Shito-ryu
Shitō-ryū is a form of karate that was founded in 1931 by Kenwa Mabuni.
Characteristics
Shitō-ryū is a combination style, which attempts to unite the diverse roots of karate. On one hand, Shitō-ryū has the physical strength and long powerful stances of Shuri-te derived styles, such as Shorin-ryū and Shotokan, on the other hand Shitō-ryū has circular and eight-directional movements, breathing power, hard and soft characteristics of Naha-teand Tomari-te styles, such as Gōjū-ryū. Shitō-ryū is extremely fast, but still can be artistic and powerful. In addition, Shitō-ryū formalizes and emphasizes the five rules of defense, developed by Kenwa Mabuni:
"falling petals" The art of blocking with such force and precision as to completely destroy the opponent's attacking motion. Examples of rakka are the most well-known blocks, such as gedan-barai or soto-uke.
"running water" The art of flowing around the attacker's motion, and through it, soft blocking. Examples are nagashi-uke and osae-uke.
"elasticity" This is the art of bouncing back, storing energy while recoiling from the opponent's attack, changing or lowering stance only to immediately unwind and counterattack. Classic examples are stance transitions zenkutsu to kōkutsu and moto-dachi to nekoashi-dachi .
"transposition" The utilization of all eight directions of movement, most importantly stepping away from the line of attack.
"counterattack" A hangeki defense is an attack which at the same time deflects the opponent's attack before it can reach the defender. Examples of this are various kinds of tsuki-uke, including yama-tsuki.
Modern Shitō-ryū styles also place a strong emphasis on sparring. Shitō-ryū stresses speed, and fighting is generally initiated from a higher, more upright stance than Shotokan employs. On the other hand, because the style has so many kata, a great deal of time is spent perfecting any one of its 40 to 60 forms.