From one point of view, Wado-ryu might be considered a style of jujitsu rather than karate. It should be noted that Hironori Otsuka embraced Shotokan and was its chief instructor for a time. When Otsuka first registered his school with the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai in 1938, the style was called "Shinshu Wado-ryu Karate-Jujutsu," a name that reflects its hybrid character. Otsuka was a licensed Shindo Yoshin-ryu practitioner and a student of Yoshin-ryu when he first met the Okinawan karate master Gichin Funakoshi. After having learned from Funakoshi, and after their split, with Okinawan masters such as Kenwa Mabuni and Motobu Choki, Otsuka merged Shindo Yoshin-ryu with Okinawan karate. The result of Otsuka's efforts is Wado-ryu Karate.
A key principle in Wado-ryu is that of tai sabaki (often incorrectly referred to as 'evasion'). The Japanese term can be translated as "body-management," and refers to body manipulation so as to move the defender as well as the attacker out of harm's way. The way to achieve this is to 'move along' rather than to 'move against'-or harmony rather than physical strength.
The following photographs are from the brochure I received in Hamburg at the Wado Ryu European Championship 1977 ,where I competed for Yugoslavian team.
Othsuka's view of life in the spirit of martial arts.
Teruo Kono was born 1934 in Yokohama and studied architecture. After working in several building firms in Japan he went to England and later to Germany, where he is a managing director of several export firms.Between 1956 and 1960 he was the top point fighter in Japan. Additionally, he was also coach of the famous Nichidai University and various other university clubs in Japan and in Europe. Kono Sensei has been the national coach of central Japan, England, Holland, Yugoslavia, Germany.
Kono Sensei came to England, then Holland, and finally Germany during the mid 1960s. In 1986, Kono Sensei was named the Chairman of the Federation of European Wado Kai. Kono Sensei reached the rank of 8th Dan (Hachidan) in both Wado Ryu Karatedo and Shinto Yoshinryu Jiujitsu, the old Kempo of Wado Ryu Founder Hironori Ohtsuka.
Kono Sensei died 2000.
