Family

Tatsuo Shimabuku was born in Kyan [Chan] village, Okinawa, on September 19, 1908. He was first born of ten children born into a farming family. By the age of 12, he had a strong desire to study the martial arts. He walked to the nearby town of Agena, to the home of his uncle, Shinko Ganiku, a fortuneteller. Shinkichi primarily learned to be a fortuneteller from his uncle, but also studied the rudiments of the karate that his uncle had learned while in China.

Eizo Shimabukuro (b.1925) is a younger brother of Tatsuo's who also excelled in martial arts. Eizo studied under his elder brother, Tatsuo, and is said to have also studied under the same masters as Tatsuo, such as Chotoku Kyan, Choki Motobu, Chojun Miyagi, and Shinken Taira. While the older brother went on to create his own new style of karate, Eizo quickly moved up the ranks in Shōrin-ryū (Shōbayashi)

Learning Years

By the time Shimabuku was a teenager, he had obtained the physical level of a person six years his senior. His physical condition was due to his karate training as well as his working on the family farm. He excelled in athletic events on the island. By the time he was 17, he was constantly winning in two of his favorite events, the javelin throw and high jump.

Around the age of 23, because of Shimabuku's desire to further his knowledge, he began to study Shuri-te, which later became known as Shorin-ryu (Shao-lin Style) under Chotoku Kyan in the village of Kadena. He began his training with Master Kyan in 1932. Master Kyan taught Shimabuku at his home. Kyan also taught at the Okinawa Prefectural Agricultural School. Within a short time, he became one of Master Kyan's best students and, under Kyan's instruction, learned the katas: Seisan, Naihanchi, Wansu, Chinto and Kusanku along with the weapons kata Tokumine-no-kun and basic Sai. He also began his study of "Ki" (or "Chinkuchi; (チンクチ)" in Okinawan dialect) for which Kyan was most noted. Shimabuku studied with Kyan until 1936. He always considered Master Kyan his first formal Sensei and was very loyal to him.Shimabuku had always been fascinated by Naha-te (Goju Ryu) and sought out Master Chojun Miyagi, the founder of Goju Ryu. Miyagi's teacher was Higaonna Kanryo (also called Higashionna) who brought a derivative of Kenpo (拳法): kin gai is the name of this system. pangai noon is the forerunner of Uechi-ryu) from China to Okinawa. Eventually this became Naha-te. From Miyagi, Tatsuo learned the kata Seiunchin ("Seize-Control-Fight") and Sanchin ("Three-Fights/Conflicts").

After his studies with master Miyagi, in 1938, Shimabuku sought out another famous Shorin-Ryu instructor, Master Choki Motobu. Choki Motobu was probably the most colorful of all of Shimabuku's instructors. Motobu had many teachers for short periods of time, including some notables such as Anko Itosu (Shuri-te) and Kosaku Matsumora (Tomari-te). Motobu was known for getting into street fights often in his youth to promote the effectiveness of karate. Shimabuku studied with Motobu for approximately one year.

Shimabuku opened his first dojo in 1946 after the war in the village of Konbu, near Tengan village.