https://ryupedia.org/ Long-form, deeply researched essays on martial arts history — karate, koryū, Chinese and Southeast Asian traditions, weapons, and martial philosophy. en Thu, 04 Jun 2026 08:25:19 GMT https://ryupedia.org/article/shito-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/shito-ryu Shitō-ryū is a style of karate formalised in early twentieth-century Japan by Kenwa Mabuni. It is notable for combining two major Okinawan lineages, the Shuri-te traditions of Ankō Itosu and the Naha-te traditions of Kanryō Higaonna, and for preserving an unusually large catalogue of kata rather than narrowing its… Okinawan Karate https://ryupedia.org/article/bubishi https://ryupedia.org/article/bubishi The Bubishi is a handwritten martial arts manuscript tradition preserved within Okinawan karate. It is studied through sources including dissertation work from the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts, records held by the National Diet Library in Japan, Fujian and Fuzhou archival material in China, and classical… Myth and History https://ryupedia.org/article/black-dragon-society https://ryupedia.org/article/black-dragon-society The Kokuryūkai, usually rendered in English as the Black Dragon Society, was a Japanese ultranationalist political organisation founded in Tokyo in 1901 under Uchida Ryōhei. It belongs first and foremost to the political history of imperial Japan rather than to martial arts tradition. Myth and History https://ryupedia.org/article/wing-chun https://ryupedia.org/article/wing-chun Wing Chun is a southern Chinese martial art known for its close-range efficiency, short structure, direct attacks, and centerline theory. Its history is fragmented and stands between folklore and documented record: the traditional origin legend cannot be verified, while the earliest figures who can be placed in a… Chinese Martial Arts https://ryupedia.org/article/kyokushin https://ryupedia.org/article/kyokushin Kyokushin is a full-contact style of karate founded by Masutatsu Oyama, with its formal organisation, the Kyokushinkaikan, established in 1964. The organisation's own biography, history, and organisational descriptions identify Oyama as founder and record his death on 26 April 1994. Karate https://ryupedia.org/article/uechi-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/uechi-ryu Uechi-ryū is a style of karate founded by Uechi Kanbun (1877–1948), an Okinawan who learned a Chinese martial system in Fuzhou, China, and later transmitted it in Okinawa and mainland Japan. Okinawan Karate https://ryupedia.org/article/goju-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/goju-ryu Gōjū-ryū is a major style of traditional Okinawan karate whose development is rooted in Naha-te, the martial tradition associated with the port city of Naha. Its history is shaped by exchange between Okinawa and China, by later systematisation, and by postwar institutionalisation. Okinawan Karate https://ryupedia.org/article/jigen-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/jigen-ryu Jigen-ryū is a Japanese sword tradition (ryūha) from Satsuma, founded in late sixteenth-century Satsuma by Tōgō Shigekata (1561–1646). It is a historical combat system centred on ending an encounter with a decisive first committed attack, emphasising speed, force, distance and impact rather than elaborate exchanges. Kenjutsu https://ryupedia.org/article/white-crane https://ryupedia.org/article/white-crane White Crane is a Chinese martial art associated with Fujian Province, traditionally attributed to a founder named Fang Qiniang. Its documented history is layered and at times inconsistent, drawn from Fujian sources, Okinawan records, family genealogies and fragmentary technical texts. Chinese Martial Arts https://ryupedia.org/article/martial-philosophy https://ryupedia.org/article/martial-philosophy The Art of War is commonly received as a single book by a single author carrying one clean message, but treated as a historical problem it appears far more complex. Examining the earliest Chinese material alongside the later record and modern archaeology suggests that the text is better understood not as a perfectly… Martial Philosophy https://ryupedia.org/article/isshin-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/isshin-ryu Isshin-ryū (一心流, "one heart method" or "one heart style") is an Okinawan style of karate officially established in 1956 by Shimabuku Tatsuo (島袋龍夫). Rather than a preservation of an older, unchanged system, it is a deliberate synthesis: a selective combining, simplifying and in some cases rejecting of earlier methods. Okinawan Karate https://ryupedia.org/article/motobu-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/motobu-ryu Motobu-ryū is an Okinawan martial tradition presented, in its own official Japanese framing, as two distinct systems that are not meant to be casually blended: Motobu Udun-dī, tied to the old Motobu-Udun court tradition, and Motobu