Goju Ryu Karate

Goju ryu karate plays an important and significant role in the long history of Okinawan fighting arts, going back centuries if one traces the origins back through Chinese and Japanese sources. Goju ryu itself however, at least as a discernible style, has a more recent history. The art originated with Kanryo Higashionna, a former student of Shuri te Master Aragaki, who traveled to Fukien province in the second half of the nineteenth century and studied under Ryu Ryu Ko. Ryu Ryu Ko seems to have been Xie Zhongxiang, the founder of Whooping Crane kung fu, though this is by no means certain. After returning to Okinawa Higashionna began teaching his version of Naha te.

Chojun Miyagi and the Creation of Goju Ryu Karate

His most promising student came to be Chojun Miyagi. Miyagi studied with Higashionna for the last fifteen years of the masters life, interrupted by a one year visit to Fukien in search of the origins of Naha te. Unable to find a suitable teacher Miyagi instead studied under various people and returned to Okinawa with a new kata that he named Tensho, a variation on the White Crane Rokusho. Tensho is considered to represent the 'soft' side of the art while the signature kata Sanchin represents the 'hard' side. This exploration of hard and soft is reflected in the name Goju, which means Hard / Soft. Goju ryu karate therefore means the School or Hard and Soft Karate. The term itself was taken from the Bubishi, a collection of articles on Southern Chinese fighting arts (among other things) that influenced Okinawan karate. In its day this was the closest thing to a manual that existed and it continues to be studied today.

The style draws its core techniques from twelve kata, with Sanchin being the most important and heavily practiced. Stylists also continue to emphasize conditioning the body and use the makiwara (striking post) as well as traditional Okinawa weight training equipment (known collectively as hojo undo) supplemented by the kongo ken which was introduced after Master Miyagi saw wrestlers on Hawaii using something similar. Foju ryu also makes use of kakie, or pushing hands, inherited from China and nowadays somewhat lacking in karate which tends to favor longer distance sparring. The style is most effective at close quarters, though it does lack ground work.

Since the death of Chojun Miyagi, the style has become somewhat splintered. Jinan Shinzato, Miyagi's top student, was killed during World War Two. Ei'ichi Miyazato was elected to formally take over the style as its overall master but Meitoku Yagi had inherited the master's gi and belt, factors which carried significance. Furthermore, the only person Miyagi actually authorized to teach was Seiko Higa. It seems that there is no clear lineage for a student to follow any longer. Arguably the most famous Goju ryu karate master alive today is Morio Higaonna, who remains hugely popular with an international student body.

Saifa

Saifa is the first classical kata of Goju ryu karate. The first two kata studied (Gekisai Dai Ichi and Gekisai Dai Ni) were created by Goju founder Chojun Miyagi in 1940. The name of the kata means 'smash and tear' and it teaches techniques and concepts related to close quarters combat.

Traditionally it is thought that this kata was learned by Kanryo Higaonna from his teacher Ryu Ryu Ko while the former studied in China in the second half of the nineteenth century. This is the argument presented by Morio Higaonna in his book The History of Karate. At that time however 'things Chinese' carried with them a greater sense of value to Okinawan people and it may have been the case that this kata did not come directly from China but was only said to have done so. Or, that it was introduced from China at a later date by Chojun Miyagi and was not part of the original syllabus. Another idea is that Master Miyagi created the kata himself from his own insight and influenced by other forms.

Recent research has begun to suggest that Kanryo Higaonna may only have learned Sanchin, Sanseiru, Seisan and Suparinpei. Nathan Johnson in his book The Great Karate Myth examines this issue in more detail.

The origins of the form are further muddied by the lack of a reliable insight into the kung fu style it originated from. Accepted versions hold that it is from a Tiger or Crane style, but one researcher has put forward the argument that it may be derived from Lion kung fu.

The techniques in the kata teach the practitioner Folding, Grounding and Whipping. Folding refers to the practice of collapsing an opponent's limb at the joints, allowing it to be controlled. Grounding is the ability to 'sink into the floor' and then rebound up to generate more power. Whipping is the ability to deliver fast attacks with a whip-like motion. In addition, Gavin Mulholland argues in Four Shades of Black that this form is about learning how to break free of all manner of grabs and holds.

Master Morio Higaonna performing Saifa

Kongo ken

Chojun Miyagi, the man who adopted the kongo ken, is one of the most important figures in the development of modern day karatedo. Throughout his life he worked tirelessly to spread the empty hand art around Okinawa and mainland Japan. During this time he survived the Battle of Okinawa, not only physically but also emotionally after losing a son, his top student - Jin'an Shinzato - and numerous other friends and trainees in the fighting along with two daughters on a ship full of evacuees headed to Kyushu. Following the American invasion he also lost meticulous records that he had kept on the history of his art despite taking great efforts to keep them safe.

Miyagi received direct transmission of te (the original word used by Okinawans to describe, at least in part, what would later become known as karate) from his teacher Kanryo Higaonna who himself had learned his fighting style from the Chinese master Ryu Ryu Ko in Fujian province, China. Ryu Ryu Ko primarily taught the practice of the kata Sanchin along with various methods of body conditioning. These methods of training were elementary forms of weight training designed to stretch and strengthen the body and are known by practitioners of Goju ryu karate as hojo undo. Implements originally used in hojo undo include the nigiri game (gripping jars), the chi ishi (weighted stones placed at the end of a thick stick) and the sashi ishi (large stone weights).

Originally, the kongo ken was not used in hojo undo and the origins of the instrument lie neither in Okinawa or China, but rather on the opposite side of the Pacific Ocean, in Hawaii.

Hawaii and the Origins of the Kongo Ken

By 1926 Chojun Miyagi was well established as a reputable martial artist on Okinawa especially but also increasingly among mainland Japanese practitioners. In that year a former student of Miyagi's, Chinyei Kinjo, the president of the Hawaiian-published newspaper Yoen Jihosha, invited Miyagi to Hawaii in the hope that his presence and training would help to improve the self-esteem of Okinawan immigrants living there who suffered from discrimination. The master left in April or May and stayed for almost a year.

It seems that Miyagi was very comfortable in Hawaii, which is itself very similar to Okinawa. He was welcomed with great respect and enthusiasm and was able to reach not only expat Okinawans but also Filipinos, Hawaiians and even some Westerners. One of the people he taught was the somewhat famous judo expert and pro-wrestler Okishikina. The latter introduced some of his Western wrestler friends to Miyagi with the result being one of the larger and apparently stronger pro-fighters squealing in pain after introducing himself and attempting to test Miyagi's strength by squeezing his hand tightly...only to receive the same treatment at a later date when it had been explained to Miyagi that the wrestler was attempting to test his strength.

The upshot of the trip to Hawaii and exposure to Hawaiin wrestlers is that Chojun Miyagi returned with the training device that came to be known as the kongo ken. Whereas the Hawaiians had used a more rounded steel ring, Miyagi made it more elongated and closer in approximation to a human body. Nowadays the kongo ken is still used by those training with traditional hojo undo equipment.