Our style
Goju-Ryu Karate-Do
One of the great traditional Okinawan styles of karate — a balance of hard and soft, in technique and in life.
剛柔流 · “hard-soft style”
What is Goju-Ryu?
Goju-Ryu is one of the main traditional Okinawan styles of karate, combining hard and soft techniques. Both principles come from the famous martial-arts text the Bubishi, used by Okinawan masters through the 19th and 20th centuries.
剛 · Go — hard
Closed-hand techniques and straight, linear attacks. When striking, the body is hard and exhaling.
柔 · Ju — soft
Open-hand techniques and circular movements — blocks, locks, grappling and throws. When blocking, the body is soft and inhaling.
Great emphasis is placed on correct breathing, especially in Sanchin, one of the two core kata of the style; the second, Tensho, teaches the soft side of the system. Alongside kata, Goju-Ryu develops body conditioning, distance and power generation, and partner drills.
“The ultimate aim of karate-do is to build character, conquer human misery, and find spiritual freedom.”
Miyagi balanced training for self-defence with training the mind — the precept karate-do ni sente nashi, “there is no first strike in karate,” and the importance of cultivating intellect before strength. Only hardness or only softness will not let you meet the fluctuations of life.
Affiliations
Part of a global lineage
We are an associate dojo of GKC Global, led by Paul Enfield Sensei (8th Dan) and Michelle Vanderlinden-Enfield Sensei (6th Dan).
Our teaching blends the Japanese and Okinawan lineages, bringing different ideas together under the Goju-Ryu style of karate.
