To-de is Okinawan martial arts, of which historically, there were three main forms. These were Shurite, Nahate, and Tomarite, all named after towns located on the island of Okinawa. However, over time, these three main forms of the Okinawa martial art have slowly changed over the years. Today, Shorei Ryu is the result of Nahate and Tomarite amalgamating into a single entity, and means beautiful and graceful way. Shorin Ryu, named after the Shaolin Temple in China, was originally the art from the town of Shuri, which was called Shurite. Shorin Ryu resembles the “harder” style of Buddhist influenced martial art styles. These transformations occurred in the late 19th century to mid 20th century. It is unknown when they actually occurred, as it is believed that it was a gradual process.
Both Shorin Ryu and Shorei Ryu were called “Karate” in about 1899, as a result of a consensus of leading martial artists in Okinawa. In fact, To-de can also be pronounced as “Karate”.

Shorei Ryu Karate Versus Shorin Ryu Karate

The major difference between Shorei Ryu Karate and Shorin Ryu Karate is the way in which techniques and movements are executed by their respective practitioners: Shorei Ryu stresses power in each attack, investing as much strength as possible, while Shorin Ryu is perceived as compromising strength and power for more agility and speed. Movement is linear. However, this is not to say that one is better or worse than the other; both have their own merits.
A famous master of Shorin Ryu Karate was Yasutsune Azato (1828-1906), who served as a military advisor to the King of Okinawa.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 18th, 2006 at 3:56 pm and is filed under Japanese Martial Arts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.