Okinawa

Karate is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands, which is now Okinawa, Japan. It is developed from the indigenous martial arts of Ryukyu Islands. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee strikes, elbow strikes and open hand techniques such as knife-hands, spear-hands, and palm-heel strikes.
Shorin-ryu is one of the major modern Okinawan martial arts and is one of the oldest styles of karate. It was named by Choshin Chibana in 1933, but the system itself is much older. "Shorin" is the Okinawan language pronunciation of Shaolin as in the Shaolin Temple of China. "Ryu" means "style". Shorin-ryu combines elements of the traditional Okinawan fighting styles of Shuri-te.
Shorin-ryu is generally characterized by natural breathing, natural (narrow, high) stances, and circular, rather than direct movements. Shorin-ryu practitioners will say that correct motion matters, being able to move quickly to evade violence by having fluid movements and flexible positions is quite important, and that a solid structure is very important for powerful moves.