A Brief History Of Wado Ryu Karate

The name Wadu Ryu, meaning "way of peace and harmony", was first coined by Ohtsuka-sensei in 1938 prior to the start of the All-Japan Classical Martial Arts Festival, where he had been invited to demonstrate his new style of karate. It was the first form of Japanese karate, the result of blending Jiu Jitsu, Okinawan karate and Akido. All of the important features of the three were combined into one form resulting in the powerful martial art of Wadu Ryu karate. It is one of the most popular forms of karate and is practiced by millions across the world.

Ohtsuka was initiated to martial arts by his great uncle Chojiro Ebashi when he was 3 or 4 years old. His great uncle began teaching Ohtsuka the art of grappling called Jiu Jitsu. By the time he was 5 or 6, he was on his way to being initiated into the art of Shindo Yoshin-ryu Jujutsu. This martial art form was founded by Katsunosuke Matsuoka, who was himself a student of Yoshin-ryu Jujutsu. Shindo Yoshin-ryu Jujutsu placed great emphasis on grace and free flow of natural movements.

Ohtsuka continued learning the finer aspects of Jiu Jitsu for a number of years. Even while a student of Economics at Waseda University from 1910 to 1917, he continued practicing Jiu Jitsu and experimenting with various styles and techniques to make it more effective and acceptable as a martial art.

Ohtsuka devoted his full time and energy in refining it. His interest grew further when he learned that Crown Prince Hirohito had invited an Okinawan school teacher, Gichin Funakoshi, to demonstrate karate before the Emperor of Japan in Tokyo. He became his ardent student thereafter. The demonstration was very popular, and as a result, Gichin Funakoshi remained in Tokyo. Ohtsuka learned the art from Gichin Funakoshi every night, and by 1924 had become chief assistant instructor. On April 24th, 1924, he was among the first seven people to be awarded the black belt in karate. By the age of 32, he was a full fledged martial artist.

Ohtsuka soon realized that the karate taught by Funakoshi lacked useful application and did not allow free sparring. It was upon mastering the art of Aikido that he actually combined the spirit behind Aikido, the practical uses of Shindo Yoshin Rayu and Jiu Jitsu, and the evasive movements of Jiu Jitsu and Aikido. His efforts, however, were not appreciated by Funakoshi, which resulted in teacher and student parting their ways.

Over the next few years, Ohtsuka continued teaching on his own, continuously experimenting and developing new budo with the help of students who had left Funakoshi. His greatest contribution to karate was the development of Kihon Kumite Kata. He not only created 36 new kata by combining Jiu Jitsu, Aikido, and Karate, but he also created a new budo.

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