Goju Ryu Karate was founded by Chojun Miyagi. That's right, all you Karate Kid followers, there really was a Mr. Miyagi. Interestingly, however, the real Mr. Miyagi did not study just one method of Karate.
Most people think of the founder of an art as pure, he studied only one style, and never dabbled. This is because of the true believer mentality inherent in many people who learn one thing, and hold to it as the most important thing ever learned in the history of mankind. The founders of martial arts systems, however, are a varied bunch; Aikido, Kung Fu, Taekwondo or whatever, the founders invariably studied many arts before settling on the method they thought was best.
Miyagi's early training in the martial arts was under Ryuko Aragaki. a neighbor who was considered quite the fighter. Miyagi must have shown talent, for Aragaki introduced him to his teacher Kanryo Higashionna. Miyagi had 3-5 years study in the martial arts training at the time.
For thirteen years Miyagi studied with Higashionna. Higashionna was considered to be one of the foremost Karate men of the time, and he was renowned for his Sanchin Kata. He was fond of standing and letting up to four men push on him, and holding his ground.
After thirteen years Higashionna passed on, and Miyagi decided that to continue on in the martial arts, he would have to study with the teachers who trained his teacher. Thus, he made pilgrimage to China, where he studied Shaolin and Bagwa Zhang.
Now Miyagi was accomplished in both hard and soft style martial arts. He returned to Okinawa and taught his system, eventually choosing a name from the bible of Karate, the Bubishi. The name was goju--'hard/soft.'
The Gojo karate style is thus based on hard martial arts, but puts forth a development from hard to soft. There are hard blocks and strikes, and yet there are drills and concepts which take the student into the softer realms of the martial arts. Being a full bodied martial art, the style became one of the few Karate systems to rival the karate evolving from Gichin Funakoshi.
In the final assessment, Goju is a strong system. It has resulted in the systems of Jundokan, Meibukan, Shorei kan and isshinryu. But the strength of the system lies not solely in Karate, but in the strivings of a man to understand both the hard and the soft, and who then formulated the Goju Ryu Karate System.
Most people think of the founder of an art as pure, he studied only one style, and never dabbled. This is because of the true believer mentality inherent in many people who learn one thing, and hold to it as the most important thing ever learned in the history of mankind. The founders of martial arts systems, however, are a varied bunch; Aikido, Kung Fu, Taekwondo or whatever, the founders invariably studied many arts before settling on the method they thought was best.
Miyagi's early training in the martial arts was under Ryuko Aragaki. a neighbor who was considered quite the fighter. Miyagi must have shown talent, for Aragaki introduced him to his teacher Kanryo Higashionna. Miyagi had 3-5 years study in the martial arts training at the time.
For thirteen years Miyagi studied with Higashionna. Higashionna was considered to be one of the foremost Karate men of the time, and he was renowned for his Sanchin Kata. He was fond of standing and letting up to four men push on him, and holding his ground.
After thirteen years Higashionna passed on, and Miyagi decided that to continue on in the martial arts, he would have to study with the teachers who trained his teacher. Thus, he made pilgrimage to China, where he studied Shaolin and Bagwa Zhang.
Now Miyagi was accomplished in both hard and soft style martial arts. He returned to Okinawa and taught his system, eventually choosing a name from the bible of Karate, the Bubishi. The name was goju--'hard/soft.'
The Gojo karate style is thus based on hard martial arts, but puts forth a development from hard to soft. There are hard blocks and strikes, and yet there are drills and concepts which take the student into the softer realms of the martial arts. Being a full bodied martial art, the style became one of the few Karate systems to rival the karate evolving from Gichin Funakoshi.
In the final assessment, Goju is a strong system. It has resulted in the systems of Jundokan, Meibukan, Shorei kan and isshinryu. But the strength of the system lies not solely in Karate, but in the strivings of a man to understand both the hard and the soft, and who then formulated the Goju Ryu Karate System.
About the Author:
You can achieve Black Belt Certification in several different styles of Karate. Head to Monster Martial Arts and check out Evolution of an Art.
No comments:
Post a Comment