Wado Ryu Karate is distinguished from other Japanese karate styles by its unique yielding nature, a form of soft energy blended with sheer, hard force in it's techniques. Besides primary punching and kicking techniques, Wado Ryu students learn how to use body shifting to neutralize or deflect an attack, thereby causing the attacker to lose balance and to become more vulnerable to a counter attack. Wado Ryu Karate was founded by Hironori Ohtsuka Sensei in 1934. Ohtsuka Sensei developed Wado Ryu after studying the Samurai martial art of Jiu-jitsu, and Shotokan (another style of Karate). This combination, according to Ohstuka Sensei, is a softer, more natural means of self-protection. The term Wado Ryu means "Way of Peace and Harmony". This indicates Ohtsuka Sensei's original intention to use training in Wado Ryu as a means of solving problems in a non-violent way. The word Karate means "Empty Hand".
