East Coast Championships

• Tokumine no kon (徳嶺の棍 Tokumine no kun)
• Urashi bo (浦添棒 Urashī bō)
• Shishi no kon (添石の棍 Shīshi no kun)

Sai (forked weapon) kata

• Kyan no sai
• Kusanku sai (公相君サイ Kūsankū sai)
• Chatanyara no sai (北谷屋良の釵 Chatan Yara no sai)

Tuifa kata

• Hamahiga-no-tuifa (浜比嘉のトゥイファー)

Other kata

• Traditional training exercises
• Chart One (Upper body Basics) Te Waza or Te no bu (手の部 Hand part)
• Chart Two (Lower Body Basics) Keri Waza or Ashi no bu (足の部 Foot part)
• Kotekitai (小手鍛 forearm conditioning)

These exercises were developed by Shimabuku Tatsuo and Kaneshi Eiko to for the training of a new student how to learn kihon. These exercises were used at the start of every class to insure that the student stays familiar with all the basic blocks, strikes, and kicks and to insure that the student maintains his/her physical condition. These exercises should be practiced by all students from kyu to dan ranks. Advincula had two separate interviews with Maekawa and Shinsho and both gave credit to Master Eiko Kaneshi for organizing the upper and lower kihon.

Tatsuo Shimabuku taught only three kobudo weapons. The bo, sai and tuifa but some Isshinryu dojo teach or practice other "unofficial Isshinryu" weapons or weapon kata. Some of the more common are:

Nunchaku (horse bridle muge), Kama (sickle), Eku (oar), tekko (brass knuckles).

Isshinryū schools may also include two-person weapons katas, such as Bo-Bo Kumite and Bo-Sai Kumite. Occasionally a Bo-Tonfa Kumite is included as well.

Origins and Meanings of the Katas

• Seisan (十三) means "13". Shimabuku learned this kata from Master Chotoku Kyan Shorin-ryū.
• Seiuchin (制引戦) means ""Control, Pull, Fight or battle". Shimabuku learned this kata from Master Chojun Miyagi Gojū-ryū.
• Naihanchi (ナイハンチ ) meaning is unknown. Shimabuku learned this kata from Master Chotoku Kyan Shorin-ryū. Shimabuku said it was the "Mother" of Isshinryū.
• Wansu (汪楫) is named after a Chinese envoy who came to Okinawa c.1683. Shimabuku learned this kata from Master Chotoku Kyan Shorin-ryū.
• Chinto (鎮闘) is a name of a Chinese person who was shipwrecked on Okinawa. This is Traditional oral history that Master Tatsuo Shimabuku taught. Shimabuku learned this kata from Master Chotoku Kyan Shorin-ryū.
• Sanchin(三戦) means "three battles" the battle of the mind the body and the spirit. Shimabuku learned this kata from Master Chojun Miyagi Goju-ryu and stated this kata is the "Father" of Isshinryū.
• Kusanku (公相君)its fighting in the dark.losing your sense of sight and also is the name of a Chinese person who taught Todi Sakukawa. Shimabuku learned this kata from Master Chotoku Kyan Shorin-ryū.
• Sunsu Sunsu (スンスウ) was created by Tatsuo Shimabuku because he wanted to add the aspects that he thought were most important to his teachingsﾕ into his own kata. Shimabukuﾕs grandfather created a eku dance named ﾔSun nu suﾕ and the Mayor of Chan village gave the nickname Sun nu su to Tatsuo Shimabuku who at the time worked as a tax collector for Chan village. Originally it was ﾔSun nu suﾕ which means "Father of Old Man (House)". The ﾔnuﾕ was taken out and shortened to Sunsu. There are techniques from Passai, Gojushiho and Sanchin kata that can be seen in Sunsu. According to Shinsho Shimabuku, "Tatsuo created Sunsu to help with the five senses" and had created it long before he named his style Isshinryu.

Advincula had two separate interview with Eikei Maekawa and Sheisho Tokumine who both started karate with Shimabuku in 1951. Eikei Maekawa and Sheisho Tokumine both stated Tatsuo Shimabuku was already teaching Sunsu at the time.

Most of the kata that originated from Master Chotoku Kyan use nogare or natural breathing.

Goju-ryu means "hard soft way" and the two kata that Isshin-ryu takes from Goju-ryu, Seiunchin and Sanchin, are two kata that are often practiced with the Goju-ryu ibuki or hard breathing techniques. The kata Seisan was also performed partly using ibuki breathing.

Organization

Following the founder's death on May 30, 1975, the style splintered into several factions. In accordance with tradition, Shimabuku's eldest son, Kichiro Shimabuku, was left the system by his father. However, many preferred Shimabuku Tatsuo's son-in-law Angi Uezu, who now heads a separate organization in Okinawa. The younger son, Ciso, also has a following.

There are many other Isshin-ryu organizations. These organizations include:

Isshinryu Karate-Do Association (IKA)- governed by a board of karate masters

The United States Isshinryu Karate Association (USIKA) Under the Leadership of Hanshi-Sei Phil E. Little

International Isshin-Ryu Karate Association (IIKA)

American Okinawan Karate Association (AOKA)

Okinawa Isshin-Ryu Karate and Kobudo Association, Angi Uzeu, founder (OIKKA)

United Isshinryu Karate Association (UIKA)

United Isshin-Ryu Karate Federation (UIKF)

Order of Isshin-Ryu (OI)

Tatsuo Kan Society (TKS)

United Isshin-Ryu Council(UIC)

Don Nagle, an American Marine, opened the first Isshin-ryu dojo in the United States in Jersey City, NJ. That school still operates today.

