History of the Okinawa Goju-ryu karate-do and Shorei-Ha Dojo

Ryu Ryuko, also known as Xie Zhongxiang, was the founder of White Crane Gung fu. In 1868, in the Fukien Province, he accepted Kanryo Higaonna as a student. Higaonna trained with him until he returned to Okinawa in 1881.

Kanryo Higaonna was born in Naha, Okinawa in 1853. In 1867 at the age of 15 he set sail for China after convincing the owner of a ship to grant him passage. After a year in residence at the Okinawa settlement in Foochow, he was introduced to Ryu Ryu Ko. He was not allowed to train right away and had to follow the age-old custom of personal service to his master by attending the garden, cleaning and doing odd chores. After he had satisfied his master's expectations, he was accepted as a disciple.

After 14 years of training, he left Foochow and returned to Okinawa, and began private lessons to the sons of the man who had granted him passage to China. He went back to his old job as a merchant, but his reputation was growing. Sailors and travelers from China brought back stories of his prowess that they had heard there, and before long, many would seek to become his disciples. Training was severe, as he had learned, and only a few who began would continue for long.

In 1905 he began teaching at a public high school and was considered along with Anko Itosu to be the foremost karateka in Okinawa. He is responsible for developing the Naha-te style, and many of his students went on to form their own systems based on his teachings.

He died in 1917 at the age of 63. His legacy lives on through his followers, most notably Chojun Miyagi, the founder of Goju Ryu, and Kenwa Mabuni, the founder of Shito Ryu.
Chojun Miyagi was born in Naha City, Okinawa on April 25th, 1888. He began his formal training at age 11, in the dojo of Ryuko Aragaki. At the age of 14, he was first introduced to Kanryo Higaonna, and after a period of doing chores for Sensei Higaonna to earn his place, was accepted as a student.

Training was very severe, with a lot of running and strength exercises. It is said that he sometimes passed out performing Sanchin kata, so demanding was Sensei Higaonna on his student's performance. He trained for 13 years in this manner until the death of Kanryo Higaonna, developing into a powerful karateka.

Muyagi Shihan then traveled to China, his quest was to locate Master Ryu Ryu Ko, whom Higaonna had studied with. He was unable to locate him, but he did pick up some of the local arts of the Fukien area of China, notable the kata Rokkishu, which was instrumental in his creation of Tensho kata.
He continued to train in the methods he learned from Sensei Higaonna at several institutions, always under severe and demanding conditions. He did not confine his training to the dojo, either. Every waking moment (and while asleep, perhaps!) was spent in pursuit of the art, always remaining vigilante to his surroundings, always planning and ready for whatever might occur.

In 1921, he was chosen to represent Naha-te in a presentation to the visiting crown prince Hirohito (who would eventually become Emperor) and gave an impressive performance. He repeated this in 1925 for prince Chichibu. He began to visualize the future of the Okinawa fighting arts, and in 1926, at the age of 38, set up the Karate Research Club, along with Chomo Hanashiro (Shuri-te), Kenwa Mabuni (Shito Ryu) and Motobu Choyo, spending the next 3 years training in basics, kata, fitness and philosophy. Others who frequented the club included Johatsu Kyoda, Seikichi Uehara, Shimpan Gusukuma, and Gokenki. In 1929, he was invited to Japan by Gogen Yamaguchi, who would promote the Goju Kai style in Japan.

Jigoro Kano (founder of Judo) began visiting Okinawa in 1927, and was so impressed with Sensei Miyagi, he invited him to Japan in 1930 and 1932 to demonstrate at several tournaments. It was at one of these tournaments that one of his senior students, Jin'an Shinzato was asked which school of karate he belonged to. Unable to answer (styles were only known by their geographical reference at that time), he approached Sensei Miyagi, who agreed that a name should be chosen for their unique style.

There is a Chinese text called the Bubishi, a very popular historical reference among karateka of the day, and in it are the Eight Poems of the Fists. The 3rd precept reads "The way of inhaling and exhaling is hardness and softness." Go means hard and Ju means soft. Since his style was a combination of these ideals, he began referring to his art as Goju Ryu, and in 1933 it was officially registered as such at the Butoku-Kai, the Japanese Martial Arts Association.

Allied occupation of Okinawa was a very turbulent time in the history of Okinawa and the art of karate. Many lives were lost, including one of Sensei Miyagi's sons, two of his daughters, and his senior student, Jin'an Shinzato. He was forced to forgo much of his training while his homeland was restructured after the war. In 1946, he was appointed director of the Okinawa Civil Association of Physical Education, and resumed his training, teaching the Police Academy and opening a backyard dojo, known as the Garden Dojo. It is here where Seikichi Toguchi, trained, along with many other notable karateka

Chojun Miyagi died on October 8th, 1953 at the age of 65. His legacy lives on through his senior students and the untold karateka whose lives he continues to influence.
One of the senior students of Seikichi Toguchi is Michael Robinson who traveled to Okinawa and later China to trace Goju-ryu back to its roots and study and train in each step along the way. He has over 40 years of training in the martial arts and is well known throughout the world of karate.

Michael Robinson, on behalf of the Okinawa Goju-ryu Karate-do Federation, has recently promoted Les Heri, of Redondo Beach, California to the rank of Yon-Dan (4th degree black belt). In addition, Heri Sensei has been awarded the rank and title, Shihan (teacher of teachers) certificate. Heri Sensei teaches over 300 students a week in 5 cities in the Los Angeles area. Heri Sensei has 30 years of martial arts training under his belt. He began his training in 1974 in Tae Kwon Do with Master Richard Chun in New York. He furthered his training with Shihan Victor Vega in the style of Japanese Goju-ryu karate-do. Shihan Vega also taught Heri Sensei aiki-jitsu and the art of Iaido. After the passing of Vega Sensei, Heri Sensei continued training with Michael Robinson in the art of Okinawa Goju-ryu karate-do. As one can see the legacy of Chojun Miyagi lives on!