Insights
Are you Wado or Wado based?
I am often asked ‘What is the difference between Wado and Wado-based?’
To me there is no Wado ‘based’. You either do Wado the way it should be done or do something else. However, how far
away from the ‘original plan’ do we need to travel before we are to be labelled Wado-based?
We all know, to conform to ’correct’ Wado, that we must adhere to the traditional methods of our Kihon-waza, without
diversifying. We also know that Ohtsuka Meijin left the legacy of our 10 Kihon-gumite and 9 Official Kata, which are the
cornerstones to all traditional Wado-ryu.
Very often, when visiting ‘Wado’ clubs I have come across differing coloured Gi, belts (some colours to which I have
never seen before). Further erosions have been the lack of proper Kihon-waza and Kata fundamentals.
However, the biggest irony for me was when I visited a club in Brighton and saw a sign for ‘Free-style Wado-ryu Karate’,
so where does this fit in to our mindset? It’s either ‘free-style’ (free of style) or Wado-ryu!
As Chief Instructors of traditional Wado-ryu it is our responsibility to ensure that we make all our own students and instructors
aware that they are (or should be) teaching correctly and not ‘mixing’ our Wado with some outside alien elements
and influences. Whether this be ‘personality traits’ or simply adding aspects from different styles. Once this happens
we can surely say that the offspring of our clubs will end up as ‘Wado-based’.
Gary E Swift Kyoshi.