Introduction
Shorin ryu is the martial art that grew up around the royal castle of Shuri on the main island of Okinawa.
Shorin ryu is also known as Shuri-te, ie the 'hands' of the town of Shuri.
It is the art from which most modern styles of Karate developed, eg. Shotokan, Wado ryu etc.
The other main stream of Okinawan martial arts is Shorei ryu, aka Naha-te - the 'hands' of the town of Naha.
Naha-te gave rise to the Goju ryu and Uechi ryu styles of Karate.
This distinction between Naha-te and Shuri-te can be a little misleading, as it creates an impression of two separate well defined 'styles'.
The reality is that each and every teacher taught in their own way, and every practitioner's art was different.
There was no standardisation. Nevertheless the distinction between Shorin ryu and Shorei ryu can be a useful one to make when studying the history of Okinawan martial arts.
History
Okinawan martial arts have a very long history, much of which is completely unrecorded.
So very little can be said for certain about their development any earlier than the 19th century.
What is clear is that Okinawan martial arts have a variety of historical influences.
This is no doubt a result of the islands' geography and the changing political situation over the course of time.
The Okinawans of the past were active seafarers and traders.
For a time they benefited considerably from the isolationist policies pursued by both China and Japan.
Okinawa became a conduit through which these two nations could effectively trade without being seen to do so.
The result is that there are three main influences on Okinawan martial arts:
The development of Shorin ryu owes much to the work of one man, Sokon Matsumura, whose life spanned the 19th century.
Sokon Matsumura was a retainer (essentially a bodyguard) in the service of the last three Okinawan kings.
He studied widely, in particular learning the already existing Okinawan arts as well as studying with Chinese military attaches.
All schools of Shorin ryu can be traced back to, or were at least heavily influenced by, Matsumura.
Lineage
The Shorin ryu practiced by the Shindo Trust is based upon the Matsumura family tradition, ie. the art that was passed down within Matsumura's family.
Sokon Matsumura taught, amongst others, his grandson, Nabe Matsumura.
Nabe Matsumura is a little known figure who in turn taught his own nephew, Hohan Soken.
Hohan Soken is much better known.
He died in 1984, leaving behind him a number of capable students, not only in Okinawa but also in Australia and the United States.
Like his ancestors, Hohan Soken did not teach all of his students in a uniform, standard way.
So there are nowadays a number of different interpretations of the Matsumura family art.
The Shindo Trust is not formally linked to any of the organisations claiming to teach the Matsumura system, but acknowledges that they all have much of value to offer.
Our Shorin ryu is our own interpretation, based on what we have learnt from these different but related sources.
Training
The core of Shorin ryu are its kata. These solo forms define the system. They teach students efficient and powerful ways of moving, and act as a catalogue of techniques from which students can draw for the purpose of self-defence. The techniques of Shorin ryu are economical, functional and pragmatic - there is no sporting element to the training.