Miyagi Sensei & Goju Ryu Karate
In July 2008 and 2011, Sensei and members of the club embarked on a trip to Okinawa, Japan, the home of traditional karate, where they underwent 10 days of training under the tuition of Master Meitatsu Yagi Hanshi 10th Dan (IMGKA).
We are proud to announce that in January 2012 we become a member of the International. Meibukan Goju-Ryu Karate Do Association, teaching traditional Okinawa Meibukan Goju-Ryu
Karate-do. We trust the training undertaken will be both exciting and rewarding as you and/or your child embrace karate-do - “the way of karate”.
Miyagi Chogun Sensei
Miyagi Chogun Sensei is the founder of Goju Ryu Karate Do. He was born April 28th, 1888 to a wealthy Okinawan family. He began his Karate training under Aragaki Ryuko Sensei in 1900, at the age of 12. In 1902, when Miyagi Sensei was 14 years old, Aragaki Sensei introduced him to Higashionna Kanryo Sensei, master of Naha Te Karate. Higashionna Sensei accepted him as a student, and the two trained together until the death of Higashionna Sensei in 1915.
From here, Miyagi Sensei travelled to China to increase his knowledge of the martial arts. He studied the principles and philosophies of many Chinese styles in order to increase his knowledge and understanding. Eventually he formulated his own style of Karate which combined the hard external fighting styles with the soft internal styles into a close range, highly efficient method of self defence. The brutal efficiency of the style was designed strictly for health and self defence, and not for sport.
In 1930, Miyagi Sensei named his style Gojyu-Ryu Karate-Do, meaning hard and soft style.
This name was taken from one of his favourite poems, the Kempo Hakku, or the "Eight laws of the fist"
Some of his more notable students were Jinan Shinzato (died in the Battle of Okinawa 1945), Seiko Higa (also a student of Kanryo Higaonna), Seikichi Toguchi (founder of the Shorei-Kan dojo), Ei'ichi Miyazato (founder of the Jundokan dojo), Meitoku Yagi (founder of the Meibukan dojo, he eventually accepted late master Miyagi's gi and obi from Miyagi's family and become the rightful heir to the system), and in Japan, Gogen Yamaguchi (founder of Goju-kai and who, after short training with Miyagi, later spent most of his time studying katas under Meitoku Yagi while being a representative himself of Goju-ryu in Japan).
This rare picture of Miyagi Sensei shows the vigour's of
tradition Sanchin training.
Miyagi Sensei died on October 8th, 1953.
As a nice side note, the movie series, "The Karate Kid", uses the reference to Chojun Miyagi Sensei for Pat Morita's character, "Mr. Miyagi".
Grand Master Meitoku Yagi
Yagi Meitoku Sensei was born on March 6th, 1912. He was a direct descendant of the original 36 families of Okinawa. He began his Karate training with Miyagi Sensei in 1926, at the age of 14. By the time of Miyagi Sensei's death in 1953, Yagi Meitoku Sensei was the only student of Goju Ryu Karate to learn all of the kata from Miyagi Sensei.
In 1963, Miyagi Sensei's family presented Yagi Sensei with his teacher's gi and obi, and gave him the Menkyo Kaiden, naming him the official successor to the Gojyu Ryu Karate system. Until his death on February 7th 2003, Yagi Sensei continued to teach and enrich Goju Ryu Karate-Do, creating new kata and adding weapons training to the school.
Until very recently Goju Ryu Karate-Do was presided over by Yagi Meitatsu Sensei, the oldest son of Yagi Meitoku Sensei. He began his Karate training in 1949 at the age of 5, and trained under his father for over 50 years.
Yagi Meitatsu Sensei travelled the world to teach Meibukan Karate-Do practitioners, including visits to Canada, the United States, India, Israel, Italy, England, France, Czech Rep, Slovenia and South America. He is also a founding member of The Okinawan Traditional Karate-Do Kobudo International Study Center, located in Yomitan, Okinawa. Here martial arts students have a chance to practice Karate Do in the place of its birth.
Yagi Meitatsu Sensei's two sons, Akihito Yagi Sensei and Akihiro Yagi Sensei, are now President and Vice President of IMGKA
Members of Bu Jutsu Ryu Karate-Do after a private lesson with Akihito Yagi Sensei in the Hombu Dojo, Naha, Okinawa 2011
Left to Right:
Sempai Iain Rigg, Sensei Daniel Bailey, Sensei Alan Sadler,
Sensei Debbie Ayres, Sempai Stephen Noone and Sempai Jeremy Burrows