New Students Welcome throughout the Semester
Beginners Welcome
New members, women and men, are welcome throughout the semester; no previous study of martial arts is required. Simply come ten minutes before the scheduled starting time on any class day, dressed ready to participate in loose-fitting, comfortable clothes (no uniform is required to begin). In your first week, you will warm up with the class and then work separately in a small group with an assistant instructor. You will be shown the basics of our style, so that in time you can join the rest of the class. If you enjoy class and want to join, you must sign the school roster and liability waiver. Semester dues are paid before you attend your second class. To inquire about current fees, please call 734/994-3620 or ask one of the instructors before class. All dues are pro-rated depending on when you sign up.
The University of Michigan Shorin-ryu Karate-do Club is a sponsored member of the University of Michigan Sports Club program. Created in 1977, we give U of M students an opportunity to experience traditional Okinawan martial arts in a structured progression. To this end, training and instruction are offered in both Okinawan Shorin-ryu Karate-do and Shudokan Karate-do. The purpose of this type of training is to enrich the prospective students life by giving her or him an understanding of certain martial values and virtues. Training in a traditional martial art provides both physical and mental development, leading to the balanced growth of the students body and mind.
Shorin-ryu Karate-dois one of
the two main styles of Okinawan Karate-do, and incorporates armed and
unarmed blocking, striking, kicking, locking, throwing and moving
techniques. Shorin is the Japanese pronunciation of characters for
the ancient Chinese Shaolin (temple); Ryu means school or
style; Kara is the character for empty; Te, hand; Do
comes from the Chinese Tao which means way or path. So we have,
The Shaolin System of the Way of the Empty Hand. Shorin-ryu is believed
to have been based on the Chinese Shaolin Temple system of fighting arts,
and was developed and practiced from the fifteenth century by Okinawan
natives as protection against Japanese invaders of their islands. The
practice of karate was largely confined to secrecy by its practitioners
until the appearance of a man named Yasutsune Itosu. Itosu set out
to redesign basic techniques and to formulate basic exercises and forms so
that the general public might be better oriented to learn from the
practice of karate. Itosu has often been cited as the man who, around the
turn of this century, brought karate out from secret training areas and
into public schools. Shobayashi-ryu, the oldest and most orthodox
school of Shorin-ryu, was founded by Chotoku Kyan, who had been a
student of Itosu. At the University of Michigan Shorin-ryu Karate-do
Club, our teaching lineage traces back to Kyan, Itosu, and to the founding
masters of Okinawan Karate-do. The basic training approach at the U of M
Shorin-ryu Karate-do Club includes conditioning and development exercises,
technique and movement drills, Kata (formal exercises), graduated
two-person exercises, and in more advanced training, instruction in the
six classical weapons of our system (Kobujutsu).
For an example of Shorin-Ryu karatedo from the Shobayashi system, see this movie of the Pinan Godan kata applied to multiple opponents.
Shudokan was taken to Japan from Okinawa by master Kanken Toyama. Toyama was a well-known instructor who was awarded the status of Karate Master by an official of the Japanese government. His school was called The Institute for the Cultivation of the Way, and that name, Shudokan, became the name of his karate system. It is a composite system encompassing all the major Okinawan styles, as well as certain Chinese systems and Kobujutsu, or Ancient Arts. There are also kata unique to Shudokan, the practice of which is characterized by large, circular motions with an emphasis on covering motions. The practice of long extension of motion develops power and physique. Deep, narrow stances give the ability to change directions quickly. The Shudokan practitioner develops both internal and external power, a balance which leads to good health and overall development of the individual.
![[image]](./Kokoro.gif)
This character,
``kokoro,'' is often used in the martial
arts to identify the intense spirit, or ``heart,'' truthfully
expressed in the life and training of the true ``budoka,'' or
warrior.
Classes run every term of
the year, starting from the first full week of classes through the last
day of class. For more information call 734/994-3620 or e-mail karatedo@umich.edu