About Shitoryu Karate

Shitoryu is one of the four main styles of karate, the other 3 being wado-ryu, goju-ryu and shotokan. It was founded by Kenwa Mabuni (1889-1952), who was born in Shuri City on the island of Okinawa. He was a descendant of the ‘Bushi’ or ‘Onioshiro’ warrior class who were great servers of the Okinawan lords for hundreds of years. Although Kenwa Mabuni was a feeble boy, he looked up to his ancestors heroism and bravery and he too wanted to become a physically strong person.

The main areas in Okinawa known for karate were Shuri and Naha. A very famous master in Shuri was Anko Itosu and Kenwa Mabuni began training under him when he was 13yrs old. Several years later, through an introduction by a friend, Cojun Miyagi, Kenwa Mabuni began training under the most famous master in Naha, Kanryo Higaonna. Kenwa Mabuni trained extremely hard and when he graduated from high school he became a policeman. His job required him to travel a lot, which gave him the opportunity to learn other forms of karate and he also studied the ancient art of Ryokan Budo and Bojutsu.

Kenwa Mabuni started teaching and he put together all of his studies to form shitoryu karate-do. Kenwa worked hard over the years to promote karate and to overcome some people’s misconception of karate. In 1925 Mabuni, along with other karate masters, opened a permanent dojo called ‘Okinawan Karate –Do Club’ which was a one of a kind, as before then sensei’s could not afford permanent training halls. Many famous karate leaders trained in his dojo including Chojun Miyagi who became the other instructor alongside Mabuni.