About |
We are a traditional martial arts association that emphasizes personal, spiritual, mental & physical development. We leave sport competition to other individuals.
As stated by many Okinawan martial artists including Hanshi Shoshin Nagamine, sport martial arts are"too shallow". Kata is the heart and soul of our martial art.
For those who practice sport competition that is a personal decision, as it is very easy to lose focus and power of technique and one must be careful not to lose the true meaning of karate and martial art. Thus we do not support any competition or tournament.
According to Hanshi Nagamine, "kata is the origin of karate". "If there is NO KATA, there is NO KARATE!" Without kata, there is no longer martial art - instead it becomes nothing but primative street fighting! Shoshin Nagamine provides us with further insight into karate by stating "one must embrace a do mu gen proverb", "there can be no end to learning and that karate begins and ends with the study of kata".
In addition to kata, bunkai (applications) are a very important part of our curriculum. Each kata is dissected into a group of ippon kumite, which a student learns along with kata. As such, the student develops first-hand knowledge of applications and purpose of kata.
We also emphasize power (focus) in all techniques and include kobudo (weapons) as an essential part of our Ryu (style) along with te (empty hand techniques). All of our kobudo kata are also broken down into ippon kumite applications. To ensure that the martial arts practitioner of our style is well-rounded, jujutsu and other samurai arts are incorporated and taught in Seiyo Shorin-Ryu.
Soke Hausel offers affiliation with Seiyo no Shorin-Ryu Karate Kobudo Kai for any Shotokan or Shorin-Ryu martial artist or club interested in training in traditional martial arts under a certified Soke. Those affiliating with our organization are requested to become active participants in Shorin-Ryu Karate and to spread the positive attributes of martial arts.
Members of Seiyo Shorin-Ryu are taught philosophy, history and ethics of traditional martial arts. The arts are practiced to develop more self-confident and positive individuals. The dojo kun of the association includes several important precepts including "kara te ni sente nashi" - translation as "there is no first attack in karate". Philosophically, it means the practitioners use karate to help develop self-confidence but affirm not to misuse the martial arts.
Shorin-Ryu Karate & Kobudo is the principal art that has been practiced on Okinawa for several hundred years. The kanji to describe Shorin-Ryu is translated as "Shaolin style" implying a connection to the Shaolin Temple arts of ch'uan fa (kung fu). It is thought that kung fu was introduced to China from India by about 520 AD. Karate was developed many centuries later.
Shorin-Ryu karate was developed from techniques from White Crane ch'uan fa from the southern Shaolin Temple near Foochow City in the Fukien Province of southeastern China. Sometime later, possibly by 1394 AD, ch'uan fa was introduced to Okinawa, and evolved into karate. However, other writers suggest that karate did not develop on Okinawa until considerably later, possibly in the 18th century.
InSeiyo Shorin Ryu, the pragmatic aspects of karate are emphasized. Every technique in Seiyo kata has pragmatic bunkai (self defense application). This is very helpful to anyone who learns kata. So in Seiyo Shorin-Ryu, one will learn many kata and what they are for. We find that karate and kata are inseparatable - one can not exist without the other.
Seiyo Shorin-Ryu is a hybrid style, as are all styles of karate. Seiyo Kai kata has come primarily from the Shorin-Ryu system with some borrowed from other styles, a few created by our Sokeshodai, and others have been modified by Soke to fit our needs
Seiyo Shorin-Ryu is:
(1) Dynamic.
(2) Powerful. This is based in influences from Shotokan, Mas Oyama’s Kyokushinkai system of martial arts as well as from the most powerful living Sensei in the world (in our opinion): Dai-Soke Sacharnoski. These systems greatly added to the architecture of our style. As a result, our students learn to focus energy in their strikes, blocks & kicks.
(3) Kata and Bunkai (applications). If you have ever trained in karate, you may have been frustrated by kata & never taught what each movement in kata were used for. Few martial artists understand kata. Kata is a living encyclopedia of favorite techniques of past masters & grandmasters. All of the bunkai for each kata are taught as self-defense techniques. Soke Hausel has also developed some additional kata that are only taught in the Seiyo Shorin-Ryu system.
(4) Based on Traditions. This is one major aspect that separates martial art from street fighting.