Wado-Ryu: the way of peace and harmony

Wado-Ryu is the karate of Master Hironori Ohtsuka, which he created from jujutsu and karate. Its movements are natural, like flowing water.

What the name means

Wado-Ryu: the school of the way of peace and harmony.

和(wa): harmony, peace
道(dō): way
流(ryū): school, style – literally: flow

The line of teachers

Wado-Ryu passes from teacher to student. As a member of the Magyar Wado-Ryu Akadémia®, Heiwa Dojo is part of this line.

1892–1982
Hironori Ohtsuka, Meijin
He began learning jujutsu at the age of six, and in 1921 received menkyo kaiden, the licence of complete mastery, in Shindo-Yoshin-Ryu jujutsu. In 1922, in Tokyo, he became a student of the karate master Gichin Funakoshi. He founded his own school in 1934, and in 1938 registered his style with the Butokukai as Shinshu-Wado-Ryu-Karate-Jutsu: the first karate style officially recognised in Japan as a Japanese martial art. In 1972 he became the first person to receive the title “Meijin”.
1981
Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Renmei
The Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Renmei was registered on 1 April 1981. Master Ohtsuka named his elder son, Jiro Ohtsuka, the second grand master; out of respect for his father, Jiro later took the name Hironori.
1989
Masafumi Shiomitsu, Hanshi, 9th dan
He trained in the Wado-Ryu dojo of Nihon University from 1959. From 1965 he taught in Great Britain, and later in Spain, France and Madagascar. In 1981 he received his 7th dan from Grand Master Ohtsuka. In 1989 he founded the Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Academy and became its chief instructor. He first visited Hungary in 2003.
2011
Tran Hieu Minh, Renshi, 7th dan
He met Master Shiomitsu in Madagascar and followed him to France. As Sensei Róbert Torontáli recalls, at a summer camp in 2011 Master Shiomitsu told the students that once he could no longer teach them, they should turn to Master Tran, “because of all of them, he has the best character”.
Róbert Torontáli, Sensei, 5th dan Shidoin
President of the Magyar Wado-Ryu Akadémia®. He started training in 1984 with Master István Réti, who brought Wado-Ryu to Hungary, and has been a student of Master Shiomitsu since 2001.
Krisztián Túsz, Sensei, 3rd dan
Instructor of Heiwa Dojo.
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From here, it continues with you.

How does Wado-Ryu move?

The style is built on nine basic kata and also uses many throws and takedowns that come from jujutsu.

It is more mobile than most styles: it is full of evasion, body turning and stepping aside. This way, defence and counter-attack can happen at the same time, not only one after the other.

Master Ohtsuka was not satisfied with practising kata alone: he considered partner exercises more important, which is why he developed the prearranged partner exercises (yakusoku kumite).

The aim of practice

In Master Ohtsuka’s teaching, Wado-Ryu is above all a discipline of the spirit. Harmony – ten-chi-jin, ri-do: heaven, earth and man; reason and truth – is to be sought through strict conduct and tireless dedication.

The aim is peace and harmony, which are much harder to reach than a victory won by force. It calls for striving for a healthy body and a high level of understanding.

“The spirit of Wado-Ryu Karate-Do in one word:
Naturalness.”
“If someone decides to attack, they break the balance and have already lost. For while they work against me, I work with them.”

Sensei Róbert Torontáli, President of the Magyar Wado-Ryu Akadémia® (translated from Hungarian)