Ryu Ryu Ko and the Origins of Okinawan Naha Te

Ryu Ryu Ko and the origins of Okinawan Naha te traces the techniques and philosophy that would go on to be labeled Naha te and then Goju ryu karate as introduced to Okinawa by Kanryo Higaonna directly from Fuzhou City, the political, economic and cultural center of Fujian province, towards the end of the nineteenth century. While living for an extended period of time in Fuzhou, Kanryo Higaonna studied Crane kung fu with a great master named Ryu Ryu Ko.

Kanryo Higaonna's father was killed in a fight when the boy was fourteen. Desirous of revenge, Higaonna decided he would travel to China to learn a fighting art before returning to his island home to avenge his father. The young Higaonna finally left Okinawa in 1867 at the age of 15.

Upon his arrival in Fuzhou, Higaonna stayed at the Uchinayaru, a hostel owned by an Okinawan and catering to Okinawans. The manager, Kanpu Tanmei, upon hearing of Higaonna's wish to study Chinese martial arts, was able to arrange an all-important formal and personal introduction to Ryu Ryu Ko. In those days it was very difficult to be accepted as a student of any martial arts, and Higaonna certainly 'lucked out' in meeting Kanpu Tanmei. After the introductions were over, the Chinese master accepted Higaonna as a student after the latter swore an oath of allegiance and loyalty.

Believed to be Ryu Ryu Ko.

Ryu Ryu Ko and the Origins of Okinawan Naha Te

The relationship between Ryu Ryu Ko and Higaonna was more complicated than the modern day teacher-student arrangement that many, if not all, reading this will have. First of all, as part payment and part a test of character, Higaonna was required to help his teacher cut and collect bamboo. Only when Higaonna had proved himself diligent, hard working and responsible enough to learn a fighting art did his training properly begin. The master would use this bamboo to make various goods, such as baskets and furniture, to support himself. Originally Ryu Ryu Ko had been a member of the aristocratic class through his family and it was his social standing that allowed him to attend the southern Shaolin Temple in Fujian Province. Owing to political upheaval at the time, he and his family had little choice but to blend into the background and hide their aristocratic status. As a result of this Higaonna's teacher worked at various jobs throughout his life to disguise his social origins.

Reports describe Ryu Ryu Ko as being tall, around six feet in height, with an athletic physique that kept him slim and muscular and he was particularly famous for his strong grip. One anecdote notes that not only could the master crush bamboo, but he could also pull it apart using his fingers. Personality wise he was considered warm-hearted, though stern when teaching.

Another story draws our attention to the lack of rigidity in teaching kata and points to variations between different masters. Another practitioner of sanchin in Fuzhou was Wan Shin Za. Wan Shin Za used a stance in sanchin that was both wider and longer than that employed by Ryu Ryu Ko.

Speaking of sanchin we find evidence here of the severity of training promoted by Ryu Ryu Ko. While instructing Kanryo Higaonna, the founder of Naha te, the Okinawan would be subjected to extreme shime, or slapping and striking, while executing sanchin kata. This body conditioning, intended to toughen both the body and mind, is something that Goju ryu karate remains famous for today and is often witnessed in demonstrations.

Ryu Ryu Ko appears to have been a master of Whooping Crane kung fu (there is no definite evidence but he was almost certainly a master of a form of Crane kung fu), and he would teach a broad spectrum of martial arts, including a long list of kata, kakie (pushing hands practice), ude tanren (arm conditioning), ne waza (ground fighting), hojo undo (supplementary training, including the use of rudimentary weight training equipment), the long and short swords (now seemingly lost to Goju ryu karate), and the bo (staff). One aspect of training familiar to Okinawan and Japanese karateka not mentioned is the use of the makiwara (striking post), raising the obvious question as to whether or not this was a supplementary training aid indigenous to Okinawa itself.

Beyond martial technique, Ryu Ryu Ko also taught herbal medicine and I would suspect that, at least in part, this knowledge may have come from the Bubishi, the 'manual' of Okinawan karate that arrived from China through, it seems, various sources. It can be seen that the master gave well-rounded instruction to his students, most especially Kanryo Higaonna, who studied in Fuzhou for approximately 14 years, learning both martial arts and herbal medicine. Higaonna returned to Okinawa in around 1881. Living in Naha, near the port, the martial art he taught became known as Naha te. This would be the forerunner of Goju ryu karatedo.

It is believed that Ryu Ryu Ko died in February, 1930.

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.

Goju Ryu Karate Kata

Goju ryu karate kata traces their roots back to pre-twentieth century Okinawa and before that to Fuzhou in Fujian Province, Southern China. According to the accepted history, Kanryo Higaonna left Okinawa for Fuzhou sometime in the second half of the nineteenth century (precise dates vary, from 1867 to 1877). In Fuzhou Higaonna is reported to have become the live-in disciple of a Chinese Whooping Crane master named Ryu Ryu Ko. Upon Higaonna's return to Okinawa he passed on his teaching to Chojun Miyagi, the man who coined the term Goju to describe the style that was formerly identified simply as Naha te owing to the location in Okinawa that it was taught and practiced.

The kata of Goju ryu karate are very different from the Shuri te branch that provided the base forms for Shotokan. Unlike the Shotokan patterns of which many were altered first by Master Itosu and then later again by Master Funakoshi on mainland Japan, the Goju ryu forms are not known to have been changed, except for the practice of Sanchin being altered from using an open 'spear' hand to a closed fist punch.

Are all Goju Ryu Karate Kata from China?

However, there is an emerging debate as to whether nor not the bulk of Goju ryu karate kata are in fact originally from China in the first place. Exactly who Ryu Ryu Ko was is currently unknown and Morio Higaonna admits in his book The History of Karate that the style of Chinese kung fu that Goju ryu is supposedly derived from cannot be determined. Sanchin kata is the only form on the list with clear roots in Southern China and it is a staple of numerous kung fu styles. The Gekisai Dai Ichi and Gekisai Dai Ni patterns are definitely later additions created and introduced in 1940 by Master Miyagi and Tensho seems to be derived from Rokusho. Author Nathan Johnson concludes in his book The Great Karate Myth that the rest of the Goju ryu karate kata were in fact created by Master Miyagi on Okinawa in the first half of the twentieth century. I discuss the possible origins of each form individually so please follow the links below to learn more.

Whether of Chinese origin or not, the kata found in Goju ryu are powerful and combine linear and circular movement to fight at close-quarters using punches, kicks, elbow and knee strikes as well as locks, takedowns and throws. Central to the study of the kata and Goju ryu in general is Sanchin and this 'hard' form is tempered by the softer approach taken in Tensho - the hard (go) and soft (ju) of Goju ryu.

The following kata are demonstrated by Master Morio Higaonna, arguably the most famous Goju ryu karateka alive today. While no relation to Kanryo Higaonna, Master Higaonna trained with Chojun Miyagi and then Eiichi Miyazato and Anichi Miyagi, two of Master Miyagi's top students. At the time of writing (2015) he currently teaches in Okinawa.

Gekisai Dai Ichi
Gekisai Dai Ni
Saifa
Seiunchin
Shisochin
Sanseru
Sepai
Kururunfa
Seisan
Suparinpei
Tensho
Sanchin