Shit?-ry? (???) is a form of karate that was founded in 1931 by Kenwa Mabuni (??? ??, Mabuni Kenwa).
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History
Kenwa Mabuni (Mabuni Kenwa ??? ??) was born in Shuri, Okinawa in 1889. Mabuni was a 17th generation descendant of the famous warrior Uni Ufugusuku Kenyu. 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 Ank? Itosu (?? ??, Itosu Ank?) (1831-1915). 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, Ch?jun Miyagi (?? ??, Miyagi Ch?jun) (co-founder of Goj?-ry? Karate) introduced Mabuni to another great of that period, Kanry? Higaonna (??? ??, Higaonna Kanry?). Mabuni began to learn Naha-te (???) 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. Shit?-ry? 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 Seish? 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-ry?, or "half-hard style". The name of the style changed to Shit?-ry?, in honor of its main influences. Mabuni derived the name for his new style from the first kanji character from the names of his two primary teachers, Itosu and Higaonna (also called Higashionna). With the support of Ryusho Sakagami (1915-1993), he opened a number of Shit?-ry? dojo in the Osaka area, including one at Kansai University and the Japan Karated?-kai dojo. To this day, the largest contingent of Shit?-ry? 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-d?, yet forward thinking enough to realize that it could spread throughout the world. To this day, Shit?-ry? recognizes the influences of Itosu and Higaonna: the kata syllabus of Shit?-ry? 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, Kenz? and Kenei. Currently, the Shit?-ry? International Karate-d? Kai (also known as Seito Shit?-ry?) lists Kenz? Mabuni as the second S?ke of Shit?-ry?, while the World Shit?-ry? Karate-d? Federation (also known as Shit?-kai Shit?-ry?) lists Kenei Mabuni.
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Characteristics
Shit?-ry? is a combination style, which attempts to unite the diverse roots of karate. On one hand, Shit?-ry? has the physical strength and long powerful stances of Shuri-te derived styles, such as Shorin-ry? and Shotokan (???); on the other hand, Shit?-ry? also has the circular and eight-directional movements, breathing power, and hard and soft characteristics of Naha-te styles such as Uechi-ry? and G?j?-ry? (???). Shit?-ry? is extremely fast, but still can be artistic and powerful. In addition, Shit?-ry? formalizes and emphasizes the five rules of defense, developed by Kenwa Mabuni, and known as Uke no go gensoku (??????), Uke no go genri (??????), or Uke no go ho (?????):
- ?? (rakka, "falling petals"). The art of blocking with such force and precision as to completely destroy the opponent's attacking motion. Examples of rakka are the most well-known blocks, such as gedan-barai (????) or soto-uke (???).
- ?? (ry?sui, "running water"). The art of flowing around the attacker's motion, and through it, soft blocking. Examples are nagashi-uke (????) and osae-uke (?????).
- ?? (kusshin, "elasticity"). This is the art of bouncing back, storing energy while recoiling from the opponent's attack, changing or lowering stance only to immediately unwind and counterattack. Classic examples are stance transitions zenkutsu (????) to k?kutsu (????) and moto-dachi (???) to nekoashi-dachi (????).
- ?? (ten'i, "transposition"). Ten'i is the utilization of all eight directions of movement, most importantly stepping away from the line of attack.
- ?? (hangeki, "counterattack"). A hangeki defense is an attack which at the same time deflects the opponent's attack before it can reach the defender. Examples of this are various kinds of tsuki-uke (????), including yama-tsuki (???).
Modern Shit?-ry? styles also place a strong emphasis on sparring. Shit?-ry? 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.
Branches
Other schools of Shit?-ry? 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 schools of Shit?-ry? include:
- Sh?k?kai or Tani-Ha Shit?-ry?: founded by Ch?jir? Tani, student of Mabuni Kenwa, in 1949. This style represents the Tani-ha version of Shit?-ry?. Tani's most senior student, Shigeru Kimura, left Japan in 1965 to teach Sh?k?kai in Africa. Kimura continued to teach after travelling to Europe, before settling in the United States in 1970 at the age of 29, where he taught at Yonezuka's Cranford dojo for two years; creating the first Shukokai World Tournament in 1981. Sensei Kimura died of a heart attack at the age of 54. Tani died on 11 January 1998.
- Shit?-kai: founded by Manzo Iwata in Tokyo and by Kenei Mabuni in Osaka. These two branches were reunited in 1964, establishing All Japan Karate-d? Federation Shit?-Kai, which, after the death of Manzo Iwata in 1993, became known as World Shit?-ry? Karate-d? Federation. It was led by president Ken Sakio (a student of Ch?ki Motobu and Kenwa Mabuni) from 1993 to 2004, and is currently led by president Tokio Hisatomi, a student of Kenwa Mabuni. Recently, Kenei Mabuni founded a private organization, International Dento (Traditional) Shit?-ry?, which is separate from the WSKF.
