Goju-ryu saved my life when I was ganged up on, 3 on 1. I didn't win the fight because I was beat up pretty badly, but I was able to hold them off long enough by doing significant damage to one of my assailants. Not just because of my tecniques but mostly because of the toughness and conditioning I experienced in Goju-Ryu.

Surviving a fight is more important than winning it. Goju definitely helps you in that aspect.

On the reason why Karate uses exaggerated movements. The way my teacher explained it; if you make a baseball bat, you take a piece of wood. When you cut the wood you can make it smaller but you can never make it bigger. It's habit forming in concept. It'll naturally get smaller in contact sparring.

Oh yeah. I started practicing Goju and Uechi ryu in 1988. I´m 50 years old now, and I´m 5´dan in Goju and 6´dan in Uechi. I went to Okinawa 4 time. One time, an old sensei (82 years old) sent me a tsuki so fast I couldn´t defend myself. He hit my stomach. The punch was so fast and so strong (his hands looked like two deformed rocks) that I felt sick for a week. My back hurted so much that I barely could walk. Yes, my back. Okinawan traditional Karate is a deadly weapon. Period. And yes, you are right. In Okinawa I learned that ancient Karate is 50% strike and 50% projections and immobilization. Thank you very much for this video and I apologize for my bad English.

Goju Ryu is why I'm alive today, I parried a punch Goju style and it turned out to be a knife, the guy was stabbing with so much force that it still went in below my hip, but it beats getting disembowelled, was able to hold his hand (and the knife) in me whilst beating him up, then we both ran away in different directions. The Goju I was taught by my late father was more half hard, half soft, I think after Kyokushin became mainstream Goju Ryu wanted to compete with it so it became even harder, which was detrimental to the softer elements of the style that balanced it, as I've grown older I have switched from Goju Sachin to Uechi and try to balance the Karate I do.

Goju wasn't the first martial art I trained, but it was the first grappling style I trained. It's definatley helped to keep me safe to this day.

Hello from the dojo that pops up at around 17:04!

Thank you so much for featuring us on this topic, and for being so respectful of our style - sometimes Goju Ryu doesn't get a fair shake on the internet, but we're trying our best to change that!

Let's collab sometime?

Best wishes from South Africa 🇿🇦
Zoë (the thug wife)

Goju Ryu was my first kara te training as a child.
   Now I practice Uechi Ryu.
Both are outstanding schools.

The two main branches are Naha-te and Shuri-te.  The third smaller branch, Tomari-te, is like a mix between Naha and Shuri styles.  Having said that, Naha and Shuri are like 3 miles apart, with Tomari between them, so in a way it's an arbitrary division and most styles are relatively recent developments.  Shorin-ryu and Shotokan are both descended from Shuri-te and Tomari-te.  Naha-te styles are anecdotally "better" for short, stocky people but that's a subjective value judgement.  But regardless, ALL karate is clinch fighting in it's origin.  Developed at a time when every young boy grew up wrestling in the Tegumi style, karate didn't NEED to teach it's grappling base.  All the kids came to karate already WITH the grappling base necessary to ADD ON the adjunct of karate. The hand pulling back during a "punch" is called hiki-te (pulling hand).  Judo also uses hiki-te.  It's called that because it's pulling something.  The Japanese caused the focus on striking as opposed to stand up clinch grappling with strikes added, and that influence has permeated most styles to some degree, some more than others.  I did Shotokan in the 80's and 90's and it was tough, as my instructor was also shodan or nidan in both Kyokushin and Shorin-ryu, but it was still focused on unattached striking at distance instead of clinch fighting.  It's very good to see the renaissance happening in karate over the last couple of decades. The Youtube channel "Karate Breakdown" is good for seeing these connections.

Goju Ryu (being Okinawan) is one of the forms of karate that is closer to its kung fu ancestors from southern China (esp. White Crane). Some of those training things -- the pushing hands drill, the palm conditioning, etc. -- are staples of traditional kung fu.

