Isshin-ryu Isshin-ryu Farbrausch Category="Karate"Isshin-ryu (一心流) is a style of Okinawan Karate founded by Shimabuku Tatsuo around 1953. Isshinryu karate is largely a synthesis of Shorin-Ryu karate and Goju-ryu karate. The name means, literally, "one heart" or "one mind" or "whole heart" way. The style, while not very popular on Okinawa, spread to the United States via the Marine Corps, and has also spread to other countries. Many variations of the system exist.

Kata

The system is summed up in its Kata, or formal practice methods. In many of the various forks of the system, thirteen kata (eight empty-handed, three bo, and two sai kata) are agreed upon as belonging to Isshinryu.

Empty-handed kata

(listed in order of progression of learning)

Seisan (十三 Seisan)
Seiuchin (制引戦 Seiyunchin)
Naihanchi (ナイハンチ Naihanchi)
Wansu (汪楫 Wansū)
Chinto (鎮闘 Chintō)
Kusanku (公相君 Kūsankū)
Sunsu (スンスウ Sunsū)
Sanchin (三戦 Sanchin)

Bo (staff) kata

Tokomeni no kun (徳嶺の棍 Tokumine no kun)
Urashi no bo (浦添棒 Urashī bō)
Bo shi shi no kun (添石の棍 Shīshi no kun)

Sai (forked weapon) kata

Kusanku sai (公相君サイ Kūsankū sai)
Chatanyara no sai (北谷屋良の釵 Chatan Yara no sai)

Other kata

There are other "Unofficial" kata that are practiced by some practitioners. Some of the more common are:

Kyan no sai, which Shimabuku taught but which he appears to have stopped teaching later on. The end section of Kusanku sai, which goes beyond where Kusanku ends, is taken from this kata.

Chiefa or Hamahiga no tonfa. This was demonstrated on a video taped performance by Shimabuku, however he seemed unsure of parts and never taught it as a official kata. The name is believed to be a misspelling of "tuifa", another way of writting tonfa. Some believe that he had recently learnt it at the time and was just demonstrating, but not meaning for it to become part of the system.

Nunchaku (flail)/Kama. Some schools also practice one or more Nunchaku and/or kama kata.

Isshinryu schools may also include two-person weapons katas, such as Bo-Bo Kumite and Bo-Sai Kumite. Occasionally a Bo-Tonfa Kumite is included as well.

Organization

The current Okinawan head of Isshinryu is Shimabuku Kichiro, the oldest son of Shimabuku Tatsuo. However there are many political disagreements, and most would rather follow the younger son, Ciso, who Tatsuo intended to leave the style to, or Shimabuku Tatsuo's son-in-law Angi Uezi, who heads a seperate organization in Okinawa.

There are also many Isshinryu organizations that exist independent of Okinawan control or leadership, each with its own separate leaders. Don Nagle, an American Marine, opened the first Isshinryu dojo in the United States in Jersey City, NJ. That school still operates today.

History

Tatsuo Shimabuku

A native of Okinawa, Tatsuo Shimabuku studied the Shorin-Ryu and Goju-ryu systems. He began training under his uncle, and then under Chotoku Kiyan who would be his most influential instructor (and after whome he initially named his style). He also studied karate from Chojun Miyagi and Choki Motobu. He then studied Ryukyu Kobudo, the art of traditional Okinawan weapons, including the sai, bo, and tonfa, under Taira Shinken and Yabiku Moden. From the open-hand and weapons techniques of these styles he formed a new art, which he called Isshin-ryu. It stresses close-in techniques necessary for self-protection. Unlike most karate styles, the Isshinryu punch has the fist end in a vertical, rather than palm-down, position.

References

The Kata of Okinawa Isshinryu Karate-do: An Informal Discussion on their Possible Origins
Okinawan "Kobudo Bo Kata" Names (in Japanese)

External links

Everything Isshinryu