Matsubayashi-ryū

Matsubayashi

Official Logo
Also known as	Matsubayashi Shōrin-ryū
Date founded	1947
Country of origin	Okinawa, Japan
Founder	Osensei Shōshin Nagamine
Arts taught	Karate, Kobudō
Ancestor schools	Tomari-te
Descendant schools	Shōrin-ryū Kishaba Juku
Official website	Matsubayashi-ryu.com

Matsubayashi-ryū (松林流?), also incorrectly known as shorin-ryu or 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. For (松林流), the kun pronunciation of Matsubayashi is correct.[1].

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

References

1. ^ Bishop, Mark. Okinawan Karate: Teachers, Styles and Secret Techniques. ISBN 0804832056.
2. ^ Nagamine, Shoshin. The Essence of Okinawan Karate-dō. ISBN 0804821100.
3. ^ Nagamine, Shoshin. Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters. ISBN 0804820899.

External links

• 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
• The Official World Shorin-Ryu Karate-Do Federation
• The Official Okinawa description of Matsubayashi-ryu
• the Official Okinawan biography of Shoshin Nagamine
• The Official Okinawan Lineage of Tomari-te
• Matsubayashi-ryu Kata videos
• An academic paper by performance theory scholar Meron Langsner on the nature of kata in the Electronic Journals of Martial Arts and Sciences.