Shorin-ryu Shidokan
小林流志道館Okinawan branch of Kobayashi Shorin-ryu led by Miyahira Katsuya. It has its own kata Tetsu Shou, and the first dojo was founded in 1948.
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Training
Who It Suits
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
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About Shorin-ryu Shidokan
Shorin-ryu Shidokan is an Okinawan branch of Kobayashi Shorin-ryu associated with Miyahira Katsuya. He was born on 16 August 1918 in Nishihara and died on 28 November 2010. From April 1933 he studied under Chibana Choshin, founder of Kobayashi Shorin-ryu, from September 1933 under Tokuda Anbun, and he deepened his kumite in the dojo of Motobu Choki. According to Wikipedia he opened his first dojo in October 1948 in Kanehisa in Nishihara after receiving a shihan certificate from Chibana. The website of one German dojo says he built the Shidokan dojo in 1956 in his house garden. He chose the name from Confucius' Analects, from the fourth book, and it translates as house of the way of the warrior. After Chibana's death in 1969 Miyahira was elected chairman of the Okinawa Shorin-ryu Karate-do Kyokai. The syllabus covers kihon and the katas Naihanchi, Pinan, Passai, Kusanku, Chinto and Gojushiho, plus Miyahira's own kata Tetsu Shou. Miyahira recommended daily practice on the makiwara with more than two hundred strikes with each hand. He received the tenth dan hanshi in September 1978. In 2000, according to the Okinawa Prefecture list, he was named a holder of the Okinawa Prefecture intangible cultural property.
History
Miyahira Katsuya was born on 16 August 1918 in Nishihara. From April 1933 he trained under Chibana Choshin, from September 1933 under Tokuda Anbun, and deepened his kumite in the dojo of Motobu Choki. Per Wikipedia he opened his first dojo in October 1948 in Kanehisa after receiving a shihan certificate from Chibana. From 1953, per a German dojo's website, he taught at Ryukyu University, and in 1956 he built the Shidokan dojo in his house garden. After Chibana's death in 1969 he was elected chairman of the Okinawa Shorin-ryu Karate-do Kyokai. He died on 28 November 2010.
How it differs
Unlike other branches of Chibana Choshin's line, Shidokan has its own kata Tetsu Shou. Shorin-ryu Shidokan must not be confused with the organization World Karate Association Shidokan, which Soeno Yoshiji founded in 1981.
Technique
Per Wikipedia, the name Shidokan comes from Confucius' Analects, book four, and means house of the way of the warrior. Miyahira created his own kata Tetsu Shou, one of the school's regular katas. Per a German dojo's website, Shidokan stresses atemi, where the block also destroys the attack.
Training
Per Wikipedia, the Shidokan syllabus includes kihon and the katas Naihanchi, Pinan, Passai, Kusanku, Chinto, Gojushiho and Tetsu Shou. Miyahira recommended daily makiwara practice with more than two hundred tsuki strikes per hand.
Ranks and progression
Per Wikipedia, belt colors run from white with a yellow tip for seventh kyu to brown with a black tip for first kyu. A black belt with gold stripes matches the dan grades. The title renshi matches the sixth dan, kyoshi the seventh to eighth, and hanshi the ninth to tenth. Miyahira received the ninth dan hanshi from Chibana in 1967 and the tenth dan hanshi in September 1978.
Today
Sources disagree on who heads the Okinawa Shorin-ryu Karate-do Kyokai today: Wikipedia names Maeshiro Morinobu, holder of the tenth dan, the website of a German dojo Miyagi Takeshi. According to the newspaper Ryukyu Shimpo, Maeshiro Morinobu has been a holder of the Okinawa Prefecture intangible cultural property for karate and kobudo since 19 May 2020. In North America the Beikoku Shidokan Karatedo Association operates, which Wikipedia says is run by Mark McCloud and Paul Snader.
Did you know
Per the Okinawa Prefecture list, Miyahira was named a holder of the Okinawa Prefecture intangible cultural property in 2000, a German dojo's website gives 2001. In 1986 he became chairman of the prefectural karate federation. An official prefectural document says three holders were named at the proclamation on 8 August 1997, and Miyahira was not among them.
Frequently asked questions
What does the name Shidokan mean?
According to Wikipedia, house of the way of the warrior. Miyahira Katsuya chose the name from Confucius' Analects.
Which katas are practised in Shidokan?
Kihon, Naihanchi, Pinan, Passai, Kusanku, Chinto, Gojushiho and Miyahira's own kata Tetsu Shou.
Is Shorin-ryu Shidokan the same as Shidokan karate?
No. World Karate Association Shidokan was founded in 1981 by Soeno Yoshiji and is a different organization.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.