Wado
Style of the Way of Peace and Harmony, the Way of the Empty Hand
Wado-Ryu karate was founded in 1934 by Hironori Otsuka and differs from other styles of karate that place emphasis on powerful and heavy techniques, by placing the emphasis on quick motion, evasive body movements and minimum necessary energy to defeat an opponent.
Wado-Ryu is in many ways akin to those martial arts such as Ju-Jitsu and Aikido, in which the opponent’s own momentum and bodyweight is utilized as self-defeating.
Hironori Otsuka himself was a Ju-Jitsu expert prior to his development of the Wado-Ryu system of Karate-Do. As such, in Wado-Ryu we can see many of the self-defense influences of this and other fraternal martial arts.
