Matsubayashi-ryū is a style of Okinawan karate that was founded in 1947 by Shōshin Nagamine

Shoshin Nagamine

was a Japanese author, soldier, police officer and karate master.-Early Life and Karate-do:Nagamine was born in Tomari, in Naha City, Okinawa. He was a small and sickly child, and he contracted a gastroenteric disorder in 1926, his second year of high school. He began a self-imposed diet and took...

 (1907–1997). Its curriculum includes 18 kata, 7 two-man yakusoku kumite (prearranged sparring) routines, and kobudō (weapons) practice. Matsubayashi-ryu is one of the four main styles of karate on Okinawa today, and was one of the styles represented when the Okinawa Karate-do Federation was founded. It included the styles: Goju-ryu, Uechi-ryu, Shorin-ryu, and Matsubayashi-ryu.

Sensei Nagamine named his style in honor of the two masters whom he viewed as the most important masters that his teachings were based upon, Sōkon Matsumura

Sokon Matsumura

was one of the original karate masters of Okinawa. His life is reported variously as or or or -Early history:...

 of Shuri-te. and Kosaku Matsumora

Kosaku Matsumora

was an Okinawan karate master. He studied Tomari-te under Karyu Uku and Kishin Teruya. He also studied Jigen-ryu. Among Matsumora's students, who went on to influence new generations through students of their own, were Choki Motobu and Chotoku Kyan....

 of Tomari-te.. He chose to name the school using the first kanji characters from both master's names Matsu (松) and the style is pronounced in Japanese "Matsubayashi".

Shuri-te is divided into three styles, two are called Shorin-Ryu and a third is called Matsubayashi-Ryu. Matsubayashi-Ryu is a style of Shorin-Ryu and the terms Matsubayashi-Ryu and Shorin-Ryu can be used interchangeably. Normally, the style is referred to as Shorin-Ryu but when a definite distinction is required between the other styles of the Shorin family (Kobayashi-Ryu & Shobayashi-Ryu) then it is called Matsubayashi-Ryu.

Nagamine Shōshin also credited Motobu Chōki

Motobu Choki

The Okinawan karateka , younger brother of karateka Motobu Chōyū, was born in Akahira Village in Shuri, Okinawa, then capital of the Ryūkyū Kingdom....

 as the teacher who inspired his seven Yakusoku kumite forms.

Today, the official Matsubayashi-ryū organization is run by Shōshin Nagamine's son, Takayoshi Nagamine, though there are many schools teaching Matsubayashi-ryū that are not officially affiliated with the Nagamine dojo. A new kata, Fukyugata San, was developed in 1960 by Ueshiro sensei and is performed in his association's schools.

Matsubayashi-ryū is one of the better-documented traditional karate styles, owing to Nagamine's book, The Essence of Okinawan Karate-dō. as well as Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters

Kata

Kata

Kata

is a Japanese word describing detailed choreographed patterns of movements practised either solo or in pairs. The term form is used for the corresponding concept in non-Japanese martial arts in general....

 are sets of moves in Karate

Karate

is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...

 and are considered the most important part of the Matsubayashi-Ryu style.

• Fukyugata series (1-2)
  Fukyugata
  Fukyugata is the name of kata practiced in many styles of Okinawan karate, particularly Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu. There are two sets of Fukyugata. These kata were developed by Shoshin Nagamine and Chojun Miyagi...
  
  
• Fukyugata San
  Fukyugata
  Fukyugata is the name of kata practiced in many styles of Okinawan karate, particularly Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu. There are two sets of Fukyugata. These kata were developed by Shoshin Nagamine and Chojun Miyagi...
  
    not one of the original 18 kata.
• Pinan series (1-5)
• Naihanchi series (1-3)
  Naihanchi
  is a karate Kata, performed in straddle stance . It translates to 'internal divided conflict'. The form makes use of in-fighting techniques and grappling. In Shorin-Ryu and Matsubayashi-Ryu Naihanchi Shodan is the first Ni Kyu although it is taught to Yon Kyu occasionally before Evaluations for...
  
  
• Ananku
• Wankan
  Wankan
  Wankan is a kata practiced in many styles of Karate. Not much is known about the history of this kata. It originates from the Tomari-te school and in modern karate is practiced in Shorin-ryu, Shotokan, Genseiryu and Matsubayashi-ryu.It is often considered an advanced kata, despite its brevity...
  
  
• Rōhai
  Rohai
  The Rōhai kata are a family of kata practiced in some styles of karate. The name translates approximately to "vision of a Crane" or "vision of a heron". The kata originated from the Tomari-te school of Okinawan martial arts. It was called Matsumora Rōhai, after Kosaku Matsumora, who was presumably...
  
  
• Wanshu
  Wanshu
  Wanshu is a name borne by several katas in many systems of karate, including Isshin-Ryu, Shotokan , Wadō-ryū, and others.Wanshu is also the Okinawan-adapted name of Sappushi [Jp. 'diplomat'] 'Wang Ji' , the leader of a large ambassadorial mission from China sent by the Qing government to the...
  
  
• Passai
  Passai
  Passai is the Japanese name of a group of kata practiced in different styles of martial arts, including karate and various Korean martial arts . There are several variations of these kata, including Passai sho and Passai dai . In karate, the kata are known as Passai in Okinawan styles and Bassai...
  
  
• Gojūshiho
• Chintō
• Kusanku
  Kusanku
  Kūsankū also called Kankū-dai , is an open hand karate kata that is studied by many practitioners of Okinawan, Japanese and Korean karate. In many karate styles, there are two versions of the kata: Kūsankū-shō and Kūsankū-dai...
  
