琉 'Ryu' 琉球諸島 Ryukyu Shoto "Ryukyu Islands"
'Ryu' is an accepted short reference to Ryukyu-- the name
of the Southern most island chain of Japan. They were
their own kingdom until 1609, then subjugated by the
Japanese but always referred to as the Ryukyu Islands.
'Koku' combined with
'Sai' means International. It has been shortened from its long form
and accepted in the short form dropping 'Sai' but the
meaning still implies -- International.
'Sei' means true or righteous. It also has its
older meaning rooted in the Uchinanchu Language referring
to the Okinawan Kings family.
'Do' or Michi means way, path, or road to a destination. The characters when written are a combination
of a house with smoke rising at the side.
'Kan' means style and sometimes house.
'Kara' means empty, air, or sky. This is modern Japanese usage referring to Okinawan hand arts. Originally
a different character was used that referred to China and
showing Okinawan martial traditions to China. This was not popular in Japan so the character for empty was utilized
instead.
'Te' / 'Ta' / 'Ti' means hand.
'Ko' / 'Furu' means old or ancient.
'Bu' means military.
'Do', 'Dou' or 'Michi' means way, path, or road
to a destination. The characters when written are a
combination of a house with smoke rising at the side.
'Ren' combined with 'Mei' for the word Renmei which is a federation, alliance, group of persons with a similar like
purpose.
Put all together it means the 'Ryukyu International True
Way Style Alliance' or 'Ryukyu International House of the Righteous Way Federation' more commonly accepted by
most of our dojos.
Our name reflects our goals and preservation effort to
keep the old ways of traditional Toma Seidokan Karate
alive and carry it forward not only to the United States,
but throughout the world. It is our hope the pursuit of
bettering one's character through the practice of our
karate can be something people of all countries can find
in common and share between one another.