Shorin-Ryu is the original Karate style formally systematized in Okinawa and is believed to have had the most influence on the development of all modern Karate systems.
Following its emergence in Okinawa, Shorin-Ryu broke into four main branches being: Matsumura-Ryu (Matsumura Suide) first taught as the Sakugawa family system; Matsumura Seito (Matsumura Orthodox) first taught by Hohan Soken, the nephew of Soken Matsumura; Shobayashi-Ryu (small forest school) first taught by Chotoku Kyan; Kobayashi-Ryu (young forest school) first taught by Choshin Chibana; and Matsubayashi-Ryu (pine forest school) first taught by Shoshin Nagamine. All four names refer to the original Shaolin Temple in China and all four are considered forms of Shorin-Ryu or 'Shaolin Way'.
Before examining these four splinter groups, it is necessary to trace the origins of previous masters, Soken Matsumura and Yasutsune Itosu, who trained many of the men who became founders of Shorin-ryu.
Soken Matsumura's father had been a political leader in Okinawa and had befriended Kanga 'Tode' Sakagawa often referred to as the Father of Okinawan Karate and founding father of Suide / Uchinadi. As the elder Matsumura was on his death bed, he asked Sakagawa to raise his three year old son. So, at a young age, Sokon Matsumura joined residence and began to train with Sakagawa. Like his teacher before him, Matsumura developed a love for martial arts knowledge. Because of this love, his teacher gave him the nickname "bushi" which means warrior. Matsumura also trained with Kusanku and, like his teacher, traveled to China for further study. Because of his skill, he was appointed to the position of head bodyguard for the Okinawan royal family through three generations of kings. He was the first to organize his knowledge into a formal system which he called Suide. He contributed three main kata- Seisan, Passai (Dai), and Naihanchi. He also trained many of the men who became the masters and founders of the current styles of Shorin-ryu. The two styles of Shorin Ryu directly from Matsumura are Matsumura Shorin Ryu and Matsumura Seito Shorin Ryu.
The oldest and most uncommon style of Shorin Ryu is the one developed by Kanga 'Tode' Sakugawa and Sokon 'Bushi' Matsumura. This style is very uncommon and is practiced only by select students. This is the personal style of the Sakugawa Family and has remained with the family in an unbroken line since Kanga 'Tode' Sakugawa. Among it's teachers were Ushi Sakugawa and Chosuke Sakugawa.
Another more common form of Shorin-ryu named Matsumura Orthodox was founded by Hohan Soken. Before Matsumura died, he passed the leadership of his system to his nephew, Nabe Matsumura. At an arly age, Soken began to train with Nabe Matsumura, his uncle, and became his only student. After many years of training, Soken carried on the traditions taught by his uncle. Unlike Itosu, Soken was very selective in his students as he wanted to keep the teachings true to tradition.
Yasutsune "Anko" Itosu trained under two teachers - Sokon Matsumura and Tomari's Kosaku Matsumora. Sokon Matsumura encouraged Itosu to spread the teaching of Karate which, at the time, was not received well by his peers for much of Karate teachers restricted who they would teach or kept it a family affair.
He started by introducing the teaching into the Okinawan public school system, but found that the traditional kata were to difficult and dangerous for the younger students. So, he developed the 5 Pinan (peaceful mind) kata and two new Naihanchi kata which are still taught today. He was given the nickname "Anko" or "iron horse" because of his ability to root himself so solidly during kata. He also is credited with introducing the Rohai kata.
Choshin Chibana, founder of the Shorin-ryu splinter Kobayashi-ryu, began his training under Yasutsune Itosu. With the growth and development of te, he wanted to differentiate his from other systems and so named it Kobayashi-Ryu.
Chibana was an instructor for the Shuri police department and became the first president of the Okinawan Karate-do Renmei. He was also first president of the Shorin-ryu Karate-do Kyokai and received the 4th Order of Merit from the Emperor for his contribution to martial arts. He may have been the first to use Shorin Ryu as the name of his art, but was most certainly not the first who refered to his Karate as the Shaolin Style (Shorin Ryu).
Chotoku Kyan was introduced to martial arts as a young boy in a bid to improve his ill health. His early training was under Sokon Matsumura and later with Yasutsune Itosu. He also trained with Tomari-te's Kokan Oyadomari. Renowned for his sped and ability with the bo, Kyan was never defeated in a challenge, even though he was small in stature. He named his system of Shorin-ryu Shobayashi-ryu.
Shoshin Nagamine also began his martial arts training to improve his health. He was a student or three prominent sensei named Ankichi Arakaki, Chotoku Kyan and Choki Motobu. Nagamine founded Matybayashi-ryu in 1947, laming the system in honour of Sokon Matsumura and Kosaku Matsumora. In a decorated life dedicated to martial arts, Nagamine achieved a 10th degree black belt in karate, a 3rd degree in Kendo and a 1st degree in Judo. He was also on he board of the Zen Okinawan Karate-do Renmei.
Shorin-ryu is a natural flow, void of unbalanced stances or unnatural breathing patterns. It has unique patterns of power generation, allowing easier concentration of force and the attainment of speedy actions. To best develop the skills involved in the art, training is performed on tightly wrapped wooden targets. Nor is the art limited to passive modes of defense: the ability to release an effective counterattack in defense is a crucial element, summarized as "Offense is an effective form of Defense."
The system tends to use more upright stances than the Japanese styles, giving the Okinawan stylist more mobility. The Okinawan stylist does not emphasize constant forward pressure when engaging in a confrontation, nor does he use indirect countering like the Chinese stylist. Instead he maintains enough flexibility to use both approaches.