About

Founded in 2012, Shobu Karatedo is a community-based dojo training in traditional Okinawan Shorinryu karatedo (沖縄松林流空手道) on Chicago’s North Side. We value good character and community relations as much as, if not more than, technical ability. Like other Japanese martial ways such as kendo, judo, and aikido, the purpose of karatedo lies not in the victory over one’s opponent but the disciplining of one’s body and the forging of one’s spirit.

Sho (松) translates to pine, which in Japanese culture represents longevity and steadfastness. This kanji can also be pronounced “Matsu,” and is a reference to our “Matsubayashi” sect of Shorinryu. The way it is written, “Matsubayashi” (松林) can also be pronounced “Shorin.”

Bu (武) translates to martial, as in martial arts or martial ways. Although historically, in Okinawa, karate was neither a military nor battlefield art, over the years it has been subsumed into the catalog of modern Japanese martial ways such as kendo, judo, aikido, kyudo, naginatado, etc.

Together, Shobu (松武) represents a steadfast approach to training in the martial way of karatedo.

Japanese Memorial Garden at Ravenswood Fellowship UMC, our initial practice space of thirteen years. RFUMC was founded in part by Japanese Americans resettled to Chicago from WWII incarceration centers..

We are the Chicago branch of the World Matsubayashiryu (Shorinryu) Karatedo Association, headquartered in Okinawa, Japan. Our lineage traces back to the origins of Okinawan karate as catalogued by Shoshin Nagamine. As such, our formal waza (techniques), kata (forms), and yakusoku kumite (prearranged sparring forms) are derived from the “Matsubayashi” sect of Shorinryu.

Our curriculum consists of kihon (basic techniques), kata (forms), bunkai (analysis), oyo (application), yakusoku kumite (pre-arranged sparring), jiyu kumite (free sparring), and goshinjutsu (self-defense techniques). Okinawan kobudo, or classical Okinawan weaponry, is studied as an adjunct to our empty-handed training.

In addition to the formal aspects of Okinawan Shorin-ryu, we also practice free form principles with attributes of footwork, timing, distance, angles, and spirit through an approach that allows individual expression of techniques.

Shobu Karatedo currently practices on a flex-schedule basis at Kiku Matsu Aikido Dojo in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood.