State Chief Shihan Kola Pratap Kumar with Actor Suman and Actor Bhanuchander

Shihan Kola Pratap - State Chief of Zen Shito Ryu Karate School of Andhra Pradesh

Shihan Kola Pratap Kumar
President : Karate Association of Andhra Pradesh,
State Chief: Zen Shitoryu Karate School of Andhra Pradesh.

Name : Shihan Kola Pratap Kumar 

Location : Hyderabad, Telangana

President : Karate Association of Andhra Pradesh

State Chief : Zen Shitoryu Karate School of Andhra Pradesh

SHITO RYU

Shito ryu (糸東流) is a form of karate that was developed by Kenwa Mabuni in 1931. Any history of Shitoryu Karate, however, must begin and end with its founder, Kenwa Mabuni. Born in Shuri on Okinawa in 1893, Mabuni Sensei was a descendant of the famous Onigusukini Samurai family. Perhaps because of his weak constitution, he began his instruction in his home town in the art of Shuri-Te at the age of 13, under the tutelage of the legendary Ankoh Yasutsune Itosu (1813-1915). He trained diligently for several years, learning many Kata from this great Master. It was Itosu who first developed the Pinan Kata, which were most probably derived from the 'Kusanku' form.
One of his close friends, Sensei Chojun Miyagi (founder of Goju ryu) introduced Mabuni to another great of that
period, Sensei Kanryo Higashionna, and began to learn Naha-Te under him as well. While both Itosu and Higashionna taught a 'hard-soft' style of Okinawan 'Te', their methods and emphases were quite distinct: the Itosu syllabus included straight and powerful techniques as exemplified in the Naifanchi and Bassai Kata; the Higashionna syllabus on the other hand, stressed circular motion and shorter fighting methods as seen in the popular Seipai and Kururunfa forms. These were the two main influences on the development of Mabuni Sensei and what he would later call Shito-ryu. In fact, he derived the name for his new style from the first Kanji character in their names, Itosu and Higashionna.
Although he remained true to the teachings of these two great masters, Mabuni sought instruction from a number of masters, including Seisho Aragaki, Tawada Shimboku, Sueyoshi Jino and Wu Xianhui (a Chinese master known as Go-Kenki). In fact, Mabuni was legendary for his encyclopedic knowledge of kata and their bunkai applications. By the 1920s, he was regarded as the foremost authority on Okinawan kata and their history and was much sought after as a teacher by his contemporaries. There is even some evidence that his expertise was sought out in China, as well as Okinawa and mainland Japan. As a police officer, he taught local law enforcement officers and at the behest of his teacher Itosu, began instruction in the various grammar schools in Shuri and Naha.
In an effort to popularize Karate in mainland Japan, Mabuni made several trips to Tokyo in 1917 and 1928. Although much that was known as 'Te' (Chinese Fist) or Karate had been passed down through many generations with jealous secrecy, it was his view that it should be taught to anyone who sought knowledge with honesty and integrity. In fact, many masters of his generation held similar views on the future of Karate: Sensei Gichin Funakoshi (founder of Shotokan), another contemporary, had moved to Tokyo in the 1920s to promote their art on the mainland as well.
By 1929, Mabuni had moved to Osaka on the mainland, to become a full-time Karate instructor. With the support of Sensei Ryusho Sakagami (1915-1993), he opened a number of dojo in the Osaka area, including Kansai University and the Japan Karatedo Kai dojo. To this day, the largest contingent of Shito-ryu practitioners in Japan is centered in the Osaka area.
In an effort to gain acceptance in the Japanese Butoku kai, the governing body for all officially recognized martial arts, he and his contemporaries decided to call their art 'Karate' or 'Empty Hand', rather than 'Chinese Hand'. He published a number of books on the subject and continued to systematize the instruction method. In his latter years, he developed a number of formal kata, such as Aoyagi, for example, which was designed specifically for women's self defense. Perhaps more than any other Master in the last century, Mabuni was steeped in the traditions and history of Karate-do, yet forward thinking enough to realize that it could spread throughout the world.

Kenwa Mabuni (1889 – 1952)

Kenwa Mabuni (1889 – 1952) was born in Shuri, Okinawa and was a weak, frail child. Considered by many to be the “guru” of Karate, he originated the Shito Ryu style, which combines the influences of Shorei Ryu and Shorin Ryu.

When Kenwa Mabuni moved to Osaka, his style was called Hanko Ryu (half-soft style), before he officially founded Shito Ryu (Funakoshi = Shotokan; Mabuni = Shito; Miyagi = Goju; Ohtsuka = Wado) when the 4 main styles of karate were introduced to the Dai Nippon Butoku kai. The word Shito was Mabuni’s way of honoring his two greatest teachers: Higashionna [shi], who taught Naha-te style, and Itosu [to], who taught Shuri-te style. Mabuni first trained with Itosu, Ankoh from age 13 to 27, with whom he became proficient with such weapons as the bo and Sai. At 20, Mabuni began to train with Higashionna of Naha, a Shorei-ryu master who brought from China most of the Naha-Te Kata (Kururunfa, Seienchin, Sochin…) popularized by Goju Ryu. Kiyoda Juhatsu, a student of Miyagi’s, was one of 3 men in history to train with two leading masters of the art at their time. The other to men to train with these masters were Toyama (1888-1966) and Gusukuma Shimpan (1890-1954). Mabuni also trained under Arakaki. In 1913, at the age of 23, he joined civil law enforcement and became a detective. Then he met Arakaki Seisho, who did a lot of traveling as an interpreter for the Government, and his student Su uji Peichin (1840-1920), who taught Higaonna. During his travels Arakaki learned Niseishi and Unshu from the Fuchou Province and brought them over with him. Peichin first taught Higaonna before he moved to Kojo. (Kojo family – Matsu Higa). 

Kenwa Mabuni also studied with Sueshi and Tawada.

In 1927, Mabuni demonstrates karate for Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo. The ranks in karate came from kendo and the belts ranking system and gi (uniform) came from Jigoro Kano. At 37 years of age, Mabuni opens his first dojo. He founded it with Chojun Miyagi, and called it the Chinese Martial Arts Research Society of Okinawa. His home was considered a Mecca for karate. Chojun Miyagi was the founder of Goju Ryu.

Mabuni’s Five principles of strategy

1. Rakka (Dropping Flower): power is generated by sudden impact

2. Ryu Shu (Running water): blending (be like water)

3. Kusshin: vertical maneuvering (up and down)

4. Teni (change): by initiating, manipulating miai (critical distance), or tai sabaki (body shifting) [ten = change; Teni = changing] 

5. Han Geki: countering

Kenwa Mabuni is quoted as saying, “Those who master Karate understand the importance of cooperating with the infinite rather than continuing to resist the inevitable.”

Mabuni, Kenwa Soke died in Osaka, Japan on 23 May 1952, leaving his name and art in the heart of each Shito-ryu Karate-ka

During November 1960, due to the colossal efforts of Master Manzo Iwata(1924-1993), an eastern headquarters was finally established. At the same time, the western headquarters was re-established by Master Mabuni's eldest son, Master Kenei Mabuni. Over the years, both headquarters conducted special events, seminars and tournaments until the First All-Japan Shito-ryu Karate-do Championship was held in April 1964. In February 1973, the two headquarters merged to become the Japan Karate-do Shito kai. With the culmination of various Shito-kai groups around the globe, including Cuba, Russia, Mexico, USA, Canada and Asia among others, the establishment of the 'World Shito-ryu 

Karate-do Federation' was at the Shito-ryu Congress meeting in Osaka in March 1993.