Everything you need to know about Wado Ryu Karate

Wado Ryu was founded back in 1934 by the legendary Karateka Hironori Ohtsuka. In all honesty though, its combat roots can be traced far earlier than the 1930s and even traces back until 17th century China. Since then, it has grown to become one of the most influential ways of Karate and continues to shape Karate until this very day. Sadly, these days Wado Ryu isn’t as popular as it once was. Compared to some brands of Karate, it simply isn’t as mainstream or popular either. Nonetheless, if you want to train Wado Ryu then it’s still common enough to be found in most major cities.

What separates Wado Ryu from other parts of Karate is its Japanese Ju Jitsu background. This means that it typically involves more grappling compared to other Karate styles. Therefore, if you want something a little different then training Wado Ryu may be a worthy consideration. Here’s everything you need to know about Wado Ryu Karate.

What is the meaning of Wado Ryu?

Generally speaking, the term Wado Ryu translates to Way of harmony. This isn’t just a slick name either and it can actually be seen in the way Wado Ryu is performed. Basically, a big part of Wado Ryu is to use the opponent’s energy against them and navigate their own energy against them, rather than forcing the fight on your own.

In short, perfect Wado Ryu is seen as a fluid, harmonious form of Karate that should almost look effortless. This is where its name comes from and if you train Wado Ryu then you’ll quickly learn that the name is very appropriate.

Taken a step further, the Wado Ryu logo also represents this idea. The Wado Ryu logo is a clenched, punching fist that sits above a dove. The dove represents the harmonious aspect of Wado Ryu, whilst the fist represents the physical combat aspect of things.

What type of Karate is Wado Ryu?

Primarily, Wado Ryu is based on self defense and isn’t really considered for competition unlike the likes of Shotokan. One reason for this may be that its style is pretty simplistic and isn’t really flashy compared to other Karate types. In other words, you won’t see its Kata winning many awards which means it usually stays away from competition.

In Wado Ryu, there’s also little hard sparring compared to the likes of Kyokushin. Regardless of your thoughts on this, Wado Ryu has just never really been big on sparring. Whilst this may be a deal breaker to some, Wado Ryu still has lots of practitioners. With this in mind, it’s fair to say that it’s a fairly soft style. Therefore, its movements can almost look lazy at times due to being very loose.

Wado Ryu is big on self defense

Another key component of Wado Ryu is the point of self defense which is central to its teachings. Unlike most forms of Karate, it doesn’t focus as much on throwing big punches or heavy kicks.

Instead, it is primarily based on dodging and blocking strikes, only to respond with counter-movements. This mentality can also be seen in the likes of Aikido and Japanese Ju Jitsu. Interestingly, Wado Ryu was actually inspired by Japanese Ju Jitsu – so this isn’t too surprising in hindsight.

Basically, it rarely teaches you to be the aggressor in the first instance and instead teaches more of a reactionary approach as opposed to being proactive. This may explain why there’s a lack of kumite.

How is Wado Ryu different?

Wado Ryu is different from most other types of Karate as it’s often described as a mixture of Japanese Ju Jitsu and Shotokan. In other words, the creator Hironori Ohtsuka fused the two styles together and came up with Wado Ryu. This differs from most types of Karate that are more in line with conventional striking.

If you’re not aware, Japanese Ju Jitsu is mostly a grappling-based martial art. This often involves a number of takedowns that were eventually used in Judo, as well as standing submissions that were eventually used in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. For example, a big submission used in Japanese Ju Jitsu is the straight arm lock from standing.

This is sometimes used in police restraining techniques to hold and detain attackers. Basically, if you combine this style with Shotokan and mix it with a counter-attacking philosophy, then you have Wado Ryu. Just remember though, not every dojo is the same. Arguably, this is a very important thing to learn when it comes to Karate. For instance, you may have two gyms under the same banner that are almost completely different.

On the contrary, you may have two gyms from different Karate styles that are incredibly similar. Ultimately, every dojo is different and a lot depends on the style and preferences of the sensei, as opposed to what is meant to be taught. Applying this to Wado Ryu, even though it’s heavier on grappling, this is not always the case.

Where does Wado Ryu come from?

