The name Wado ryu has three parts: Wa(和), Do(道) and Ryu(流). Wa means "harmony," Do means "way," and Ryu means "flow or style."
In Wado ryu, the word harmony is an acknowledgment that sometimes yielding is more effective than brute strength.
From one point of view, Wado ryu might be considered a style of jujutsu rather than karate. It should be noted that Hironori Otsuka embraced Shotokan and
also served as its chief instructor for a time. When Otsuka first registered his school with the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai in 1938, the style was called
"Shinshu Wado ryu Karate Jujutsu," a name that reflects its hybrid character. Otsuka was the Grand Master of Shindo Yoshin ryu Jujutsu when he first met the Okinawan karate master Ginchin Funakoshi. Aside from Funakoshi, Otsuka also studied with the Okinawan masters Kenwa Mabuni of Shito ryu and Motobu Choki of Motobu ryu. Along the way, Otsuka decided to further his studies alone and merged Shindo Yoshin ryu with Okinawan karate. The result of Otsuka's efforts is Wado ryu Karate.
To the untrained observer, Wado ryu might look similar to other styles of karate. Most of the underlying principles, however, were derived from Shindo Yoshin ryu which is an atemi waza focused style of Jujutsu. Wado blocking techniques may look much like a block in other styles of karate, but they are executed from different perspectives.
A key principle in Wado ryu is that of TAI SABAKI (often incorrectly referred to as 'evasion') but in Japanese it is translated as "body management," and refers to body manipulation so as to move the defender as well as the attacker out of harm's way. The way to achieve this is to 'move along' rather than to 'move against' or harmony rather than physical strenght. Modern karate competition tends to transform Wado ryu away from its roots towards a new generic karate that appeals more to the demands of both spectators and competitors.
Wado ryu moves from the balls of the foot rather than the heel, which affects the delivery of almost every technique, the stances and the kata.
It works well with the jūjutsu applications that Wado retains and improves the tai sabaki that is a core of Wado training and application in comparison to the "low stances and long attacks, linear chained techniques" that is typical to some styles of karate.
In Wado ryu, the word harmony is an acknowledgment that sometimes yielding is more effective than brute strength.
From one point of view, Wado ryu might be considered a style of jujutsu rather than karate. It should be noted that Hironori Otsuka embraced Shotokan and
also served as its chief instructor for a time. When Otsuka first registered his school with the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai in 1938, the style was called
"Shinshu Wado ryu Karate Jujutsu," a name that reflects its hybrid character. Otsuka was the Grand Master of Shindo Yoshin ryu Jujutsu when he first met the Okinawan karate master Ginchin Funakoshi. Aside from Funakoshi, Otsuka also studied with the Okinawan masters Kenwa Mabuni of Shito ryu and Motobu Choki of Motobu ryu. Along the way, Otsuka decided to further his studies alone and merged Shindo Yoshin ryu with Okinawan karate. The result of Otsuka's efforts is Wado ryu Karate.
To the untrained observer, Wado ryu might look similar to other styles of karate. Most of the underlying principles, however, were derived from Shindo Yoshin ryu which is an atemi waza focused style of Jujutsu. Wado blocking techniques may look much like a block in other styles of karate, but they are executed from different perspectives.
A key principle in Wado ryu is that of TAI SABAKI (often incorrectly referred to as 'evasion') but in Japanese it is translated as "body management," and refers to body manipulation so as to move the defender as well as the attacker out of harm's way. The way to achieve this is to 'move along' rather than to 'move against' or harmony rather than physical strenght. Modern karate competition tends to transform Wado ryu away from its roots towards a new generic karate that appeals more to the demands of both spectators and competitors.
Wado ryu moves from the balls of the foot rather than the heel, which affects the delivery of almost every technique, the stances and the kata.
It works well with the jūjutsu applications that Wado retains and improves the tai sabaki that is a core of Wado training and application in comparison to the "low stances and long attacks, linear chained techniques" that is typical to some styles of karate.