- Seit? Shit?-ry?: is the style promoted by Shit?-ry? International Karate-d? Kai and is the other of the two branches claiming direct lineage from Kenwa Mabuni. It was founded by his son Kenzo Mabuni and, since his death in 2005, belongs to Kenzo's daughter, Tsukasa Mabuni. In the 1990s, several Shito-ryu masters affiliated themselves with Kenzo Mabuni. It should be noted that Japan Karate Federation does not recognize Seit? Shit?-ry?.
- Genbu-Kai International: founded by Fumio Demura.
- Kuniba-Kai International: founded by Sh?g? Kuniba, the son of K?sei Kokuba. He moved to Portsmouth VA in 1983. His dojo separated from Seishin-Kai after his death in 1992 and became known as Kuniba-Kai. Kuniba-Kai is now led by Sh?g?'s son, K?z? Kuniba. The organization's headquarters is located in Osaka, Japan.
- Saito-ha Shito-ryu Karate-Do: Del Saito Soke, founder of Traditional Karate-do Federation International and Saito-ha Shito-ryu Karate-Do, is one of the most highly respected karate-do instructors today. He began Karate training with Sensei Al Kahalekulu, a student of Sensei Tommy Morita, who studied under Dr. Tsuyoshi Chitose Soke of Kumamoto, Japan. In the early '70s he studied with Sensei Chuzo Kotaka, a student of Sensei Genryu Kimura and Shogo Kuniba Soke. After several years serving as Sensei Kotaka's National Director, Saito began to learn Seito Shito-ryu from Master Kenzo Mabuni, the son of Kenwa Mabuni, founder of Shito-ryu. Saito was presented the Hanshi degree from Kenzo Soke, the highest teaching title of his style. He was also given permission by Kenzo Mabuni to continue his understanding of Shito-ryu while providing him with a direct line to him. For many years Saito served as National Director for the International Karate Federation of Hawaii, and National Executive Director for Karate for the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States. Inducted into the International Karate Hall of Fame in 1994, he has also won numerous awards for his leadership and dedication in martial arts as well as for other sports. His expertise in Shito-Ryu Karate-do has made a great impact on many karate-ka throughout the world. Traditional Karate-do Federation International headquarters is located in Grants Pass, Oregon.
- Hayashi-ha Shit?-ry?-kai: founded by Teruo Hayashi, student of K?sei Kokuba in 1970. Hayashi led Seishin-kai before founding Hayashi-ha Shit?-ry?-kai. Hayashi-ha Shit?-ry? combines many Ry?ei-ry? techniques that Hayashi learned while studying in Okinawa. The European organization is run by Miguel Fernández Vázquez, Barcelona, Spain. In the USA, Hayashi-ha is run by Akio Minakami in Seattle. Teruo Hayashi died in 2004.
- Inoue-ha Shit?-ry? Keishin-kai : founded by Yoshimi Inoue (????) in 2004 as a direct descendant of Hayashi-ha Shit?-ry? with headquarters in Tottori, Japan and dojos in Venezuela, USA, Sweden, Brazil, and other countries. Inoue is a senior coach of the Japan National Karate Kata Competition team and his students include a number of World Kata champions.
- Itosu-kai: founded by Ryusho Sakagami (1915-1993) on March 1, 1940 as Shito-ryu Karate Sakagami Dojo in Kawanishi City, Hy?go Prefecture. He succeeded to the position of 3rd soke of Itosu-ha on January 2, 1952, and he officially named the organization Japan Karatedo Itosu-kai and the style "Itosu-ryu" in 1969. The branch is now run by Ryusho's son Sadaaki Sakagami, 4th soke of Itosu-Ryu
- Suzuki-Ha Shito-Ryu Seiko-Kai: founded by Seiko Suzuki in 1993 upon the death of Ryusho Sakagami, based in Shinkoiwa, Tokyo-Japan. Suzuki a senior student of Sakagami commenced study in 1954. In 1980 he received 8th dan from Sakagami Sensei and was issued "Menkyo Kaiden". Colin Punyer Shihan 8th Dan who is based in Australia is a direct student of Suzuki Soke .
- Kurobayashi-ha Shito-ryu Karate-Do: founded by Rudy Crosswell, a student of Shogo Kuniba, Teruo Hayashi and Kenzo Mabuni, in 2012 after 50 years of training in Shito-ryu.
- Nobukawa-ha Shito-Ryu Karatedo: founded by Soke Kuniaki Nobukawa in 2001. He was student of Chojiro Tani and Teruo Hayashi. Soke Kuniaki Nobukawa currently ranks 8th Dan from All Japan Karate-Do Federation and certified as Hanshi.
Kata
These are all the katas of Shit?-ry? and an orientative grade for each of them:
Kunshi no Ken (The Noble Discipline)
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.
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)
Techniques
List of techniques, used in Shit?-ry? style of Karate. Blocks, kicks and strikes can be j?dan, ch?dan or gedan and related to migi (right) or hidari (left).
Tachi (stances)
Source:
Uke-waza (blocking techniques)
Uchi-waza (striking techniques)
Keri-waza (kicking techniques)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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