Shōrin-ryū

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Shōrin-ryū

Shōrin-ryū ( Japanese少林 流 or 小林 流, Shaolin style , literally grove style ) is one of the two great karate style families from Okinawa and cannot be classified as a hard or soft style. Shōrin-ryū probably originated in Okinawa during the 19th century, before karate was known in Japan. The roots of this style can be traced back several centuries. Who exactly founded Shōrin-ryū is unclear, although Shōrin-ryū is often ascribed to Matsumura Sōkon (1792–1887). He was a student of Sakugawa Kanga . His karate is strongly influenced by Chinese Shaolin martial arts. Matsumura Sōkon had a number of important students, including Chotoku Kyan (Sukunaihayashi Ryu), who was born in Shuri on Okinawa in December 1870 and who greatly influenced the development of Shōrin-ryū. He influenced the styles Matsubayashi-Ryu , Shobayashi and Sukunaihayashi Ryu.

Another important student of Matsumura was Itosu Yasutsune (1830-1915). He advocated public teaching in schools of the hitherto secret art and for this purpose developed the Pinan Katas from the Kata Kushanku . His student Chibana Choshin (1885-1969) founded the branch of Kobayashi-ryū .

Shōrin-ryū is characterized by alternating high and low levels, natural breathing, and straight and circular movements. This makes it a very explosive yet supple style; Quiet techniques follow fast, powerful techniques with extreme use (kime) of body tension . Some of the Shōrin-Ryū styles are also characterized by very subtle movements of the hip (Koshi). Today the Shōrin-ryū family includes many styles, including Kobayashi-ryū (Shorinkan, Shidokan, Tesshinkan, and Kyudokan), Matsubayashi-ryu, Matsumura Orthodox Shorin-ryu (Matsumura Seito), Shobayashi and Sukunaihayashi Ryu (Chotoku Kyan)

Shōtōkan karate, which originated in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s and is very widespread worldwide, also goes back to Shōrin-ryū. Shotokan is therefore one of the younger styles within karate, which nowadays differs quite significantly from the well-known Shōrin-ryū styles. Associated with the creation of the Shōtōkan was competitive karate. Traditionalists often complain that many of the "effective" techniques and the knowledge about their application from Okinawa were not taken over into the Shōtōkan in order to make it competitive. On the other hand, there are also traditional forms of karate in Shōtōkan that are oriented towards martial arts (e.g. JKA or SKID ).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Roland Habersetzer, Koshiki Kata - The classic kata of Karatedō , 2nd edition. Palisander Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-938305-01-0 , p. 98

See also