There are a lot of styles of karate. What is Ueshiro Shorin-Ryu?

At its core, Ueshiro Shorin-Ryu is a faithfully preserved system of Shorin-Ryu karate as trained in Okinawa for generations. It closely based on the teachings of Shoshin Nagamine, founder of Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate. If you want to know more about Shorin-Ryu on a broader level, we have a few books in the dojo that are a great place to start. If you want more information about our association’s specific history, we’ve got some good books on that, too.

Our founder, Ansei Ueshiro, came to the United States in 1962 at the behest of his instructor, Shoshin Nagamine, to propagate the art of Shorin-Ryu karate in the West. While we are not formally affiliated with Matsubayashi-Ryu today, we honor the traditions of the style Shoshin Nagamine codified and we reference his prodigious written work frequently - The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do and Tales of Okinawa’s Great Masters - as technical and philosophical manuals for our training in the art.

There are some small but impactful differences in technique in our style that are based on our founder’s specific interpretation of the art upon his arrival and over the subsequent decades of training and instructing here in the USA. Ansei Ueshiro was a fighter, and his interpretation of karate was and remains explosive and powerful.

For those with prior training in other styles, you may notice some commonalities between Shorin-Ryu and Shotokan and its derived schools, Shito-Ryu or Okinawan Kempo, or various schools or styles of American karate. There are also many branch affiliations of Matsubayashi-Ryu today, with or without a formal connection with the Okinawan central system, that will look quite similar, such as Tiida-Ryu.

Today, Ueshiro Shorin-Ryu is overseen by Hanshi Robert Scaglione, 10th-dan. He trained under Master Ueshiro for decades, and was chosen to inherit this system when Master Ueshiro passed in 2002. Hanshi trains daily and teaches classes several days per week in the Viera, Florida area. Shorin-Ryu Karate USA sponsors several fly-in events throughout the year at different locations where we have dojos - Florida, Nashville, New York, Washington DC - that afford our practitioners the opportunity to train with others from far and wide (from Hong Kong to Seattle), work with instructors from other dojos, and learn about our history, our art, and ourselves.

One unique perk of training in Ueshiro Shorin-Ryu is just how huge this community is. We’ve been at it since 1962, and there are practitioners who have been here since the beginning. Ueshiro Shorin-Ryu has dojo’s around the world. Next time you’re packing a bag, check and see if you can drop into a class before you head out.

For more about the history of Okinawan karate, Ueshiro-Shorin Ryu, and our presence in the USA, check out the thorough history at our HQ dojo’s page.