Shitō-ryū practitioners

Kenwa Mabuni (摩文仁 賢和, Mabuni Kenwa, 14 November 1889 - 23 May 1952) was one of the first karateka to teach karate in mainland Japan and is credited as developing the style known as Shitō-ryū. Originally, he chose the name Hanko-ryu, literally "half-hard style", to imply that the style used both hard and soft techniques. Toyama Kanken, who was trained the same way he was, teased Mabuni endlessly about the name, implying it meant "semi erect". Finally, Mabuni chose Shito-ryu, the first characters of the names Itosu and Higaonna, his two primary teachers. I.E. ITOHIGA.

Fumio Demura (出村 文男, Demura Fumio) September 15, 1938 - April 24, 2023, was a well known Japanese master of karate and kobudo (traditional weaponry). He was Pat Morita's martial arts stunt double in the first, third and fourth Karate Kid films (and the inspiration for "Mr. Miyagi"). Demura held the rank of 9th dan in Shitō-ryū karate.

Elisa Au Fonseca (born May 29, 1981 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American martial arts instructor and karate practitioner.

Harold Clarence Howard (born 1958) is a Canadian retired martial artist who earned a blackbelt in jujutsu under Steve Reynolds and in Gōjū-ryū karate under Yogi Israel and was the first World Sport Jujutsu Heavyweight Champion in 1984. Howard is more widely known for competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he made it to the final of the Ultimate Fighting Championship's third tournament. Howard is also well known for once executing a scissor-flip kick during his battle with Steve Jennum in the UFC 3 finals.

Tanner Vilbon Nicholas Boser (born August 2, 1991) is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship's (UFC) Heavyweight division. He had previously won the Unified MMA Heavyweight Championship twice. He has previously competed in M-1 Global and King of the Cage.

Sakura Kokumai (born October 2, 1992) is an American karateka. In 2019, she won the gold medal in the women's individual kata event at the 2019 Pan American Games held in Lima, Peru. She is scheduled to represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Rika Usami (宇佐美 里香, Usami Rika, born February 20, 1986) is a Japanese karateka. She won a Gold medal in individual kata at the 2012 World Karate Championships after previously winning Bronze at the 2010 Championships. She also won Gold in the same category at the 2010 Asian Games. As of March 2021, Usami is coaching the karate team at Kokushikan University.

Yadira Lira Navarro (born October 7, 1973) is a Mexican athlete and coach, whose specialty is karate. She won the Karate World Championships twice (in 2004 and 2010), and was runner-up in 2006. In 2010, she won the silver medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. In 2011, she won a silver medal at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, which earned her a National Sports Award [es]. She retired from competition in 2012 to become a coach of the Mexican youth karate team.

George Kotaka (born July 28, 1977, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States) is a Japanese American karateka. He has a 4th Dan black belt in karate and is the winner of multiple World Karate Championships and appeared in the documentary Empty Hand: The Real Karate Kids.

Manzo Iwata (9 February 1924 – 4 June 1993) was a Japanese martial artist.