Martial arts have been a life saver for people, who want to come out a winner in a physical combat or want to defend themselves from any sort of physical attacks. There are quite a few different forms of martial arts such as kickboxing, judo and taekwondo to just name a few. The different forms of martial arts are each different from each other in a unique way. One such form of martial arts is the Shorin Ryu Karate. It is unique among the four different forms of karate. Many people know karate as the only form existent but there are different forms of karate existent. The different forms of karate are - Shotokan-Ryu, Wado-Ryu, Goju-Ryu and Shito-Ryu. Each of these forms of karate has a specialty of its own and is different from the other in a unique manner.
Shorin Ryu karate is one of the modern forms of Okaniwan martial arts. Karate for long was practiced in secret in classical Okaniwan dance. The fighting art was a closely guarded secret and no one was allowed the privilege to know it outside the family members, teachers and practitioners. Shorin Ryu karate was developed as a system of communication and defense. Shorin Ryu makes use of hands techniques more than foot techniques and uses high stance at most of the times. This form of martial arts also practices traditional weapons. Shorin Ryu is characterized by natural slow breathing, narrow and high natural stances and direct movements. This form of martial art does not use circular movements extensively. Teachers of Shorin Ryu karate say that correct motion is what matters, being able to move quickly to evade the attacks and flexible positions to attack the opponent at the weak points is quite necessary. A solid body structure does help in powerful moves but a deep stance hampers the chances of a fast and fluid body movements.
Matsumara Sokon – Founder of Shorin Ryu
Shorin Ryu (pictured right)is said to have been founded by a Matsumura Sokon during the early 1800s. Matsumura had been a famous warrior and was appointed the bodyguard to the 3 kings of Okinawa. He is considered to be the creator of the style, but it seems that every component of this style was not invented by him and he did not use it to call Shorin Ryu himself. It is believed that he combined the Okaniwan style of fighting with the different Chinese styles which he learned during traveling extensively. It is believed that he taught these techniques to some curious students who then sophisticated it, tagged it Shorin Ryu and taught them to the followers.
The name Shorin Ryu reflects Chinese involvement in the development of the style. Shorin Ryu developed the linear movements making it even stronger than the other forms of martial arts present at that time. Despite being a complete style in itself Shorin Ryu is considered the most important ancestor of the modern karate.
Students of Matsumara
One of the best students of Matsumura, Itosu grew up to be an excellent practitioner of Okaniwan style of karate and formulated the 5 Pinan Kata, which is now being taught in the Shorin Ryu as well as different forms of martial arts. A different group of historians believe that the initial 3 Pinan Kata was formulated by Matsumura himself and the remaining two were Itosu’s doing. A student of Matsumura named Anko Azata was the primary influence on the guy, Gichin Funakoshi who introduced Okaniwan style of martial arts in Japan naming it simply Karate.
Hohan Soken
Hohan Soken was the founder of the claimed orthodox style naming it Matsumura style of Shorin Ryu. Soken started his training at the tender age of thirteen under the guidance of his uncle Nabe Matsumura. After ten years of basic training, Hohan Soken started learning the techniques of the white crane known as hakutsuru. Soken believed that the different techniques he learnt form his different teachers were the same as that practiced by his ancestor samurai over hundred of years ago. Soken moved to Argentina in 1924 only to move back to Okinawa after 21 long years. After returning to Okinawa Soken started to accept students to teach them the arts he knew. This is where he started teaching the Matsumura style of Shorin Ryu. There has not been probably a single unified school of Shorin Ryu style of karate although many schools use the name. Many schools can be traced back to the Matsumura or his students but not a single unified exists. The Shorin Ryu form is one of the four different forms of karate and is quite popular among the general masses.