Shorin-ryu Shidokan
小林流志道館Katsuya Miyahira's Okinawan branch of Kobayashi Shorin-ryu: high stances, light movement and explosive power, dojo from 1948.
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About Shorin-ryu Shidokan
Shorin-ryu Shidokan is an Okinawan branch of karate carrying on the legacy of Katsuya Miyahira (1918-2010), a tenth-dan holder with the title of hanshi. Miyahira studied under Chosin Chibana, the founder of Kobayashi Shorin-ryu, and also under Anbun Tokuda and Choki Motobu. After receiving a shihan certificate from Chibana, he opened his own dojo in Kanehisa, in the town of Nishihara, in October 1948. He chose the name Shidokan (志道館) himself, meaning "house of the warrior's way"; the word shido comes from the Analects of Confucius, from its fourth book, where it calls on one to resolve in one's heart to follow the way forever. Two dates need to be distinguished: the dojo was founded in 1948, but Shidokan became an independent branch only after Chibana's death in 1969, when Miyahira, as his senior student, took over the main lineage and became chairman of the Okinawa Karate-do Shorin-ryu Association. Technically the school is recognized by its relatively high stances, more typical of self-defense-oriented than of sport-oriented karate, by fast, light movement and by explosive finishing power. The kata syllabus includes kihon, Naihanchi, Pinan, Passai, Kusanku, Chinto and Gojushiho; Miyahira added his own kata, Tetsu Shou. Some dojos additionally practice Jion, Seisan and Koryu Passai. Miyahira died in 2010, and Shidokan has remained one of the leading Okinawan lines of Kobayashi Shorin-ryu ever since.
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