Goju Ryu History

Miyagi established the style in the late 1920,s and registered it with the Japanese Martial arts Association in 1933. 

Goju-Ryu (“hard-soft style”) karate originated in Okinawa, blending Chinese martial arts with local Okinawan traditions to form a close-range self-defense system.

Founded by Chojun Miyagi in the early 20th century, it developed from the Naha-te style taught by his teacher, Kanryo Higaonna, who had studied Chinese martial arts, particularly monk fist (Luohan Quan), in China. Miyagi named the style Goju-Ryu, emphasizing its combination of hard, powerful strikes and soft, yielding defenses, and continued to evolve it after Higaonna’s death

Goju-ryu history involves an initial post-WWII effort with the Goju-ryu Shinkokai in 1952, followed by prominent organizations like the Okinawa Goju-Ryu Karatedo Kyokai (OGKK) (founded in the 1950s and led by Ei’ichi Miyazato as successor to Chojun Miyagi)

and the International Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate-do Federation (IOGKF), founded by Morio Higaonna in 1979 to spread and preserve the art globally. Other significant branches and federations also emerged, reflecting the diverse lineage and international spread of the style after the founder’s passing.