| Goju Ryu (Japanese for "Hard-soft style") is a style of karate, which incorporates a combination of hard and soft techniques. Goju Ryu was developed by Kanryo Higashionna, (1850-1915), who was a native of Naha, Okinawa. As a teenager he trained with an Okinawan master named Aragaki Seisho. When he turned twenty he sailed to China and spent many years studying under the kung fu master Liu Liu Ko. When he returned to Okinawa during the middle of the Meiji Era (1868-1911) he started teaching a new method of martial arts, which he distinguished as an integration of hard and soft Kempo blended into one system.
'Go' harnesses hardness meaning external force, 'ju' uses softness or internal force.
Goju-ryu combines hard striking attacks (from Karate) such as kicking and punching and uses softer circular blocking and trapping techniques from Kung-Fu. A Goju Ryu student will spend a great deal of time learning proper breathing techniques. |
