Wadō-ryū (和道流) is one of the four major karate styles and was founded by Hironori Ōtsuka (1892–1982). Ōtsuka was a Menkyo Kaiden licensed Shindō Yōshin-ryū practitioner of … 展开

The name Wadō-ryū has three parts: Wa, dō, and ryū. Wa means "harmony," dō (same character as tao) means "way," and ryū means "school" or "style". Harmony should not be interpreted as 展开

To the untrained observer, Wadō-ryū might look similar to other styles of karate, like its parent school of Shotokan. Most of the underlying principles, however, were derived from Shindō Yōshin-ryū, an atemi waza focused style of Jujutsu. Indeed, from one point of view, Wadō … 展开

Wadō-ryū uses a typical karate belt order to denote rank. The beginner commences at 9th or 10th kyū (depending on the organisation and school) and progresses to 1st kyū, then from 1st–5th dan for technical grades. The ranks of 6th–10th dan are honorary ranks. … 展开

The founder of Wadō-ryū, Hironori Ōtsuka, was born on 1 June 1892 in Shimodate, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. In 1898, Ōtsuka began practicing koryū jujutsu under Chojiro Ebashi. From 1905–1921, he studied Shindō Yōshin-ryū jujutsu under Tatsusaburo Nakayama. … 展开

Wadō-ryū is spread between three independently-led organisations: Wadōkai, Wadō Kokusai and Wadō-ryū Karate-dō Renmei.
Wadō-ryū outside Japan
Wadō-ryū has been spread to many countries in the world, by … 展开

• Hironori Ōtsuka (founder)
• Tatsuo Suzuki
• Seiji Nishimura
• Masaru Shintani 展开