The Real Mr Miyagi – Founder of Goju Ryu
Everybody of a certain age remembers the character Mr Miyagi from the hit 1980s movie The Karate Kid. However what many people do not realise is the wise old karate teacher was in fact based on a real life master from Okinawa who founded one of the most successful forms of the martial art, Goju Ryu karate.
Blending Kung Fu with Okinawan Karate
Sensei Chojun Miyagi (1888 – 1953) began his karate
training at an early age and when he turned 14, he was sent to study under the
great master Kanryo Higaonna.
While working in China, Higaonna had the opportunity to study kung
fu and blended his new knowledge with the style he himself had been
taught in his home town of Naha (later this style would become known as
Naha-te). Though training was extremely hard, the young Miyagi excelled and
through great determination and a large amount of raw natural talent and was
able to progress in the art very quickly.
After his teacher’s death in 1915, Miyagi also went to China and though
he did not intend to learn kung fu, what he saw there piqued his interest so he
began studying. He attended the Pakua Chan School that emphasised the soft
aspects of the martial arts. He was particularly interested in the internal
systems and breathing techniques they taught there that promoted inner peace
and harmony of the mind, body and spirit.
He also studied at the School of Shaolin Chuan which had a more external focus on
training. The ‘hard’ aspect of the style he developed incorporates open handed
blocking with a circular motion along with strong punching and striking
techniques.
The legs are also utilised effectively and while high kicks are getting more
popular today, Miyagi taught that kicks should be kept low in order to maximise
their effectiveness while minimising the risk (as high kicks are less likely to
hit the target and may result in a loss of balance). Goju Ryu karate also
incorporates the use of many other types of technique including;
- Sweeps
- Throws
- Joint locks
- Grappling
The Development of Goju Ryu Karate
In the early twentieth century, Okinawan karate masters were in great
demand in Japan which appealed to Miyagi, so he went and began teaching classes
at Kyoto University. However after a while he became homesick and returned to
Okinawa, taking some of his best students with him.
One of Sensei Chonju Miyagi’s students who did not follow him back to his
homeland however was Gogen Yamaguchi, who instead stayed in Japan and became a
very successful teacher there. Known as The Cat because of his agility,
cunning and speed when fighting, he further developed the style by organizing
it into the system that is used all over the world today, forming the
association known as Goju Kai.
Miyagi spent the rest of his life developing and teaching Goju Ryu karate while
Yamaguchi did likewise in Japan. On his deathbed, the founder of the style
named Yamaguchi as his successor, before passing away on 8 October 1953 at the
age of 65.
Today, his legacy lives on and he is considered a legend of martial arts
history. His name will always be remembered through the style he created which
despite some modifications down the years, is still easily recognisable as the
karate of the real Mr Miyagi.