One of Chibana’s biggest contributions to karate lies in the Shorin-ryu style, of which he is considered to be the founder. Shorin-ryu branched out of Shuri-te, one of the three styles alongside Naha-te and Tomari te. Each of these styles had been named for the region that they had grown out of. Shorin-ryu was also known as Kobayashi ryu, the name of which had been chosen by Chibana. The name connected Shorin-ryu to the Shaolin style of martial arts practiced by monks in China, one of the possible influences for Okinawan karate. These two names were registered to the style in 1933 by Chibana.16 Chibana developed his style further, by creating his own versions of several kata that were practiced in the system.17
In 1936 Chibana attended an
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29 Mark Bishop, Okinawan Karate: Teachers, Styles, and Secret Techniques (Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 1999), 92.
30 Patrick McCarthy, Ancient Okinawan Martial Arts: Koryu Uchinadi Volume Two (Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 1999), 32.
31 Patrick McCarthy, Ancient Okinawan Martial Arts: Koryu Uchinadi Volume One (Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 1999), 7.
32 Christopher Clarke, Okinawan Karate: A History of Styles and Masters: Volume 1: Shuri-te and Shorin-Ryu (Huntingtown: Clarke’s Canyon Press, 2012), 185.
33 Ibid., 185. regardless, believing in continuous practice until the end and that there was always room to grow. His training was consistent through to his death, performing demonstrations through 1968, within a year of his death.34 He also allowed himself to be videotaped in his old age, and records of him performing kata still exist because of this.35 His death would come five years later, on February 26, 1969.36 Chibana had been responsible for training and promoting other practitioners to the level of Hanshi, ninth degree black belt. These students would form their own schools and styles, continuing to further the spread of karate after his death. Though Chibana himself died in 1969, his contributions still impact the world of karate