Brief History of Shito-Ryu

The style of Karate known as Shito-Ryu had it's origins on the Island of Okinawa. In ancient time the art of Karate could not be practiced openly, however, and so those who chose to practice the art did so secretly, hidden from public view. Lacking formal names, people sometimes referred to the various schools of Karate by putting the names of Grand Masters and the Katas together thus creating a sort of label for the particular school. Sometimes schools of Karate were known by the districts and the three Meccas or most famous centers Karate on Okinawa were Shuri, Naha, And Tomuri. In the last 19th. Century the most famous Grand Master in Shuri was Mr.Itosu, and in Naha it was Mr. Higaona. These two men represented the highest Karate authorities of the time. There were however, significant differences between them. Mr.Itosu emphasized speed where as Mr. Higaona placed more emphasis en hardness of body.

The Originator of Shito-Ryu, Grand Master Kenwa Mabuni initially practiced under Mr. Itosu and then went on to study under Mr. Higaona. Mr. Mabuni was not only skilled in Karate, but also practiced weaponry such as Bo, Sai, and Nunchaku, etc. Mr. Mabuni founded his new stye of Karate by blending together that which he had learned from his two great teachers. This blending is reflected in the name of style. The two Grand Masters, Itosu and Higaona have two and three Japanese characters respectively representing their names.

The first character representing Itosu is pronounced SHI (SHE) and the first character representing Higaona is pronounced TO (TOE) the combination is the name of our style SHI-TO RYU (where RYU means style).

National tournament Karate did not appear in Japan until the middle of the 1950's. Prior to this it was believed that Karate tournaments on a large scale weren't feasible as Karate techniques allowed are too damaging, and so Karate training consisted only of small tournaments. basics and katas and one and three-step sparring. However, by limiting the techniques allowed and by introducing a scoring system, large tournaments became a possibility and a new sport was introduced in Japan, and the World.

In closing it must be emphasized that although Shito-Ryu had it's ancestral roots in Okinawa, it is nonetheless a Japanese creation. The same is true of the term "Karate" itself. The literal meaning of the two Japanese characters which make up a word "Karate" is "empty hands" - this term would have little meaning for the ancient Okinawan Grand Masters as there was no : formal name for their art. For them the art that they practiced was simply "te" - hand.