Tatsuo Shimabuku was a karate-ka from age 8, learning Shorin-Ryu. After mastering Shorin-Ryu, he then mastered Goju-Ryu. In 1955, he was chosen by the United States Marine Corps to teach select members his style. One of the first was Harold Long, who taught many people the style upon returning to the US. This led to Tennessee being a center of sorts for Isshin-Ryu. Because of how recent the style is, it was possible to record Master Shimabuku running the katas and as such have an undiluted record of the proper way to do so.