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Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate

The Hard-Soft School: The name Goju is quoted from a line in the Chinese Eight Poems written in the Bubishi, “Ho go ju donto”, the way of inhaling and exhaling is hardness and softness.

Goju-Ryu refers to the dual nature of the style; the “hard” (Go) aspect of Goju is the power and speed of the techniques. The “soft” (Ju) aspect refers to the relaxation of the body and the smooth flow of movement. The philosophy of Goju Karate is having a balance of the two. The Goju-Ryu style believes that the opposites are complementary. If one is attacked fiercely (Go), then one defends with Ju and vice versa.

Words of Wisdom

The reason for the remarkable development and spread of the ancient Japanese Martial Arts may be attributed to the respect in which ones peers and more importantly, ones teacher are held, and maintaining of ones own modesty.Rei (politeness or manners) is at the very soul of Budo. So much so that it is said, Budo begins with Rei and ends with Rei” The true value for those who study Budo is in the spirit of the training. The body and the spirit work in harmony with each other, and, as the saying goes, without training the spirit, training the body and technique is impossible.

Busaganashi meaning “martial art guardian.” Is believed to be the Chinese deity, Zhong Kui, who protected Tang-era Emperor Xuanzong from demons. According to this legend, Zhong Kui appeared to the sick emperor in a dream and subdued the demons causing his sickness. In gratitude, the emperor awarded Zhong Kui the title of "Doctor of Zhongnanshan".

Zhong Kui’s image is often painted on Chinese household gates, as a guardian spirit in police departments and for protection in places of business where high-value goods are involved.

A painting of Zhong Kui was reportedly brought back from China, by Kanryo Higaonna when he returned to Okinawa from his martial art training in the late 1890s. Upon his death in 1916, he left the picture to his successor, Miyagi Chojun, signifying a passing of the lineage from Fuzhou.

During the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, Miyagi sensei’s home and dojo were destroyed, with it the picture of Busaganashi. Later, when his students rebuilt the dojo, one of them went to the Philippines and had an artist carve a statue of Busaganashi for Miyagi. This statue was later passed on to Miyazato sensei after Miyagi’s passing in 1954.