Wado Ryu was founded by Hironori Ohtsuka. Interestingly, he was inspired by Chinese Shaolin Monks and took his learnings to the mainlands of Japan. Therefore, it really depends on your individual perspective on where Wado Ryu comes from. Technically, it is classified as a Japanese martial art. This actually makes sense, considering it is primarily Karate after all which is Japanese. Similarly, it also has a lot of techniques taken from Japanese Ju Jitsu…which is again Japanese.

As the founder Hironori Ohtsuka studied Shotokan intensely under Gichin Funakoshi – it’s also been compared Shotokan which makes sense. In some gyms, you can’t really tell the difference between Wado Ryu and Shotokan Karate.

However, if you want to get really into the fine details – then it’s also part-Chinese. This is because Karate was originally inspired by Kung Fu and Ohtsuka himself credits Chinese styles as influencing his own creation. To sum up, Wado Ryu is mostly considered as a Japanese martial art. At the same time, it’s only fair to pay credit to Chinese Kung Fu as well in influencing its creation.

How many Katas does Wado Ryu have?

Originally, Wado Ryu used 16 types of Kata. However, Hironori Ohtsuka removed Superimpei Kata so now the number stands at 15. When compared to other Karate styles, 15 types of Kata is a fairly average number. Generally speaking, most Karate types have around 10 Kata that are practiced, so Wado Ryu is not unusual in this sense. For example, Issin Ryu practices 16 types of Kata which shows it’s a fairly average number.

How many belts are in Wado Ryu?

In Wado Ryu, there are nine belt colors in total. Like many martial arts, this starts at white belt and ends at black. Beginning at white belt, the next color is yellow, then orange, then green, then blue, then purple, then red, then brown, and then it ends at black belt. Many Wado Ryu dojos will also add stripes to the brown belt in preparation for the final black belt. Generally speaking, the Wado Ryu belt system isn’t too different compared to other ones used in Karate.

When looking at the time to get to black belt in Wado Ryu, it typically takes around 5 years of consistent practice. This is a pretty normal, blanket promotion time as far as wider Karate is concerned. Of course, if you’re a slow learner then this could take years longer than average. By the same token, if you’re a prodigy then it could take a few years to obtain the rank of black belt. Again, like other types of Karate – you will also be graded before you earn new belts. This is often a basic test that gets harder as each belt is earned. Typically, you will be judged on the smoothness of your Kata. In some gyms, you may also be asked to perform with a training partner or uke as well.

Is Wado Ryu effective?

If taught correctly, then Wado Ryu is definitely an effective form of self defense. The reason for this is that it trains you how to fight and is the true meaning of self defense. Basically, a lot of fighting styles impose their own strikes on the enemy. This differs from Wado Ryu, where you will still attack people but only if they attack you first. Arguably, Wado Ryu is great for defending sneak attacks and cheap shots because it’s always wary of being hit first.

As for actually attacking an aggressor, it still does enough where being proactive is concerned. Don’t worry, it isn’t exactly Aikido in this regard. Instead, you should have a good mixture of grappling and striking in your arsenal which should be enough to defeat the average attacker. Combined with lots of conditioning, Wado Ryu does the job in terms of being effective.

Just remember, if your dojo doesn’t really do much sparring though, then this may be a problem for real-world application of technique. Whilst you shouldn’t kill each other when sparring, it’s still important to pressure-test techniques and make sure you can act when called upon. This depends on your dojos preferences – as some sadly neglect kumite, whereas others make sure it’s trained to keep students sharp.

Conclusion

If you’re looking to train something that differs compared to conventional Karate, then Wado Ryu may be something to consider. The reason for this is that it nicely balances grappling and striking which is missing from most other types of Karate.

It also offers a nice, soft style of Karate which is ideal if you’re an older Karateka who isn’t interested in hard training every single session. At the same time, Wado Ryu isn’t as extreme as the likes of Tai Chi or Aikido in terms of being too soft.

As mentioned earlier though, before fully committing to Wado Ryu, just remember that not every dojo is the same. Often, it’s best to decide on what gym to train at based on the individual teacher rather than nailing your colors to a certain style. As always with Karate, it pays to do your homework and shop around before you sign up for a certain dojo or style.

If you’d like to learn more about Wado Ryu, then check out the original book by the man that started it all.