Shinseido Shorin Ryu
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Shinseido Shorin Ryu
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Shorin Ryu is the name usually used to describe the styles of Karate that stem from the teachings of Sokon Matsumura (approx. 1809 - 1901), perhaps the most famous Okinawan martial artist of the 19th century. Many modern styles of Karate, such as Shotokan and Wado Ryu, trace their origins back to Shorin Ryu.
There are a number of stories about the martial skills of Sokon Matsumura, who served as a bodyguard to the last three Okinawan kings. He was considered a master of the Okinawan martial arts, excelling in both empty hand and weapons systems. Matsumura taught many of the famous Karate masters of the mid to late 19th century, including Azato and Itosu, the teachers of Gichin Funakoshi. Funakoshi went on to found the Japanese Shotokan system, now probably the most widely practised system of Karate in the world.
One of those who studied with Matsumura was his grandson, Nabe Matsumura. Nabe is understand only to have trained with his grandfather, and went on to teach his own nephew, Hohan Soken. Hohan Soken therefore practised the family style of Sokon Matsumura, probably more faithfully than any other practitioner of the 20th century. So Hohan Soken's teaching gives us a window on the way Okinawan martial arts were practiced in the 19th century, before Karate was 'sanitized' to become a modern Japanese 'do' (martial way) art.
In order to peer through this window in time, Roger Sheldon has spent a number of years researching the teachings of Hohan Soken, chiefly by seeking out those people who trained with Hohan Soken. Such research is complicated by the fact that Soken taught different students in slightly different ways, so that different practitioners have their own unique perspectives on the Matsumura tradition. Roger Sheldon has attempted to tie together the common threads that run through these different perspectives, in order to better understand Hohan Soken's martial art.
Matsumura Shorin Ryu is passed on chiefly by the practice of kata and its associated bunkai. In Shinseido Shorin Ryu the following kata from the Matsumura tradition are officially part of the syllabus:
