What do the words: Shorin-ryu and Shintokukai mean?
The kanji (Japanese characters) most often used to spell Shorin-ryu can be translated in English as: “small forest”, or sometimes: “pine forest”. More likely, however, shorin is a phonetic approximation of shaolin (there is no L-sound in the native Okinawan dialect), paying direct homage to Karate’s Chinese Wushu (Kung Fu) roots. Shintokukai, meaning: “Divine Virtue Association” is the name of our individual organization (not to be confused with the style, which is Shorin-ryu (Kobashi), as described above). The underlying intent of the name is that the virtues taught and expressed in martial arts training, such as razor sharp focus and the endless pursuit of technical and personal excellence, transcend the ordinary Human condition offering a path to enlightenment, of which Karate and Kobudo are similar paths of many.
