The History of Wadoryu Karate.
The Wadoryu of British Wadokai
Why is the Wadoryu of British Wadokai different from some of the others?
I think the question we should really be asking is, “Why is the Wadoryu of others different from that of British Wadokai?” The Wadoryu of British Wadokai is the ORIGINAL and AUTHENTIC, as it was the FIRST Wadoryu to come to the UK from Japan. In 1963 Tatsuo Suzuki 8th Dan Hanshi, under the tutelage of the Founder of Wadoryu, Hironori Ohtsuka Meijin, introduced and established traditional Wadoryu in the UK - There can only be ONE original Wadoryu, and that was the Wadoryu passed down by the master-creator of Wadoryu, Hironori Ohtsuka Meijin.
In 1982, after the passing of the Founder, Ohtsuka Meijin’s son, Jiro Ohtsuka, created another Wadoryu organisation known as the Wadoryu Renmei. Then in 1989 another organisation, Japan Wadokai, established a ‘revised’ version of Wadoryu as a ‘sport karate’ to be able to also compete in the ‘all-styles’ karate competitions.
The main changes were (and still are) to the Kata and much of the original partner-routines. It was felt that in order for Wado Kata to be more acceptable in the competition circuit, and to look more like the versions of the Kata of other styles around at the time, significant modifications occurred that often took the Wadoryu nuances & idiosyncrasies away from the Kata.
In 1991 the Wadoryu Renmei, under the leadership of Jiro Ohtsuka (now a private group), changed significantly and became independent from all the main Governing Bodies at the time.
The Wadoryu syllabus of British Wadokai has remained unchanged to that of Tatsuo Suzuki Hanshi’s Wadoryu, we have been doing the same syllabus that has been practised since 1963. Additionally, all our instructors teach the same authentic techniques, due to their regular immersion into the British Wadokai Standardisation Courses. Clubs in every region, covered by British Wadokai, will be teaching the same syllabus in the same way.
So remember, if anyone says to you that our British Wadokai Wadoryu is different from theirs, you can now say to them, “It’s not us that’s different, it’s you - You changed your Wadoryu, we didn’t!” British Wadokai will remain the same - The Original and Traditional.
Gary E Swift Kyoshi. A Student and Follower of Hironori Ohtsuka Meijin’s and Tatsuo Suzuki Hanshi’s Wadoryu (Est. 1963).
I think the question we should really be asking is, “Why is the Wadoryu of others different from that of British Wadokai?” The Wadoryu of British Wadokai is the ORIGINAL and AUTHENTIC, as it was the FIRST Wadoryu to come to the UK from Japan. In 1963 Tatsuo Suzuki 8th Dan Hanshi, under the tutelage of the Founder of Wadoryu, Hironori Ohtsuka Meijin, introduced and established traditional Wadoryu in the UK - There can only be ONE original Wadoryu, and that was the Wadoryu passed down by the master-creator of Wadoryu, Hironori Ohtsuka Meijin.
In 1982, after the passing of the Founder, Ohtsuka Meijin’s son, Jiro Ohtsuka, created another Wadoryu organisation known as the Wadoryu Renmei. Then in 1989 another organisation, Japan Wadokai, established a ‘revised’ version of Wadoryu as a ‘sport karate’ to be able to also compete in the ‘all-styles’ karate competitions.
The main changes were (and still are) to the Kata and much of the original partner-routines. It was felt that in order for Wado Kata to be more acceptable in the competition circuit, and to look more like the versions of the Kata of other styles around at the time, significant modifications occurred that often took the Wadoryu nuances & idiosyncrasies away from the Kata.
In 1991 the Wadoryu Renmei, under the leadership of Jiro Ohtsuka (now a private group), changed significantly and became independent from all the main Governing Bodies at the time.
The Wadoryu syllabus of British Wadokai has remained unchanged to that of Tatsuo Suzuki Hanshi’s Wadoryu, we have been doing the same syllabus that has been practised since 1963. Additionally, all our instructors teach the same authentic techniques, due to their regular immersion into the British Wadokai Standardisation Courses. Clubs in every region, covered by British Wadokai, will be teaching the same syllabus in the same way.
So remember, if anyone says to you that our British Wadokai Wadoryu is different from theirs, you can now say to them, “It’s not us that’s different, it’s you - You changed your Wadoryu, we didn’t!” British Wadokai will remain the same - The Original and Traditional.
Gary E Swift Kyoshi. A Student and Follower of Hironori Ohtsuka Meijin’s and Tatsuo Suzuki Hanshi’s Wadoryu (Est. 1963).