The most common type of karate in the world is called Shitō-Ryū. It is also, without a doubt, the most thorough karate system. It was developed by Mabuni Kenwa (1889–1952), a karate expert who was among the select few who had studied all three of the major late 19th-century branches of art. He created a single, complex system by fusing all three styles. Itosu Ankō and Higaonna Kanryō, two of his most prominent professors, were the names behind the moniker “Shitō-ryū” (糸東流). The “Higa” in Higaonna is the 東, and the “Ito” in Itosu is the . Although Ryū (流) means “flowing from,” it is typically interpreted as “school” or “style.” Thus, “Itosu-Higaonna Style” or, to put it more poetically, “the teachings that flow from Itosu and Higaonna” is what Shitō-ryū signifies. We advise you to study “The Origins of Shitō-Ryū” below to gain a better understanding of Shitō-ryū, as it helps to know a little about those three systems that together compose its curriculum.
Pronunciation: Shitō is pronounced almost like the word “stow,” with a “sh” instead of a “s.” The “i” in Shitō is hardly pronounced, more like a slight hesitation than a vowel, and the bar over the “o” (ō) indicates that it is sustained twice as long (like a half-note instead of a quarter-note in music). Similar to this, “ryū” is spoken as a single syllable rather than “rye you”. (academy of martial art birmingham uk)