The History of Goju-Ryu:
According to legend, the Zen Buddhist monk Bodhidharma traveled to Hunan province in China around 500 A.D. He spent nine years in the Shao Lin temple teaching physical exercises to the monks. Bodhidharma's teaching is considered as the birth of chinese Kempo. As Kempo spread throughout China, it divided into to main styles: Northern and Southern. The Northern was characterized by straight and hard techniques, while the Southern had circular and softer techniques.
During the 14th century Kempo was introduced to Okinawa. Okinawa's native fighting art, "Te" was practiced long before the introduction of kempo. It is believed that "Te" was combined with Kempo by the Okinawan and developed to the martial art, Karate.
Over centuries, Okinawa Te develops into three main styles:
Shuri-te: influenced by the hard techniques of Kempo and offensive in nature.
Naha-te: influenced by the soft techniques of Kempo and defensive in nature. It was characterized by grappling, throws, joint locking techniques and the use of "ki."
Tomari-te: influenced by both the hard and soft techniques of Kempo.
By the 20th Century, Naha-te evolved into Goju-Ryu and the others into Shorin-Ryu.
Kanryo Higaonna ( the fist saint of Naha) was born in Naha city in 1853. As a youth he began learning Kempo and in 1868 traveled to Foochow , China . He was introduced to the Kempo master Ryu Ryuku and was later accepted as his personal disciple. After 15 years of training, he became his most skilled disciple. Higaonna returned to Okinawa in 1881 and his fame quickly spread. Chogun Miyagi was born on April 25, 1888 in Naha, Okinawa. At age 14, he was introduced to Higaonna and eventually was accepted as his principal disciple. Together they devoted their lives to improvement and advancement of Naha-te, until Higaonna's death on December 23, 1915.
After his master's death Miyagi travels to China to develop his knowledge of the martial arts. Goju-Ryu Karate was founded in the late 1920's by Chojun Miyagi. "Go" means hard, and "Ju" means soft, hence Goju-Ryu is translated as "Hard and Soft way". It is a blend of Okinawan Te (hard) and Shoa Lin Kung Fu (soft) with emphasis on the White Crane style. Other Chinese influences include Pakua Chang, I Chuan and Tai Chi Chuan, which Sensei Miyagi studied on several trips to the Chinese mainland.
Goju Ryu is a close-range self-defense system characterized by circular blocks, joint manipulations and kicking techniques to the lower body targets. Dynamic tension and breathing are major elements in its training, incorporated in many of the kata.
On October 8, 1953, Sensei Miyagi died of either a heart attack (the most popular explanation) or a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 65. Following this, four of his senior students opened their own schools. Seiko Higa carried on as Sensei Miyagi's successor, Meitoku Yagi formed the Meibukan, Seikichi Toguchi the Shorei-kan and Eiichi Miyazato the Jundokan.
Gogen Yamaguchi was born on January 21, 1909. He studied with Chojun Miyagi and promoted the style in Japan. An offshoot of the Okinawan Goju Ryu system was Yamaguchi's, Japan Karate-Do Federation Goju-Kai. Gosei Yamaguchi, the son of Gogen, moved to San Francisco in 1964 and established the Goju-Kai Karate-Do U.S.A. Gogen Yamaguchi died on May 20, 1989.
Born August 14, 1934, Peter Urban, Ph.D, while in the U.S. Navy and living in Japan, became a disciple of Richard Kim in 1953. Kim introduced him as a pupil to Gogen Yamaguchi and Mas. Oyama . He achieved his master's degree in Tokyo and later his doctorate in Canada. Urban introduced Japanese Goju Ryu to the United States in 1959, later forming the U.S.A. Goju Association in 1967. Urban is considered the "George Washington" of American Goju Karate. He is the grand patriarch of all American Goju systems.
Born in N.Y.C. in June, 1934, Frank Ruiz , who won several medals for valor as a U.S. Marine in the Korean War, joined Peter Urban's Chinatown dojo in 1960. He retired from competition with an undefeated record in 186 tournaments in 1965. He started the Iona College Karate Club in New Rochelle, N.Y. and also began teaching U.S.A. Goju karate at the Nisei Judo and Jiu-Jitsu dojo in the Bronx. From this dojo, Ruiz taught Louis Delgado, Carlos Serrano, Earl Monroe and others. It was here that Earl Monroe and Albert Dandridge, both Jiu-Jitsu students of proprietor, Theodore West, met.
Frank Ruiz, Harry Rosenstein and Ronald Taganashi, all students of Peter Urban, formed the Nisei Goju-Ryu System in 1968. Frank Ruiz was involved in a near death experience when struck by an automobile while changing a tire in 1970. After being in a coma for 7 days, he spent 8 months in a hospital and had several operations on his legs. Upon his release, he went back to teaching Goju. In 1974, he discarded his crutches and walked normally.
Rosenstein founds Kanzen Goju-Ryu and Taganashi creates the North American Heaven and Earth Society, both separating from the Nisei system.
In 1995, Frank Ruiz dies from a stroke after losing both legs to diabetes. His successor, Wilfredo Roldan is promoted by Peter Urban.
In 1999, Raymond A. Fitzpatrick, a martial artist instructed in Goju-Ryu by Peter Urban, Frank Ruiz and Earl Monroe and Albert Dandridge in Jiu-Jitsu, creates an eclectic synthesis of the two with the consent of Peter Urban. It is called Nisei Goju-Jitsu. Our doctrine is to use kicking and punching techniques when outside a two foot range and grappling techniques when inside a two foot range.