OKINAWA THE ROOTS OF GOJU RYU KARATE

The roots of Goju Ryu Karate can be traced directly back to Okinawa, which was called Ryukyu until 1870. In 1871 this small island officially became a prefecture of Japan.

In 1340, the Ryukyu Dynasty established tributary with the Chinese Emperor of the Ming

Dynasty, and until 1866 delegates were sent back and forth from each country. Many masters of Chinese Kempo were among the delegates from China, and they taught their art to the Okinawan nobility. The Okinawan sent ships filled with extremely valuable presents to the Chinese Emperor as tribute. To protect this precious cargo, all the Okinawans on board (crew members and delegates) were well trained in Martial Arts. After paying tribute to the Emperor, some of the Okinawan delegates furthered their training in China before returning home.

In 1470 all weapons in Okinawa were banned and confiscated. This political move led directly to the development of two different fighting systems: Te, practiced by the nobility, is a form of empty hand combat; and Kobudo, developed by farmers and fisherman, is a form of armed combat using simple tools as weapons. In both systems, training was conducted in strict secrecy.

Three different styles of Te (Naha-Te, Tomari-Te, and Shuri-Te) were developed, each named after the villages where they were practiced. Naha-Te is the direct ancestor of Goju Ryu Karate Do. Shuri-Te developed into Shorinji-Ryu which in turn developed into many different styles (such as Wado-Ryu and Shotokan Karate). A combination of Goju Ryu and Shorinji-Ryu led to the development of Chito-Ryu.