  

Ranks

These are the ranks as set out by the World Matsubayashi-Ryu (Shorin-Ryu) Karate-Do Association and the Kodokan Nagamine Karate Dojo (World Honbu).

Mudansha

• 8th Kyu - White Belt, one green stripe
• 7th Kyu - White Belt, two green stripes
• 6th Kyu - Green Belt, three white stripes
• 5th Kyu - Green Belt, two white stripes
• 4th Kyu - Green Belt, one white stripe
• 3rd Kyu - Brown Belt, three white stripes
• 2nd Kyu - Brown Belt, two white stripes
• 1st Kyu - Brown Belt, one white stripe

Yudansha

• 1st to 10th Dan - Black Belt

Shogo Titles

• Renshi (6th Dan) - Black Belt with one stripe
• Kyoshi (7th & 8th Dan) - Black Belt with two stripes
• Hanshi (9th & 10th Dan) - Black Black with three stripes
• Hanshisei (10th Dan) - Black Belt with four stripes

Major Organizations of Matsubayashi-Ryu

• World Matsubayashi-Ryu (Shorin-Ryu) Karate-Do Association (WMKA), Okinawa, Headed by Takayoshi Nagamine
  • Sub-Organisations of the World Matsubayashi-Ryu (Shorin-Ryu) Karate-Do Association
  • European Matsubayashi-Ryu (Shorin-Ryu) Karate-Do Association (EMKA), Europe, Headed by Ole-Bjørn Tuftedal
  • Okinawa Shorin-Ryu New Zealand, New Zealand, Headed by Kevin Plaisted
  • Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate Association of Australia (MKAA), Australia, Headed by John Carlyle
• North American Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do Association (NAMKA), United States, Headed by Don Caponigro
• United States Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do Federation, United States, Headed by Michael Ritter
• Karate USA - Terry Maccarrone, United States, Headed by Terry Maccarrone
• Shorin-Ryu Karate USA, United States, Headed by Robert Scaglione
• Shorin-Ryu and Kobudo Association, United States, Headed by Eihachi Ota
• World Shorin-Ryu Karate-Do Federation (WSKF), United States, Headed by Frank Grant
• Matsubayashi Shorin-Ryu Ireland, Ireland, Headed by Patrick Beaumont
• Matsubayashi-Ryu (Shorin-Ryu) Karate-Do Argentina, Argentina, Headed by Shigehide Akamine

Well-known Matsubayashi-Ryu Practitioners

Okinawa

• Shoshin Nagamine, Founder of Matsubayashi-Ryu
• Takayoshi Nagamine, Current head (Soke) of Matsubayashi-Ryu
• Yasuharu Makishi, Senior student of Shoshin Nagamine
• Toshimitsu Arakaki, Senior student of Shoshin Nagamine
• Yoshitaka Taira, Senior student of Shoshin Nagamine
• Kiyoshi Shinjo, Senior student of Shoshin Nagamine
• Nobuhide Higa, Senior student of Shoshin Nagamine and Yoshitaka Taira
• Ansei Ueshiro, Sent to the United States by Shoshin Nagamine in 1962 to promote Matsubayashi-Ryu in the United States
• Chotoku Omine, Senior student of Shoshin Nagamine and sent to the United States to promote Matsubayashi-Ryu by Shoshin Nagamine
• Kensei Taba, Senior student of Shoshin Nagamine and Founder of his own organisation, the Okinawa Shogen-Ryu Karate-Do Association
• Eihachi Ota, Moved to the United States in 1969 to promoted Matsubayashi-Ryu
• Masao Shima, Senior student of Shoshin Nagamine
• Chokei Kishaba, Senior student of Shoshin Nagamine and Founder of Shorin-Ryu Kishaba Juku
  Shōrin-ryū Kishaba Juku
  Okinawa Karate-Dō Shōrin-ryū Kishaba Juku, also called, familiarly, Kishaba Juku, is Sensei Chokei Kishaba's private academy of the Matsubayashi-ryu style of Okinawan Karate...
  
  
• Shigehide Akamine, Student of Shoshin Nagamine who moved to Argentina and heads the Matsubayashi-Ryu (Shorin-Ryu) Karate-Do Argentina

United States

• Jim Wax, First non-Okinawan to receive a Black belt from Shoshin Nagamine in Matsubayashi-Ryu
• Fred Christian, Student of Shoshin Nagamine & Takayoshi Nagamine, WMKA Administration Officer
• Walter Rowden
• Don Capronigro, Student of Takayoshi Nagamine & Frank Grant, Head of the NAMKA
• Bob Yarnall, Student of Jim Wax
• Frank Grant, Student of Jim Wax, Ansei Ueshiro and Shoshin Nagamine, Head of the WSKF

External links

• Okinawan webpage on Matsubayashi
• The World Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do Association (WMKA)
• Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate Association of Australia (MKAA)
• European Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate Association (EMKA)
• The North American Matsubayashi-ryu Karate-do Association (NAMKA)
• Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Karate-Do Information Page, New Zealand
• Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do Information Page, Sydney Australia
• The Official World Shorin-Ryu Karate-Do Federation
• the Official Okinawan biography of Shoshin Nagamine
• The Official Okinawan Lineage of Tomari-te
• The Official Okinawan Lineage of Shuri-te
• Matsubayashi-ryu Kata videos
• An academic paper by performance theory scholar Meron Langsner on the nature of kata in the Electronic Journals of Martial Arts and Sciences.