Shorin-Ryu Karate & Kobudo is the principal martial art style that has been practiced on Okinawa for several hundred years. The kanji used to describe Shorin-Ryu are translated as "Pine Forest style" in Japanese. In Chinese, they are translated as "Shaolin style" implying a connection to the ancient arts of ch'uan fa, or what is better known in North America as kung fu. It is thought that kung fu was introduced to China from India by about 520 AD. Shorin-Ryu karate was later developed from techniques taught in White Crane ch'uan fa at the southern Shaolin Temple near Foochow City in the Fukien Province of southeastern China. Sometime later, possibly by 1394 AD, ch'uan fa was introduced to Okinawa, and evolved into karate. Kobudo, the art of ancient Okinawan weapons, evolved after Okinawan King Sho Shin outlawed bladed Samurai weapons on Okinawa in 1480 AD. This resulted in the Okinawan martial artists disguising their art and using farming implements as weapons. These implements included the 'bo' (six-foot staff), 'tonfa' (grinder handles), 'nunchuku' (rice flails), kama (sickles), 'sai', and others. Ranks in Shorin-Ryu start at the kyu level. We have 8 kyu ranks followed by the Yudansha ranks. The Yudansha ranks begin at 1st dan, and work up to 10th dan.

"Empty Hand" by Soke Hausel