Goju-ryu (剛柔流), Japanese for “hard-soft style”, is one of the main traditional Okinawan styles of karate, featuring a combination of hard and soft techniques. Gō, which means hard, refers to closed hand techniques or straight linear attacks; jū, which means soft, refers to open hand techniques and circular movements. 

The development of goju-ryu goes back to Higaonna Kanryo, (1853–1916), a native of Naha, Okinawa. Higaonna sensei began his martial arts training in Okinawa at the age of 14, and eventually moved to China to continue his training. After over ten years studying martial arts in China, Kanryo Higaonna returned to Okinawa and began teaching martial arts in the city of Naha. He became so well known as a martial arts instructor that his style became known as Naha-te.

Higaonna Kanryo’s most prominent student was Chojun Miyagi (1888–1953), who began training under Higaonna at the age of 14. Miyagi trained under Higaonna for fifteen years until Higaonna’s death in 1916. After Higaonna’s death, Miyagi began teaching Naha-te, eventually renaming it goju-ryu — “hard and soft style.” Teaching out of his garden dojo (in the backyard of his home), Miyagi focused on heavily on kihon (basics), strength and conditioning through hojo undo and makiwara training, and sanchin kata. For the first three years of a student’s training, this was their entire focus — after which point they would be taught one or two additional kata based on their body type and fighting style. It was rare for any of Miyagi’s students to learn all of the goju-ryu kata. He created the kata tensho after extensive studies in China, as well as gekisai dai ichi and gekisai dai ni to be taught to school children as an introduction to karate. His students went on, after Miyagi’s death in 1953, to form some of the most well-known karate organizations in the world, including the Jundokan, Meibukan, and Shoreikan.  Miyagi believed that “the ultimate aim of karate-do was to build character, conquer human misery, and find spiritual freedom.”  He stated that it was important to balance training for self-defense with “training the mind, or cultivating the precept karate-do ni sente nashi (‘there is no first strike in karate’);” he also emphasized the importance of “cultivating intellect before strength”.

Goju-ryu practices methods that include body strengthening and conditioning, its basic approach to fighting (distance, limb control, power generation, etc.), and partner drills – as well as the three basic pillars of karate: Kihon (basics), Kata (forms), and Kumite (sparring).

We also teach traditional Kobudo — an Okinawan martial art using traditional weapons such as the bo, sai, tonfa and nunchaku. Although our dojo is not affiliated with any organization, our Kobudo curriculum is largely in line with the Matayoshi Kobudo style. 

The third major curricular component at Edge Martial Arts is jiu-jitsu – or ground fighting. Just as karate teaches the stand-up self-protection skills of kicking, striking, trapping, and throwing, jiu-jitsu focuses entirely on grappling skills for use if a fight ends up on the ground. These concepts are an invaluable part of a martial artist’s overall repertoire of combative skills.