When you say Goju looks like Filipino martial arts, I think it is more that they have a common ancestor in southern kung fu that migrated out across the south China Sea trading/social networks.

Fun fact -- Goju Ryu is the style used for Miyagi-Do in the Karate Kid/Cobra Kai series.

I agree with you that the sweeps are the best thing about karate. For me, the integration of striking and standing grapples is the particularly appealing thing about Okinawan karate. Check out the "practical bunkai" work of Iain Abernathy on that.

Jesse Enkamp's video on the difference between Okinawan and Japanese karate is one of the best pieces of martial arts history/anthropology on youtube. Check that out as well.

Hi, I startet Judo in 1984, Shotokan in 1987. We made fullcontact sparring in Shotokan and I mixed it directly with my throwing and grappling skills. You are fully right, Karate is full of grappling technics, but most of the people don't see it. I was lucky to get a Sensei who was Judoka and Karateka and a Student of Kanazawa. Thx God for that! I got in contact with Goju Ryu in the 90' when I had a Seminar with Sakumoto. I plan to start Goju Ryu in one ore two years. Greetings from Germany and I like your open-minded thinking very much!😊

I trained in Goju-Ryu during my time in the service.  I was an avid weightlifter and this style suited me perfectly.  Notice the quick level changes.  Gravity is put to good use.  Jack Dempsey used the ¨falling step¨ based on GJR´s rapid dropping of the center of gravity.

Kyokushin guy here 🙌

Alleays dreamed of Karate my whole life and im a few month, into Kyokushin right now. And maan was I at home from day one.

- Kyokushin Is Pure Magic -
So now I know why I allways longed for it.

Kyokushin Forever 🙂🙏

OSS!!

I appreciate the mindful comments on protecting yourself as you age. I’m hitting 51 in a few days. I’m healing up from a nasty foot break and it’s on my mind a lot. God bless.

Goju Ryu is dope, and I would like to give a shout out to Uechi Ryu which is the just as dope bro of Goju🥋🐉

Now, after understanding what a huge variety there is in Goju-Ryu, imagine what an even bigger variety there is in all of Karate! It is not just true for Goju-Ryu, but for Shorin-Ryu as well.

Im glad you pointed out the grappling in Kata, so many instructors don't realise that grappling is inbeaded into most traditional arts, I practiced Goju Ryu at the same time I was practicing Bujinkan, Unfortunately the Goju Ryu turned into a soccer mums baby sitting convention, which is a shame because I really enjoyed it, and was forced to pick the lesser of the two arts in my eyes anyway.😊

My first as well. Thank you for showcasing my style and giving a great explanation of body hardening and the toughness required. Traditional GoJu has no real head kicks, only kick below the waist. Maybe sternum. Goju style can be summed up with their 2 foundational kata. Sanchin kata and Sanseru kata. GoJu is hard/soft style, sanchin is hard and Sanseru is soft. Your attention to the hip crack was a spot on analysis. My sensei said if your gi doesn’t crack you’re doing it wrong.  Learning to generate power from your waist translates to all other athletic endeavors. Keep up your dives into obscure arts.  I’m sure we’d have watched Kung fu theater on Saturdays together as kids. My sensei could also pick out any move from a kata and show the actual application, you surmised right. It was grab and smash lol. Cheers.

Love your analysis. I've trained Goju Ryu for many years. My sensei came from Kyokushin before switching to Goju Ryu so I was taught a blend of both styles. The beauty and dynamism of Goju Ryu and the intensity of Kyokushin.

I never fully appreciated what a complete style Goju Ryu is until I cross-trained in other martial arts - boxing, Jiu Jitsu, and  Muay Thai and found the strengths of each art could be found in what I'd been learning all along.

I love Goju-Ryu, my "first love"  ever in Karate and Martial Arts

Your grappling interpretations of kata are spot on. I’ve been a karateka for over 30 years. I’ve learned more about kata by training grappling than I have in “traditional” karate schools.

Good video.