Chojun Miyagi

Chojun Miyagi is the creator of Goju Ryu Karate. (April 25th, 1888 - October 1953)

Birth and Beginning Karate

Chojun Miyagi was born on April 25th, 1888. He was born into a wealthy family, but as a youth was at times unruly. At the age of 11 he was taken to Ryuko Aragaki (the grandfather of Goju-ryu Master Shuichi Aragaki, IOGKF Technical Advisor), who was 24 at the time, to learn karate from him in hopes to instil discipline in the mischievous boy. Chojun Miyagi immediately developed a love for karate and became a very serious student. Aragaki recognised this and decided that he needed to study under a strict teacher, whose karate was second to none, to unlock Chojun Miyagi’s full potential.

Meeting Kanryo Higaonna

In 1902 at the age of 14 he was taken and introduced to Kanryo Higaonna and was accepted as a student. Kanryo Sensei was 49 years old at this point and known by the nick name ‘Ashi no Higaonna’ (meaning ”Legs” Higaonna) because of his exceptionally strong legs. Although warned of the severity of the training, Chojun Miyagi’s expectations were far exceeded when he began his training in Naha-te. The training he received was intense and very brutal and he trained extra outside of his classes to strengthen his body to aid in his fast improvement. Kanryo Sensei observed this and eventually Chojun Sensei became the student he chose to learn the entire art of Naha-te. At the time, students only learned Sanchin and one other kata. Training took place at the Kanryo Sensei’s home each evening and after the usual two hour session, Kanryo Sensei would keep Chojun Miyagi behind for personal one on one instruction in the entire system.

World War One and visit to China

In 1910 World War I swept across the globe and Chojun Miyagi was called upon for mandatory military service. He became a soldier at the age of 20 and was discharged at the age of 22. He rushed back home to Okinawa upon hearing that his teacher’s health had deteriorated. Chojun Miyagi desperately wanted to learn the rest of the Naha-te style from his teacher and also care for him in his later years. Everyday Chojun Miyagi would bring Kanryo Sensei to his own home to care for and learn from him. He became the only student to learn all the Naha-te kata from Kanryo Sensei, who passed away three years later in 1915. Many Okinawans referred to Kanryo Higaonna by the title of Bushi, meaning a distinguished master of the martial arts. Also in 1915, Chojun Miyagi fulfilled the final wish his teacher had for him and made the trip to Fuzhou in China. He travelled by boat on the same route Kanryo Sensei had many years before him. He explored and researched the area, visiting the house of Ryu Ryu Ko and demonstrating the kata he had learned to an old man who was a student of Ryu Ryu Ko. During his two month stay, Chojun Miyagi recorded much information about Ryu Ryu Ko.

Return to Okinawa

Upon his return to Okinawa he was now 29 years old and he took his teacher’s place and began teaching Naha-te. He worked to further develop the fighting system he had inherited. Chojun Sensei had learned the kata Rokkishu in China and his further development of this resulted in the creation of Tensho Kata. He also researched and created warm up exercises for the body. Furthermore Chojun Miyagi revised Sanchin Kata to be performed in a straight line, moving both forward and backwards, instead of turning around. He taught out of both his home, the now famous Garden Dojo, and also at a space he rented at the Naha Commercial High School.

The local police force became concerned about Chojun Miyagi’s reputation and warned him of the consequences of misusing karate. Chojun Miyagi explained the true nature of his teachings, and in doing so he was hired to teach at the Okinawan Police academy. In 1926 Chojun Miyagi founded the Karate Kenkyu Club, bringing together the top Masters of the main styles of karate to unite under the common goal of spreading true karate to future generations. The Masters in this club were Chojun Miyagi, Chomo Hanashiro, Choyu Motobu and Kenwa Mabuni.

Naming of Goju Ryu

In 1930 an invitation was received to perform a demonstration in Tokyo at the celebration of Crown Prince Hirohito’s succession to the throne. Chojun Miyagi couldn’t attend, but instead sent his top student, Jin’an Shinzato, in his place. After Shinzato’s demonstration, he was asked by someone who viewed his performance what the name of his style was. Shinzato wasn’t sure how to answer, as Naha-te was more of an informal name. He related this story to Chojun Miyagi who thought long and hard about this and on what to name his karate style. Within the famous martial arts text, the Bubishi, is a poem called the Kenpo Haku (the eight poems of the fist) and Chojun Sensei was quite fond of it:

*The mind is one with heaven and earth. *The circulatory rhythm of the body is similar to the cycle of the sun and the moon. *The way of inhaling and exhaling is hardness and softness. *Act in accordance with time and change. *Techniques will occur in the absence of conscious thought. *The feet must advance and retreat, separate and meet. *The eyes do not miss even the slightest change. *The ears listen well in all directions.

The third poem, ‘Ho Go Ju donto’, is where Chojun Miyagi took the name ‘Go Ju’. He then added ‘Ryu’ to the name to formally name the style Goju-ryu (literally meaning Hard and Soft Style) in 1930. Chojun Miyagi began promoting Goju-ryu Karate even more heavily. In 1934 he spent almost a full year teaching Goju-ryu Karate in Hawaii. He also performed demonstrations on the Japanese mainland to popularize karate. In 1940 he created and added two new kata to the Goju-ryu system, Gekisai Dai Ichi and Gekisai Dai Ni. He wanted karate to be more accessible to people of all ages and wanted a basic kata to make training more popular – Chojun Miyagi’s Gekisai Kata’s succeeded in doing this.

His promotional work to spread Goju-ryu was so successful that the Japanese Butokukai recognised his style as an official martial art and he as its official master. Chojun Sensei’s legendary Goju-ryu grip also earned him the nickname ‘Nukitui Magushiku’ for his ability to tear raw meat apart with his bare hands and he became quite famous for this in Okinawa.

World War Two

World War II then cast its shadow over the world and towards the end of the war, the Battle of Okinawa took place and along with it the slaughter of thousands of Okinawans. Chojun Miyagi and most of his family were lucky to escape to the north of the island, however many of his students were not. Jin’an Shinzato’s death in particular was a great loss to Chojun Miyagi and suddenly the future of his karate was uncertain. Once the war was over he returned to Naha to find that a majority of the city had been destroyed and that his historical records on Ryu Ryu Ko had been wiped out and lost forever. It was a desperate time for the survival of Goju-ryu and Okinawa.