A Martial "Style"

What is a martial style. Many hear the question and speak only a word. It is karate. It is Kung Fu. It is Aikido. This explains little to nothing and people make assumptions in lieu of simply asking, "What do you mean by style?"

Style is an individualize mark the is expressly representative of a particular discipline. It is an individualized imprint upon the system. It is a particular skill associated with that particular system. It is that something when presented impresses the observer with a particular person, a particular place, a particular belief that says or causes imagery of the mind stating, "this is Okinawan karate," or "this is a southern Chinese Kung Fu," or "this is a Japanese sword art."

It is a specific "feeling" one gets when the style's name is given, when a style's art is displayed/demonstrated and it is that system with a unique spin on the fundamental principles that govern all martial systems, styles.

A particular style has a unique structure and rhythm, it has a fluency much like languages of differing cultures, it has a unique culture and its precision is governed by the whole of all its parts. Its economy, clarity and dialect speaks volumes of its uniqueness in separation from the flock called martial systems.

Style is that which gives it personality much like your personality sets you apart from all other humans. It has a fingerprint so unique it will always be seen in all its variations as that "style."

This is what I mean by "style" when you hear me say I practice the style of Okinawan karate-jutsu-do as created by and named by Shimabuku Tatsuo Sensei, a fortune teller, a farmer, a father and family man and a native Okinawan who studied, believed and practiced those ancient classics that so influenced his decision to create a wholehearted system called, "Isshinryu, the one heart style."