Shuri-Ryu is a system of martial arts created around the beginning of the 20th century. It is the result of a collaboration between Choki Motobu, master of Okinawan Shuri-Te, and T'ung Gee Hsing, master of the internal arts of Chuan-fa, Hsing-Yi and Pakua, as well as the external systems of Shaolin-chun and Hung-kun. Originally from China, Master Hsing originally learned his arts as a way to defend himself from highway robbers and cutthroats. He later moved to the Chinese settlement of Kume Mura on the Japanese island of Okinawa, where he met Master Motobu.

Their combined knowledge resulted in many changes to the Shuri-Te system, as well as the creation of Shuri-Ryu. Shuri-Ryu utilizes mostly hand techniques over kicks and other foot techniques, at a ratio of about 3:1. The strikes and blocks tend to be circular in nature, allowing for easy deflection of incoming attacks, and an overall gracefulness unmatched by most other fighting arts. The favored stance is Kiba-Dachi, or horse stance, a low, long stance that is strong to each side, but weak forwards and backwards. Bone strength and alignment play a strong role in Shuri-Ryu, with the body's center of gravity lined up with at least three points of muscular bone strength before and blocks or strikes are excecuted.

The overall fighting style of Shuri-Ryu is similar to other graceful martial arts, as it attempts to capture the fast reactionary fighting style of a snake. Each block is immediately followed up with a quick counter attack, emphasising the need to remain loose until the moment of impact, at which point everything tightens up, much like a striking whip.

A practitioner of Shuri-Ryu is most recognizable based on his/her low stances, clenched teeth and wide eyed stare, and circular techniques.

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