WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

We break our training into three areas.  Basics which lead to kata, Self Defense which is the street application, and Sparring which is the sport training.  As a beginner you will start by learning the basics of punching and kicking.  As an intermediate student you will learn escapes from most common holds (front and rear bear hugs, side head locks, front and rear chokes, etc) and you will learn a series of takedowns.  As you become an advanced student you will learn wristlocks, armlocks, chokes and throwing techniques.  You will also begin to apply your knowledge with less on prearranged training and more into theory and practical application.  By the time you are a Black Belt you will even learn how to defend yourself against a club, knife or even a gun situation.  You will also begin even more training on grappling and controlling attackers on the ground.  But while you are learning the practical self-defense, you will also study kata (forms) and bunkais (translations to forms).  By the time you get to black belt you will begin to understand how seemingly simple motions in forms can be blocks, strikes, takedowns or controlling techniques.  You will also enjoy the benefits of weapons training to help you understand how to take anything in your environment and use it as a method of self-defense.  You will enjoy the confidence of knowing that you are prepared but having the self-esteem and awareness to avoid most situations.

Ken Piper

A BRIEF UNDERSTANDING OF OUR STYLE OF KARATE CALLED SHOREI GOJU RYU

                    Many Okinawans traveled to China to learn about the Chinese methods of fighting, then would return to Okinawa and combine their new learnings with the existing Okinawan fighting arts.  This method became the basis for many of the styles which exist today.  Any time a person studies more than one style, becomes skilled enough to teach, and begins to teach a combination of those styles, he has the dilemma of what name to call his teachings.  To be totally correct, he cannot call his method by the name of only one of the styles he is combining, but must create a new name.

                    Shorei came from Hsing Yi and Kosho Karate Kempo or Shuri-te.  Hsing Yi was a combination of six Chinese arts, three hard or external and three soft or internal (External : Shaolin-chun, Chuan Pei, Hung Kun, Internal: Chauan-fa, Tai-chi-chuan, Pa-Kua).  Kosho Karate Kempo or Shuri-te was the existing Okinawan art taught by Choki Motobu.

                    Goju Ryu came from two Chinese systems, Shaolin Chuan (hard) and Pakua Change (soft) taught by Chojun Miyagi.

                    Robert A. Trias learned Shuri-te and later Goju Ryu.  In 1946 he incorporated some of the Goju Ryu katas into Shuri-te, which was the beginning of our system as we know it today. Grandmaster Trias appointed Herb Johnson as Style Head of Shorei Goju Ryu in 1979.

                    Most of our basics can be traced to three different origins.  One such origin, the study of basic science (learning how to apply the maximum number of muscles and the maximum body weight into each technique), enables us to use the strength of our entire body against the weaknesses of  our opponents.  The second origin is a period in China when monks studied animal movements and tried to duplicate these movements into the human being so he could strike the acupuncture points used in Chinese medicine to attack the energy or “Chi”.  The third origin was the period in Okinawa when all weapons had been confiscated, forcing Okinawans to use their hands and feet as their knives, spears and clubs.

                    Our system represents the ancient theory of “No Limitations” of knowledge or technique.  Many of today’s styles are very limiting.  For example, one style has only 4 hand strikes and 4 kicks, which are considered by one man to be the very best of all techniques.  Another style has 70% kicking with very few hand strikes and was created as a sport eventually to be used in the Olympics.  In these systems and many others it is considered offensive to do anything which is not taught in that system.

                    Our style, on the other hand, contains every type of strike, block, kick, wrist lock, arm lock, arm bar, sweep, takedown or pressure point which can be used, giving the student the option of choosing which best fits his physique, personality, and situation.  The style of Shorei Goju Ryu is so complete that it has something for everyone.  One does not have to be tall and thin or short and stocky or a top athlete to study this system; it is adaptable to every size and personality.

                                                                                                        Herb Johnson, Style Head