Chitō-ryū

is a style of karate founded by Dr. Tsuyoshi Chitose, (1898-1984). The name of the style translates as: chi (千) - 1,000; tō (唐) - China; ryū (流) - style, school, "1,000 year old Chinese style." The character tō (唐) refers to the Tang dynasty of China. The style was officially founded in 1946. Chitō-ryū is generally classified as a Japanese style because Chitose formulated and founded Chitō-ryū principally while living in Kumamoto, Japan. However, some modern practitioners feel it is better categorized as an Okinawan style given that its roots and techniques are firmly grounded in and derived from traditional Okinawan Tōde (唐手). This belief is warranted since the style's founder, Tsuyoshi Chitose, received first the rank of Judan, in 1958, and then the rank of Hanshi, in 1968, from the Zen Okinawa Karate Kobudo Rengo Kai (All Okinawa Union of Karate-do and Kobu-do). Tsuyoshi Chitose (Okinawan: Chinen Gua) was born on October 18, 1898, in the town of Kumochi, Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture. He came from a martial arts lineage—his maternal grandfather was Matsumura Sōkon. While in Okinawa, Chitose grew up studying the art of karate, now written 空手, as well as kobudō. In 1921, he moved to mainland Japan to study medicine. Chitose developed Chitō-ryū using his understanding of physiology to adjust traditional techniques to make them both more effective and less detrimental to the bodies of long-term practitioners. Chitose died in 1984 at the age of 86. Chitose created Chitō-ryū by combining the strength techniques from Shuri-te (see also Shōrin-ryū and Shōrei-ryū), with those of Naha-te. The influence of Tomari-te is present but less than the other foundation styles. Aragaki Seishō (新垣 世璋) Chitose began his training in Tote, under Aragaki Seishō in 1905. He was seven years old and continued to train with Seisho until 1913/1914. While there is some discrepancy as to whether Chitose's first kata was Sanchin or Seisan, his book "Kenpō Karate-dō" states that he learned Sanchin from Aragaki for seven years before being taught another.