INTERNATIONAL SHURIWAY KARATE & KOBUDO SOCIETY

 

MORIO HIGAONNA - GOJU RYU

Morio Higaonna was born on December 25, 1938, and began training in karate at the age of fourteen. He initially studied Shorin-Ryu with his father and later trained with Tsunetaka Shimabukuro, another Shorin-Ryu stylist. In 1955, on the recommendation of Shimabukuro Sensei, he began training in Goju-ryu at the garden dojo of the late Chojun Miyagi Sensei under the instruction of Anichi Miyagi Sensei.

The training regime at the time was notoriously tough. Higaonna Sensei recounts practicing Kata and Kakie (sticky hands) with numerous opponents until he could no longer move his arms. Given the Okinawan climate, this required tremendous physical and mental effort.

In 1957, the garden dojo moved to a permanent building known as the Jundokan. Higaonna Sensei continued his training there, often practicing for up to five hours every day. In 1960, the first official Dan grading was organized, and Higaonna Sensei was awarded 3rd Dan. Shortly after, he gained a place at Takushoku University in Tokyo.

It was in Tokyo that Higaonna Sensei taught at the famous Yoyogi dojo. Thousands of students passed through its doors, including notable figures such as Senseis Ogawa, Todano, and Terauchi. International students included Ernest Brenech, James Rousseau, and Bakies Laubscher, as well as Shotokan stylist Terry O'Neill.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Higaonna Sensei began traveling internationally. His reputation grew significantly after a demonstration at the 1972 World Karate Championships in Paris. In 1979, the International Okinawa Goju-ryu Karate-do Federation (IOGKF) was established in Poole, England, with the support of his senior international instructors.

To this day, Higaonna Sensei maintains a strict training regime and continues to research the original Kata and traditional training methods of Goju-ryu. He remains highly regarded not only for his technical mastery but for his profound humility and good-natured personality.

Break with IOGKF

In 2022, Higaonna left the IOGKF, the organization he had founded and announced he would be starting a new organization called the Traditional Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate-do Federation (TOGKF). Senior students including Bakkies Laubscher, Kazuo Terauchi, Juichi Kokubo, Masakazu Kuramoto, Yonekazu Uehara, George Andrews, Yoshinori Yonesato followed Higaonna Sensei to his new Federation.[citation needed] In February 2024 the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai in keeping with its appointment of Higaonna sensei as its representative-master of the Goju-ryu system, switched to Higaonna's newly established TOGKF as its representative organization within their association.

Courtesy of the Morio Higaonna