Shotokan vs. Shito-ryu

Quick answer

Both Shotokan and Shito-ryu descend from the line of Anko Itosu, but Kenwa Mabuni added to it the Naha-te of Kanryo Higaonna and kept Okinawan kata names such as Pinan and Naihanchi. Shotokan builds on deep long stances, Shito-ryu on five principles of defence and a higher stance in fighting. Funakoshi learned some kata from Mabuni and sent his son Gigo to him in Osaka.

At a glance

	Shotokan	Shito-ryu
Country of origin	Japan	Japan
Origin	20th century (present form)	20th century (present form)
Founder	Gichin FunakoshiGigo Funakoshi (codifier)	Kenwa Mabuni
Contact	Semi-contact	Semi-contact
Sparring	Medium contact	Medium contact
Competition format	Point fighting	Point fighting
Olympic status	Not Olympic	Not Olympic
Ranks	Yes (belts)	Yes (belts)
Rank recognition	fragmented	fragmented
Attire	Gi required	Gi required
Weapons	No weapons	No weapons
Forms	Forms at the core	Forms at the core
Relative cost	low	low
Katas and forms in the encyclopedia	29	38
Techniques in the encyclopedia	91	31

Scales 1–5

Rated for the typical training of an adult beginner in an ordinary club, calibrated across all arts.

What each art is built from

Editorial rating 0–3: how much room each area gets in ordinary training.

History and relationship

Both styles descend from the Shuri-te line of Anko Itosu, who taught both Gichin Funakoshi and Kenwa Mabuni. Mabuni added the Naha-te of Kanryo Higaonna, to whom he was introduced by Chojun Miyagi, and composed the name Shito-ryu from the first characters of the names Itosu and Higaonna.

Funakoshi learned some kata from Mabuni and sent his son Gigo to him in Osaka. According to Kenzo Mabuni, in 1945 Masatoshi Nakayama and Isao Obata, later founders of the JKA, were also sent there to train.

Technique

The difference is visible in defence. Shito-ryu spells it out from a hard block that destroys the attack, through stepping out of the line, to a counterattack simultaneous with deflection. Prohibited hits in competition are determined by the organisation, under WKF the same rules apply to both.

Training

Shotokan JKA leads kumite from agreed sequences to free sparring, Shito-ryu builds on converting the analysis of kata into work in pairs. We have not been able to document the ratio of kata, sparring and conditioning.

Progression and ranks

The kata of the JKA path to black belt, that is Heian, Tekki and Bassai Dai, have counterparts in Shito-ryu under the Okinawan names Pinan, Naihanchi and Bassai. We have not been able to document the examination regulations of Shito-ryu.

Physical load and risks

Who it suits

Children

Self-defence

Shotokan trains a precise hit from a distance and stopping it, Shito-ryu names the ways of receiving an attack. The clinch and the ground are not covered by competition in either, and we have not found a study of transfer to self-defence.

Practical use

For karate in general, a randomised study of 89 older people (Witte et al., 2016) found after five months improvements in motor reactivity and divided attention. We have not found a study of benefit explicitly about either of the two styles, so the studies do not allow a general suitability to be inferred.

Competition

The Japan Karate Federation determines its own competition kata for each of the two styles. Modern Shito-ryu places strong emphasis on sparring. We have not found which kata of the two styles were performed in Tokyo 2020.

Gear and costs

Availability and organisations

Switching and combining

On the left the transition from Shotokan to Shito-ryu, on the right the opposite direction. The common Itosu line gives both a number of the same kata under different names. We have not found documented transfers of competitors.

Philosophy

The names of the styles arose in opposite ways. Funakoshi preached karate without division into schools and the name Shotokan was given to his hall by his students after his pen name Shoto. Mabuni composed the name himself from the first characters of his teachers, and before that he called the style Hanko-ryu, a half-hard style.

Forms and terminology

Kata are the foundation of both styles, they differ in the breadth of the syllabus. The JKA syllabus has 27 kata, the sources give 26, 27 or 29. For Shito-ryu the numbers diverge, Mabuni’s list from 1937 had 33 kata, according to an analysis of the lists 23 from the Itosu line and 10 from the Higaonna line, Funakoshi’s list from 1922 at most 15.

Pinan and Heian are two readings of the same characters for Itosu’s kata. From the Higaonna line Shito-ryu has, for example, Seipai and Kururunfa, Aoyagi was created by Mabuni himself.

Which to choose

Frequently asked questions