Kenpō, the karate system associated with Motobu Chōki and later structured as Nihon… Okinawan Karate https://ryupedia.org/article/shotokan https://ryupedia.org/article/shotokan Shōtōkan is a style of karate developed from Okinawan Tōde (唐手術) and shaped on mainland Japan in the 20th century by Funakoshi Gichin. Japanese sources present it not as a frozen tradition but as an art that was deliberately and continuously shaped, adapted, and organized over time. Karate https://ryupedia.org/article/ryuei-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/ryuei-ryu Ryūei-ryū is an Okinawan martial tradition centred on Nakaima Norisato (仲井間憲里), whose name is also read as Kenri depending on the language and interpretation used. For most of its history the system was transmitted privately within the Nakaima family rather than taught publicly, and its early record is fragmentary,… Okinawan Karate https://ryupedia.org/article/bujinkan https://ryupedia.org/article/bujinkan Bujinkan is a martial arts organisation founded in 1970 by Masaaki Hatsumi in Noda, Chiba, Japan. It draws together nine ryūha (classical schools) that Hatsumi inherited from his teacher, Takamatsu Toshitsugu. Koryū https://ryupedia.org/article/wado-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/wado-ryu Wadō-ryū is a Japanese style of karate distinguished by its blending of Okinawan karate with classical jūjutsu. It was developed by Ōtsuka Hironori (大塚博紀), born in 1892 in Ibaraki—on mainland Japan rather than Okinawa. Karate https://ryupedia.org/article/matsubayashi-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/matsubayashi-ryu Matsubayashi-ryū (松林流) is an Okinawan karate style founded by Nagamine Shōshin (長嶺将真). It was named in 1947, in post-war Okinawa, a date stated clearly in the 長嶺将真顕彰碑, the memorial inscription for Nagamine. Okinawan Karate https://ryupedia.org/article/muay-thai https://ryupedia.org/article/muay-thai Muay Thai is a modern ring sport defined by rules and fought with fists, elbows, knees, and shins. It is associated with arenas, referees, timed rounds, gloves, ritualised pre-fight culture, music, and state recognition. Southeast Asian https://ryupedia.org/article/takenouchi-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/takenouchi-ryu Takenouchi-ryū (竹内流) is a classical Japanese martial tradition, often described as one of the oldest jūjutsu schools. Its fuller designation, recorded in densho and in historical compilations such as Nihon Budō Taikei (日本武道大系), is Takenouchi-ryū kogusoku koshi no mawari (竹内流小具足腰之廻). Jujutsu https://ryupedia.org/article/meifu-shinkage-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/meifu-shinkage-ryu Meifu Shinkage-ryū is a modern Japanese shurikenjutsu system, formally established in the late 20th century and shaped primarily through the work of Someya Chikatoshi (染谷親俊). Its development is generally placed in the 1970s rather than in the medieval period, and it is best understood as a disciplined reconstruction of… Weapons https://ryupedia.org/article/shorin-ryu-seibukan https://ryupedia.org/article/shorin-ryu-seibukan Shōrin-ryū Seibukan is an Okinawan karate lineage derived from the teachings of Chōtoku Kyan and generally placed within the broader Shuri-Tomari sphere. It was formalised by Zenryō Shimabukuro in Chatan, Okinawa, and is characterised by a kata-centred, movement-oriented and application-conscious approach rather than… Okinawan Karate https://ryupedia.org/article/hawaii-kempo https://ryupedia.org/article/hawaii-kempo The history of martial arts in Japan stretches back far before any named style, school, or philosophy existed. Rather than beginning as art, discipline, or structured tradition, what is now called martial arts developed gradually out of survival, organised violence, and the demands of warfare, only later acquiring… Martial Philosophy https://ryupedia.org/article/between-myth-migration https://ryupedia.org/article/between-myth-migration The question of whether Okinawan karate, specifically Tomari-te, had become established in Hawaiʻi before the early twentieth century is a contested topic in martial arts history. Although it is often presented as if it should have a simple answer, the documented record is fragmented and cautious, and the available… Kempō https://ryupedia.org/article/chito-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/chito-ryu Chitō-ryū is a style of karate founded by Tsuyoshi Chitose, who drew on the Okinawan traditions of Naha-te and Shuri-te and refined them through his understanding of human anatomy and physiology. Karate https://ryupedia.org/article/hyoho-niten-ichi-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/hyoho-niten-ichi-ryu Hyoho Niten Ichi-ryu is a classical Japanese martial tradition closely associated with the swordsman Miyamoto Musashi (1584–1645). Although it is widely known as the school in which Musashi used two swords, the tradition is far broader than