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Shorin-Ryu Karate
Shorin-Ryu Karate combines elements of a fighting art that is native to Okinawa and Chinese martial arts that are principally hard style. Shorin-Ryu Karate is based on Okinawa-Te, an old form that had been practiced in Okinawa for hundreds of years.
Any discussion of the art of Shorin-Ryu Karate would be lacking if the men who made significant contributions to its development are not mentioned. One such man was Soken Matsumura (1797-1889), who holds prominence in the history of Shorin-Ryu. Nearly all of the branches of Shorin-Ryu today can trace back their roots him. Soken Matsumura was often called "Bushi" Matsumura. Matsumura began studying Okinawa-Te under "To-te" Sakugawa (1733-1815) when he was very young. Sakugawa was very old when he took Mastumura as a student.
Towards the end of the 19th century, Shuri-Te changed its name to Shorin-Ryu. No one could really determine how the name change started or who initiated it, but majority of the prominent Shuri-Te artists of that time accepted the new name. The name Shorin-Ryu referred to the fighting art's beginnings at the Shaolin temple in China. Shaolin is pronounced Shorin in Japanese. Eventually, Shorin-Ryu became the standard name of the Shuri-Te martial art.
Itosu was another prominent Shorin-Ryu man and he studied under Matsumura. He had numerous students, majority went on to become great Shorin-Ryu masters. A number of Itosu's students became famous and helped to make karate popular in Okinawa as well as introduce it to mainland Japan. Itosu's students taught Shorin-Ryu, and at present, Shorin-Ryu remains a dominant power in Okinawan karate. Since Itosu's death in 1915, Shorin-Ryu has created innumerable karate legends and has expanded to include a variety of styles in addition to the original art. Today, Shorin-Ryu is alive and thriving, practiced by thousands the world over.
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