well as his most famous
role as Miyagi Sensei in the Karate Kid movies. Sensei Demura has also been influential in
the promotion of several karate tournaments including: The International Goodwill
Championships. These tournaments have become large and well known over the years.
Sensei Demura's dynamic style has made him a leading figure in the world of karate today.
Many of his more well known students include: Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Sho Kosugi, Steven
Segal and many others.
Sensei Demura is also highly regarded as a weapons expert with knowledge in other areas
such as Iaido, Batto, and Kendo. Sensei Demura is an 7th degree black belt in Shito Ryu as
well as having an extensive background in Judo, Aikido and other karate styles. Sensei
Demura was able to learn weapons from one of the greatest weapons experts of his time,
Shinken Taira. It is this quality of experience that has allowed Shito Ryu to prosper and grow
over the years. The variation of hand and leg techniques as well as the extensive number of
Katas that this style has, make it one of the most successful styles known to the world today.
To understand the evolution of Shito Ryu, take a look at the masters of Okinawa that helped
shape the style. The record concerning the evolution of Shito Ryu is, fortunately, very well
defined. One of the first great masters of Okinawa was Satanuku "Tode" (Chinese Hand)
Sakugawa. Tode Sakugawa was born in Shuri in 1733 and died in 1815. At the age of 17,
Tode Sakugawa began his martial arts training under an Okinawan monk named Peichin
Takahara. At age 23, Sakugawa was advised by Takahara to go and train under Kusanku, a
Chinese master in Kung Fu. For the next six years, Sakugawa learned all that he could.
Sakugawa learned valuable lessons from karate and became a great master. Tode
Sakugawa was an important factor in the development of TE on the Okinawan Islands. Tode
Sakugawa was credited with forming several Bo katas which are still practiced today. In
addition, Sakugawa also created Dojo Kun which has become a tradition with many styles,
including our own. When Tode Sakugawa was 78 he taught his greatest student, Sokon
Matsumura the art of Te. Sokon Matsumura was born on Okinawa in 1796 and lived until
1893. During this time, Matsumura had learned karate well and went on to become chief of
the military for the king of the Ryukyu Islands. Matsumura also was credited with the
formation of Shuri Te. This was the first time that someone had called their style by
something other than their own name. Among the many students Matsumura taught,
Yasutsune Itosu was one of his greatest!
Yasutsune Itosu, also named "Anko", was born in 1830 in Shuri and died in 1915. It is Itosus'
style of Shuri Te which was used to create Shito Ryu in 1930 by Kenwa Mabuni. Itosu was a
large indivdiual, well known for his strength and power. He was the first Okinawan master to
teach karate in the public school systems. Itosu's hard, dynamic style was influential to many
others including Kenwa Mabuni, Gichin Funakoshi and other important Okinawan masters.
Another master who's style was influential to the creation of Shito Ryu was Kanyro
Higashionna (Higaonna). Higashionna was born in Naha in 1845 and died in 1915.
Higashionna is credited with creating Naha Te in 1890. As a young boy, he traveled to China
and learned Kung Fu from a Chinese master. Higashionna was instrumental in the
introduction of Sanchin stance and kata. Naha Te eventually became Gojo Ryu. The hard
style of Shuri Te and the slower more circular moves of Naha Te were critical to the
formation of Shito Ryu.
The founder of Shito Ryu was Kenwa Mabuni. Kenwa Mabuni was born on Okinawa in 1889
he moved to Osaka in 1928, to teach karate, and died in 1957. Mabuni took the benefits of
both styles and created Shito Ryu in 1930. Kenwa Mabuni originally named his style
"HANKO RYU" meaning "Half-Hard Style", but, later changed it to reflect the deep respect he
felt towards his two great masters, ITOSU and HIGAONNA. Using the alternative reading of
the Kanji for "ITO" from master ITOSUs’ name, (read as "SHI" ), and 'HIGA' from master
HIGAONNAs’ name, (read as "TO", Kenwa Mabuni created the new name, "SHITO" for his
style of Karate-do!
.
Master Mabuni developed an extensive repertoire of kata based on the teachings of Shur-te
(Itosu) and Naha-te (Higaonna). It also included kata of the white crane teachings of
Gokenki. Shito-Ryu is also one of the few Japanese styles to maintain the practice of
kobudo (Okinawan weaponry). Modern Shito-Ryu is characterized by fast, linear movement
in kumite, and sharp, well-defined movement in kata.
Master Mabuni developed his system around five basic principles of defense which he
termed “Uke no Gogensoku”. These include:
Teni: Avoiding your opponent's attack through body movement .
Ryusui: The ability to flow with your opponent's movement in a way that is
controlling and which permits the defender to gain an advantage.
Kushin: Control of an attack that utilizes body movement originating in the
knees, keeping the back straight to maintain balance and strength.
Rakka: To block in such a decisive manner that one's opponent is
physically and psychologically defeated with one blow.
Hangeki: To counter an opponent with a decisive blow. Seen as the
last resort on the continuum of use of force to defend one's self.
Another element fundamental to Shito-Ryu is that of “Tenshin Happo” or the eight directions
of defensive movement. Utilized by many forms of martial art, Tenshin Happo allows a
defender to avoid an attack by shifting his/her body position to one of eight directions to
gain a strategic advantage on the attacker.
Even until today, Shito Ryu has become one of the largest practiced styles of karate. Shito
Ryu is also considered one of the four major systems of karate still practiced in Japan today.
Along with karate, Mabuni also incorporated Kobdo or weapons in his system, learning from
a weapons master named Aragaki. Upon Mabuni's death, the top students formed several
sub-styles of Shito Ryu. The person responsible for creating our particular style of Shito Ryu
was Ryusho Sakagami. Ryusho Sakagami was born on Okinawa in 1915 and died in
December of 1994. In 1953, sensei Sakagami established the Itosu Kai Shito Ryu style in
Yokohama, Japan. Sensei Sakagami was the sensei of our chief instructor, sensei Fumio
Demura. Sensei Sakagami was very knowledgeable about various styles of karate and
Kobudo. He became senior supervisor of the Federation of All Japan Karate do
Organizations as well as being head of Itosu Kai
One of Sensei Sakagamai's best known students is Sensei Fumio Demura. Sensei Fumio
Demura was invited to the United States of America in1965 by Dan Ivan. Since then Sensei
Demura has established Shito-Ryu around the world and taught thousands of students. In
addition to promoting karate, Sensei Demura had appeared in or supervised many movies
including: Mortal Combat, Rising Sun, Showdown in Little Tokyo as well as his most famous
role as Miyagi Sensei in the Karate Kid movies. Sensei Demura has also been influential in
the promotion of several karate tournaments including: The International Goodwill
Championships. These tournaments have become large and well known over the years.
Sensei Demura's dynamic style has made him a leading figure in the world of karate today.
Many of his more well known students include: Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Sho Kosugi, Steven
Segal and many others.
Sensei Demura is also highly regarded as a weapons expert with knowledge in other areas
such as Iaido, Batto, and Kendo. Sensei Demura is an 7th degree black belt in Shito Ryu as
well as having an extensive background in Judo, Aikido and other karate styles. Sensei
Demura was able to learn weapons from one of the greatest weapons experts of his time,
Shinken Taira. It is this quality of experience that has allowed Shito Ryu to prosper and grow
over the years. The variation of hand and leg techniques as well as the extensive number of
Katas that this style has, make it one of the most successful styles known to the world today.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Shito Ryu Genbu Kai |