that single image, encompassing a documented lineage, a written curriculum,… Kenjutsu https://ryupedia.org/article/shindo-yoshin-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/shindo-yoshin-ryu Shindō Yōshin-ryū (神道楊心流), a name usually translated as something like the "divine willow spirit school," is a Japanese martial tradition founded in 1864 by Katsunosuke Matsuoka, a samurai connected to the Kuroda clan. Jujutsu https://ryupedia.org/article/kodokan-judo https://ryupedia.org/article/kodokan-judo Kodokan Judo is a Japanese martial discipline founded by Kanō Jigorō, born in 1860, who established the Kodokan in Tokyo in May 1882. Kanō did not present his system as another jujutsu school but as a method of education through fighting. Modern Martial Arts https://ryupedia.org/article/tenjin-shinyo-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/tenjin-shinyo-ryu Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū (天神真楊流) is a Japanese jūjutsu tradition founded in the 1830s by Iso Mataemon Minamoto no Masatari (磯又右衛門源正足), born in 1790, during the late Edo period. It was a complete combat system encompassing striking, throwing, grappling, restraint, and resuscitation methods, and it became one of the most… Jujutsu https://ryupedia.org/article/tenshin-shoden-katori-shinto-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/tenshin-shoden-katori-shinto-ryu Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū (天真正伝香取神道流) is one of the oldest surviving martial traditions in Japan. A classical school usually dated to around 1447, it is connected to the great shrine Katori Jingū and encompasses sword, spear, naginata, staff, strategy, and ritual. Koryū https://ryupedia.org/article/kenyu-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/kenyu-ryu Kenyu-ryu Karate-do is a Japanese style of karate that occupies a transitional position between Okinawan tradition and modern mainland Japanese karate. According to official Japanese material, it was founded in 1939 by Tomoyori Takamasa — the name is also read as Tomoyori Ryusho, as the Japanese sources are… Okinawan Karate https://ryupedia.org/article/tatsumi-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/tatsumi-ryu Tatsumi-ryū, more fully rendered as Risshin-ryū / Tatsumi-ryū after the kanji 立身流, is a classical Japanese martial tradition (koryū bujutsu) rather than a narrowly defined sword style. Koryū https://ryupedia.org/article/ashihara-karate https://ryupedia.org/article/ashihara-karate Ashihara Karate is a modern Japanese martial art, a gendai budō system rather than a classical ryū. Japanese sources describe it as having grown from Kyokushin roots and as having been shaped through organisational conflict and technical evolution. Karate https://ryupedia.org/article/kishimotodi https://ryupedia.org/article/kishimotodi KishimotoDi, also written Kishimoto-te (岸本手), is an old Okinawan fighting tradition associated with Kishimoto Soko. Rather than a polished modern "style," it survives as the remnants of an older, pragmatic combative system oriented toward function rather than performance or public image. Okinawan Karate https://ryupedia.org/article/matsumura-seito https://ryupedia.org/article/matsumura-seito Shōrin-ryū Matsumura Seito Karate is an Okinawan martial tradition belonging to the wider Shuri-te lineage of Okinawa. Its ancestral roots lead back to Matsumura Sōkon (1809–1899), one of the towering figures connected with the old martial culture of Shuri, the political and cultural heart of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. Okinawan Karate https://ryupedia.org/article/nippon-kempo https://ryupedia.org/article/nippon-kempo Nippon Kempo is a Japanese martial art centred on realistic, full-contact striking and grappling practice. It was founded in 1932 in Osaka by Sawayama Muneomi, who originally called it Dai Nippon Kempo. Kempō https://ryupedia.org/article/shorinji-kempo https://ryupedia.org/article/shorinji-kempo Shōrinji Kempō (少林寺拳法) is a Japanese martial art and ethical system founded by Sō Dōshin (宗道臣) in Tadotsu, Kagawa Prefecture (香川県多度津町), during the period of recovery following the Second World War. Kempō https://ryupedia.org/article/kokondo https://ryupedia.org/article/kokondo Kokondo is a modern self-defence system built from Japanese and Okinawan martial material and shaped in the United States. Rather than presenting itself as an ancient Japanese ryūha preserved unchanged, it is designed around the idea that martial arts should function in real self-defence situations. Karate https://ryupedia.org/article/hakko-ryu https://ryupedia.org/article/hakko-ryu Hakkō-ryū Jūjutsu is a modern Japanese martial tradition formally founded in 1941 by Okuyama Ryūhō. Despite its classical Japanese name, it is not a medieval battlefield system passed unchanged through generations, but a twentieth-century art created by a founder who studied older systems, refined their principles,… Jujutsu