Welcome to the web site for Wado Ryu Karate Federation in the UK. We will be continually updating this site with more news and information about the WKF. If you are looking to start learning about traditional Wado Ryu karate, or wish to continue your studies then visit the Clubs page to see if there is a WKF affiliated club near you.
What is Karate?
Karate-Do "the way of the empty hand" is a martial art originated in Okinawa. Karate-Do has its roots in Chinese martial arts introduced into Okinawa during feudal times.
Karate-Do was brought to the attention of the Japanese public at the start of the twentieth century by the Okinawan master Gichin Funakoshi. The art gained popularity and was exported to the West from Japan. The style practised within the WKF is Wado-Ryu.
What is Wado Ryu?
"Wado" means "the way of peace and harmony"; "ryu" means "school". Wado Ryu was devised by Hironori Ohtsuka, our first Grandmaster. Hironori Ohtsuka was already a master of Jiu-jitsu when he began to study Karate with Gichin Funakoshi. Wado Ryu is a development of Okinawan Karate in combination with Jui-jitsu.
WKF
The Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Federation is affiliated to the Wado-Ryu Karate-Do Academy, of which the Chief Instructor is Masafumi Shiomitsu, 9th Dan Hanshi.
