Shito-ryu is a combination style, which attempts to unite the diverse roots of karate. On one hand, Shito-ryu has the physical strength and long powerful stances of Shuri-te derived styles, such as Shorin-ryu and Shotokan; on the other hand, Shito-ryu also has the circular and eight-directional movements, breathing power, and hard and soft characteristics of Naha-te styles such as Uechi-ryu and Goju-ryu.
BSKA practices the traditional Shito ryu kata which feature Shurite and Nahate movements.
Shito-ryu is extremely fast, but still can be artistic and powerful. In addition, Shito-ryu formalizes and emphasizes the five rules of defense, developed by Kenwa Mabuni, and known as Uke no go gensoku, Uke no go genri or Uke no go ho.
- Rakka, "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.
- Ryusui, "running water". The art of flowing around the attacker's motion, and through it, soft blocking. Examples are nagashi-uke and osae-uke.
- Kusshin, "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.
- Ten'i, "transposition". Ten'i is the utilization of all eight directions of movement, most importantly stepping away from the line of attack.
- Hangeki, "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.
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