It is commonly believed that the concept of combining the two extremes originated in a Chinese martial arts doctrine known as wu pei chih. Goju-ryu combines hard striking attacks like kicks and punches with softer circular techniques for blocking and controlling the opponent, including locks, grappling, takedowns and throws. Goju-ryu’s speciality is in-fighting or close-quarter combat. Major emphasis is given to breathing correctly. Goju-ryu is one of very few karate styles that practice methods of which include body strengthening and conditioning, its basic approach to fighting (distance, stickiness, power generation, etc.) and its partner drills. Goju-ryu has the sophistication of being both linear and circular making it usable by all ages, sizes, and genders.
Whats in a name ?
‘Go’ means hardness or external force, ‘ju’ means softness or internal force.
The naming of Goju-Ryu came about more by accident than design. In 1930, numerous martial
arts masters asked Chojun Miyagi’s top student, Jin’an Shinzato, while in Tokyo as to what
school of martial arts he practiced.As Naha-Te had no formal name he came up with the
impromptu name Hanko Ryū (Half Hard Style). On his return to Okinawa he reported this
incident to Chojun Miyagi. After much consideration Chojun Miyagi decided on the name
Goju-Ryu (hard and soft school) as a name for his style. This name he took from a line
in the Bubishi (a classical Chinese text on martial arts and other subjects).
This line, which appears in a poem, the Hakku Kenpo (roughly, “The eight laws of the fist”), describing the eight precepts of the martial arts, reads, “Ho wa Gojū wa Donto su” (the way of inhaling and exhaling is hardness and softness, or everything in the universe inhales soft and exhales hard).