Shuri?

The name of our Dojo, SHURI KARATE DOJO, is hugely significant within the art of Shito-Ryu.

Karate, originally developed on the small island of Okinawa, was the birth place of the founder of Shito-Ryu master Kenwa Mabuni. Master Mabuni was born in 1889 in the small coastal village of Shuri on this infamous island. Many Karate masters of the time originated from this small village and many of its exponents called their system of Karate, Shuri-te (literally – hand of Shuri).

The Shito-Ryu system contains mostly techniques of Shuri-te and Naha-ta and a major part of the Shito-Ryu system is to first learn the techniques and principles of “Shuri-te”. 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 and keeping the back straight so as 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.