Matsubayashi-ryū

Shōrin-ryū

Official Logo
Also known as	Matsubayashi Shōrin-ryū
Date founded	1935 or earlier
Country of origin	Okinawa, Japan
Founder	Osensei Shōshin Nagamine
Current head	Soke Takayoshi Nagamine
Arts taught	Karate, Kobudō
Ancestor schools	Shorin-ryū, Motobu-ryū

Matsubayashi-ryū (松林流), sometimes incorrectly known as Matsubayashi Shōrin-ryū, is a school of Okinawan tomari-te karate founded by Shōshin Nagamine (1907-1997) in 1947. Its curriculum includes 18 kata, 7 two-man yakusoku kumite (prearranged sparring) routines, and kobudō (weapons) practice.

According to Sensei Nagamine, he named his style in honor of two masters whom he viewed as the most important masters that his teachings were based upon, Matsumura Sōkon and Kosaku Matsumora. He chose to name the school using the first kanji characters from both master names Matsu (松) and the style can be pronounced in Japanese "Matsubayashi". Because all Japanese Kanji have both an ON (Chinese) Pronunciation and a Kun (Japanese) Pronunciation, Matusbayahsi is often mispronounced by non-Okinawans as Shorin, which is incorrect. In Japanese for any given word, there is only one correct pronunciation of the kanji. Either the ON pronunciation or the Kun pronunciation is correct, but never both. Matsubayashi is the correct pronuciation for (松林流?).

Nagamine Shōshin also credited Motobu Chōki as the teacher who inspired his seven Yakusoku kumite forms. Today, the official Matsubayashi-ryū organization is run by Shōshin Nagamine's son, Takayoshi Nagamine, though there are many schools teaching Matsubayashi-ryū that are not officially affiliated with the Nagamine dojo.

Matsubayashi-ryū is one of the better-documented traditional karate styles, owing to Nagamine's book, The Essence of Okinawan Karate-dō as well as Tales of the Masters.

Kata

• Fukyugata Ichi
• Fukyugata Ni
• Pinan Shodan
• Pinan Nidan
• Pinan Sandan
• Pinan Yondan
• Pinan Godan
• Naihanchi Shodan
• Naihanchi Nidan
• Naihanchi Sandan
• Ananku
• Wankan
• Rōhai
• Wanshu
• Passai
• Gojūshiho
• Chintō
• Kusanku

External links

• The Official Okinawa description of Matsubayashi-ryu
• the Official Okinawan biography of Shoshin Nagamine
• The Official Okinawan Lineage of Tomari-te
• The World Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do Association (WMKA)
• Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate Association of Australia (MKAA)
• European Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate Association (EMKA)
• The North American Matsubayashi-ryu Karate-do Association (NAMKA)
• Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Karate-Do Information Page, New Zealand
• Matsubayashi-ryu Kata videos
• An academic paper on the nature of kata in the Electronic Journals of Martial Arts and Sciences.