Shorin-ryu
少林流A family of Okinawan lineages descending from Shuri-te. The name points to Shaolin, but that is a claim to the tradition, not evidence of a direct line.
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About Shorin-ryu
Shorin-ryu is not one school but a family of Okinawan lineages descending from Shuri-te. The characters 少林 read the same as the Chinese Shaolin — the name is a deliberate claim to that tradition, not evidence of a direct line. Its predecessor is Sokon Matsumura, bodyguard to the Ryukyuan kings, and after him Anko Itosu, who introduced Okinawan karate into school physical education between 1901 and 1905 and adapted it into a safer form for that purpose. Technically Shorin-ryu differs from Naha-te by its lightness. Stances are higher and narrower, the weight stays mobile, and the body is not braced by tension but by timing. Strikes come out of natural movement, and speed takes precedence over force; one enters and leaves the distance rather than standing in it. The syllabus includes Naihanchi, Pinan, Passai, Kusanku and Gojushiho. The main branches are Kobayashi-ryu of Choshin Chibana, Matsubayashi-ryu of Shoshin Nagamine, Shobayashi-ryu and Sukunaihayashi. They differ in the performance of kata and in emphasis, but share the same character — fencing with hands and feet rather than a contest of strength.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.