Shuri-te
from Ankō Itosu- Pinan Shodan–Godan
- Naifanchin Shodan–Sandan
- Bassai Dai
- Kosokun Dai
- Chinto
- Jitte
- Jion
- Rohai
Our style
What is Shito-Ryu karate?
One of the four major styles of Japanese karate, Shito-Ryu unites the two great karate traditions of Okinawa in a single system.
Origins
Two masters, one style
Shito-Ryu (糸東流) was founded by Kenwa Mabuni (1889–1952) of Shuri, Okinawa. Alongside Shotokan, Goju-Ryu and Wado-Ryu it is one of the four major styles of Japanese karate, and today it is practised by millions of people around the world.
The style blends the fast, powerful Shuri-te of Ankō Itosu with the breathing methods and internal strength of Kanryō Higaonna’s Naha-te, and is known for one of the largest kata syllabuses in karate.
Mabuni first called his system Hanko-ryu, “half-hard style”. He later renamed it Shito-Ryu, honouring both teachers with the first character of each name.
糸
Shi
from Itosu
東
Tō
from Higaonna
流
Ryū
style or school
The founder
Kenwa Mabuni
A frail child from Shuri who became one of the great masters of karate.
Born in 1889, Kenwa Mabuni was a 17th-generation descendant of the Okinawan warrior Kenyo Oshiro. He took up karate to build his health, training first under Ankō Itosu in Shuri and then under Kanryō Higaonna in Naha, and practised so relentlessly that he trained outdoors even during typhoons.
As a police officer he used his patrols across Okinawa to train with other masters, gathering their knowledge into one system.
In the late 1920s he moved his family to Osaka to teach karate full time. His students carried Shito-Ryu across Japan and then around the world, and he devoted the rest of his life to the art until his death in May 1952.
“I have put all else aside. Joy it is, to row whole-heartedly to the martial isle.”
Kenwa Mabuni
The lineage
From the Mabuni family to Kassis
Kenei Mabuni (1918–2015), the founder’s eldest son, learned karate by watching his father teach and took over his father’s Yoshukan dojo name. His son, Soke Kenyu Mabuni, was inaugurated as the third Soke in 2016.
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1889–1952
Kenwa Mabuni
Founder of Shito-RyuCombined the Shuri-te of Ankō Itosu and the Naha-te of Kanryō Higaonna into one system and took it from Okinawa to Osaka.
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1918–2015
Kenei Mabuni
Second SokeThe founder's eldest son, who devoted his life to teaching and spreading Shito-Ryu around the world.
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1959–2022
Shihan Con Kassis
Founder, Kassis Karate Academy8th Dan. A personal student of Kenei Mabuni for more than 25 years and a leading World Karate Federation technical official.
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Today
Sensei Rosanna Kassis
International Chief5th Dan, former Australian and Oceania champion, WKF Referee A and Kata Judge A, and a Director of the WSKF.
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India
Sensei Santhosh Augustine
President, Kassis Karate Academy IndiaBringing the Kassis lineage and the Shito-Ryu tradition to students across Kerala.
Shihan Con Kassis was Kenei Mabuni’s direct student for more than 25 years, assisted him with his book Shito-Ryu Karate-Do, and was granted use of the Yoshukan name for his school. That is the line of teaching Kassis Karate Academy India follows today.
The symbol
The meaning of the Shito-Ryu crest
The crest worn by Shito-Ryu karateka is the Mabuni family crest, more than five centuries old, from the samurai ancestors of the Ryukyu kingdom.
- The circle represents peace and harmony.
- The inner lines form the character for “person” or “people”.
- Together they mean people living in peace and harmony, the spiritual heart of Shito-Ryu.
Kenwa Mabuni gave the crest a second meaning as the emblem of his style: its lines also honour his two teachers, Itosu and Higaonna.
How we train
The four pillars of training
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Kihon
Basics: stances, blocks, punches, strikes and kicks, repeated until they become second nature.
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Kata
Prearranged forms that preserve the techniques, rhythm and spirit of the old masters.
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Bunkai
The practical applications of kata, studied with a partner to understand the meaning of every move.
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Kumite
Sparring, from structured drills to controlled free fighting, that builds timing, distance and courage.
Kata
The kata of Shito-Ryu
Shito-Ryu preserves kata from both of its parent traditions, plus forms created by Kenwa Mabuni himself. A selection from the syllabus:
Naha-te
from Kanryō Higaonna- Sanchin
- Tensho
- Saifa
- Seienchin
- Shisochin
- Seisan
- Seipai
- Kururunfa
- Suparinpei
Mabuni kata
created by Kenwa Mabuni- Aoyagi (Seiryu)
- Juroku
- Myojo
- Shinpa
- Happoshō
Learn Shito-Ryu in Kerala
Children, teens and adults welcome. Talk to us about classes near you.