By George M. Hizon
He was legendary for his encyclopaedic knowledge of kata and their bunkai applications; his arrival in Osaka, Japan in 1929 would further accelerate the growth of Karate-do. Born in Shuri on Okinawa in 1889, Kenwa Mabuni Shihan was a descendant of the famous Onigusukini Samurai family. Perhaps because of his weak constitution, he began his instruction in his home town in the art of Shuri-Te (首里手) at the age of 13, under the tutelage of the legendary Ankō Yasutsune Itosu (糸州安恒) (1831-1915). He also had a second Master by the name of Higaonna, who came from the Naha-te school of Karate. Karate was divided into 2 schools of practice during that period. One was the Naha-te, a style which emphasizes strong and heavy movements. The other one was the Shuri-te, a style which places emphasis on soft but very fast movements.
In 1929, Mabuni founded the Hanko-Ryu school in Osaka, Japan. Hanko literally means “half-hard”. Being a classmate of Funakoshi in the Shuri-te system, Mabuni’s style was very similar to that of the Shotokan. He, however, added a elements from the Naha-te system. Later, he changed its name to Shito-Ryu, or Shito style. Perhaps more than any other Master in the last century, Mabuni was steeped in the traditions and history of Karate-do, yet forward thinking enough to realize that it could spread throughout the world. To this day, Shitō-ryū recognizes the influences of Itosu and Higaonna: the kata syllabus of Shito-ryū is still often listed in such a way as to show the two lineages. Shito came from the first Japanese characters of the name of his two teachers, “Shi” (市) for Itosu and “To” (へ) for Higaonna.
It was also during this time that Mabuni published a number of books on the subject and continued to systematize the instruction method. In his latter years, he developed a number of formal kata, such as Aoyagi and Meijō, for example, which were designed specifically for women’s self-defense.
A very interesting feature of Shito-Ryu is the emphasis on the practice of Ryukyu Kobudo, the traditional weapons of ancient Okinawa. They are the bo, eku, kama (Okinawan kusarigama), kuwa, nunchaku, sai, sansetsukon, tambo, susrjin, tekko, timbe-rochin and the tonfa.
Kenwa Mabuni died in 1952, and he is succeeded by his sons Kenei and Kenzo. His son Kenzo Mabuni died in 26 June 2005, and was succeeded by his daughter.
Today, Shito-Ryu is one of the four major styles recognized by the Japan Karate-do Federation (JKF) and the World Karate-do Federation (WKF). Shito-Ryu is very popular in Japan, although, it has a relatively few followers abroad compared to Shotokan. This is due to the fact that Shito-Ryu is a very conservative style and only few attempts were made to export it abroad.
Master Kenwa Mabuni was legendary for his encyclopaedic knowledge of kata and their bunkai applications.
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