NOTE: The above is disputed by some historians - First Sergeant (then SSGT.) Richard Keith (3rd Dan), USMC and Sensei Harry Smith (9th Dan, 2003) (USMC, ret.) opened a dojo in Harrisburg, PA (Hall Manor area) upon returning from posting in Okinawa (1959) at roughly the same time as Sensei Nagle.

The Isshinkai is an Isshin-ryu Karate & Kobudo Association organization dedicated to preserve the teachings of Tatsuo Shimabuku to the best of their abilities. It was founded in September 1998 by several direct students of Master Shimabuku including: Tokumura Kensho, Arsenio J. Advincula and Robert Safreed.

American Budo Kai

History

Tatsuo Shimabuku

Tatsuo Shimabuku (1908-1975) was born September 19, 1908 in Chan village, Okinawa. Tatsuo Shimabuku studied the Shorin-ryu and Goju-ryu systems. Master Shimabuku began training under his uncle on his mother's side Ganeku. His uncle later sent Shimabuku to study karate from Chotoku Kyan who lived in Kadena. He was around age 23 or 24 at the time. Chotoku Kyan would be his most influential instructor (and after whom he initially named his style Chan migwa Te). He also studied karate with Chojun Miyagi in Naha for several years beginning in 1936 and from Choki Motobu around 1938 (also in Naha). Master Shimabuku began teaching in 1946 and on January 15,1956, he held a meeting and announce that he was naming his style of karate Isshin-ryu. Master Shimabuku's number one student, Eiko Kaneshi, was at the meeting and he asked "why such a funny name?" Tatsuo replied, " Because all things begin with one." ***

At the age of 51 (1959) Master Shimabuku began studying Ryūkyū Kobudo, the art of traditional Okinawan weapons, including the sai, bo, and tonfa, under Taira Shinken. He incorporated the kobudo that he had learned from Kyan and Shinken into the Isshinryu system.

It stresses close-in techniques necessary for self-protection. One of the signature features of Isshinryu is the Isshinryu punch or vertical punch. Most other karate styles use a corkscrew style punch where the punch ends palm down. The vertical punch of Isshinryu also has the thumb pressed down on the second knuckle of the index finger, while in a corkscrew punch, the thumb is wrapped over the clenched fingers.

Megami

Isshinryu No Megami, or Megami,(goddess) is the symbol of Isshin-ryu, it is represented on the Isshin-ryu patch and is often displayed on the front wall of the dojo next to a picture of Tatsuo Shimabuku. The patch is based on a day dream Tatsuo Shimabuku had in the fifties while he was creating his karate style. This dream was the missing piece in the puzzle called Isshinryu. Originally the Isshinryu emblem was called 'Isshinryu No Megami', which means 'Goddess of Isshinryu'. Some Isshinryu karateka call it Mizu Gami, or 'Water Goddess'. Master Eiko Kaneshi, Tatsuo's right-hand-man who was a Shinto priest, was asked if it was 'Mizu Gami'. He said it has nothing to do with water. Isshinryu no Megami or Megami for short, is correct. This is collaborated by Marien Jumelet who asked Shinsho Shimabuku and Kensho Tokumura what was the correct name. The Goddess is the Goddess of Isshinryu karate and not the Goddess of water.***

The Megami depicts a goddess with the torso of a woman and the bottom half of a dragon sitting in choppy water with a dragon and three stars in the sky. The goddess has one hand raised in the air with a closed fist and holds the other down and open.

The gold border stands for the vertical fist which is the primary trait of Isshinryu.

The Megami is half woman and half dragon. Her left hand is open, the universal symbol of peace or soft. Her right hand is closed in a Isshinryu fist, symbol of hard and is ready to be used in times of need to defend.

The dragon ascends from the water into the sky or heaven, and stands for heaven. Tatsu means 'dragon' and our founder's name Tatsuo, means dragon man. For the dragon to many followers of Isshinryu is Master Shimabuku, who is the spirit of Isshinryu.

The tiger in the headdress of the Megami stands for earth. When put together dragon and tiger stands for heaven and earth.

The dark background with the three stars shows it is night. Night symbolizes darkness which is the unknown.

The three stars stands for all of Shimabuku's teachers who lighten the night bringing knowledge.

The three stars are in one line (-), the Chinese and Japanese character for one. Sensei Shimabuku told his students on the introduction of Isshinryu that all things starts with one. The one stands for one in Isshinryu, for Isshinryu means 'One heart way'.

The three stars can also mean: mind, body and spirit or any three things. Tatsuo said that Isshinryu was composed of three elements: Shorinryu, Gojuryu and Kobudo.

The upper body / woman despicts that karate can be gentle as a woman. Symbolic of soft.

The lower body / dragon shows that karate can be fierce as a dragon if needed. Symbolic of hard.

The calm face of the goddess in a storm or in times of crises one must be calm, especially in times of danger.

The turbulent water and storm or typhoon symbolizes danger which is always present.