Karate was perceived as a feared weapon in ancient times. So rude and aggressive people would not get a chance to learn martial arts in Okinawa. Now no one is going to ask about personality of those coming to a dojo and how they are going to use the skills. Karate is taught to anyone willing to learn. However the Master sees a positive side to that too. For example, if practicing martial arts, kids become hard-working, more focused, more kind; they learn a lot of skills they can use for for the benefit of society later on.

In his dojo the Master teaches not only the basics of karate, but variations of their use for each student. This part of learning consists of his own methods and insights concerning various difficult situations during a fight. The students value these teachings the most and even thought of a special name for the original technique of the Master — Ikemiyagi-ryu.

Many of the moves were created after foreign trips. For instance, Ikemiyagi Sensei often met heavy-weight opponents during international seminars. A light-weight fighter would have some trouble dealing with such an opponent. So, he created some moves for this case. Other moves were added to the Master’s technique after his studies and reinterpretation of Goju-ryu history and traditions.

Ikemiyagi Sensei demonstrates his technique only in the dojo and only after the basic training, and here is why: «If I tell about non-traditional moves during regular practices, some of my colleagues will adopt critical attitude, though the moves might seem quite efficient to me. I talk about such things as a matter of analysis of moves only in order not to shift away from the foundations of Goju-ryu».

The Master is humble and unwilling to run counter to the traditional Goju-ryu, so he insists that, in fact, there is no such thing as Ikemiyagi-ryu, and all the talk about it is just students chatting inside the dojo.

Masaaki Ikemiyagi liked hand-to-hand fighting from the early childhood. He became Meitoku Yagi’s student at fifteen. From that moment Ikemiyagi had started thorough study of karate.

Yagi Sensei taught not only the right way to perform kata. In his dojo young Ikemiyagi, who had been a headstrong and spoiled teenager according to his own words, dove into the philosophy of karate and found his true calling. He learned to behave with dignity, to treat other people with kindness; he understood that not only his body, but his spirit as well needed everyday training.

The training was very intense back then. The students had to practice five times a week, from Monday to Friday, and the practice sessions lasted for one and a half or two hours. By comparison, now training sessions in dojo take place mainly on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, or even just two times a week.

«Those days the number of training sessions was two times, or even two thousands times, more than now,» — says Ikemiyagi. While in high school he would go to karate practice to the school club and then to dojo. In college he used to train for two hours in a club and then one and a half hour more in dojo. So, the Sensei had three-four hours of practice every day. Now it is hard to imagine. Only, may be, athletes preparing for the Olympics stick to such training schedule.

After the dojo opening Ikemiyagi Sensei started to travel and teach seminars all over the world. He conducts training sessions in Brazil, Australia, the USA, Russia, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Great Britain, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India. There is a branch of his school in some of these countries. The oldest one is in Australia, it’s been operating for thirty five years. The USA branch was opened fifteen years ago. In Russia the school was established ten years ago. Each branch is headed by a separate leader in each country.

Find a dojo ran by Masaaki Ikemiyagi’s student in your country

Representatives

Ikemiyagi states that the aim of this branch system is to spread knowledge about Goju-ryu in different countries and to help bring up people who would aspire to work for the benefit of the people.

For as long as thirty seven years the Sensei willingly accepts in his dojo everyone who would come, even when he is hurt or ill. His only regret is that just a handful of students grow to become masters and open their own dojos. Nevertheless, through the students who have opened their dojos in different countries he inspired thousands of Goju-ryu followers to excel in the art of karate.

It is believed that Higaonna Kanryo, born in Naha in 1853, was the founder of Goju-ryu style. At first the style was called Naha-te after the place of Kanryo’s birth.

Kanryo Higaonna

originator of the Okinawan Naha-te style

Kanryo Sensei was a part of an extended family of lower rank samurai. When the boy was twelve years old his father was killed in a fight and Kanryo had to take up the role of provider. At fourteen he went to China and started training at Ryu Ru Ko Sensei’s dojo. Ryu Ru Ko Sensei was a basket maker and lived in a two-storey house. In the morning Kanryo would train, during the day he worked at a factory, and in the evening he returned to tough practice. They say that for the first five years the only thing he was doing was Sanchin kata. But Ryu Ru Ko had to send Kanryo back home to Okinawa when the relations between China and Japan worsened.

In 1901 karate for the first time became a part of elementary school curriculum in Okinawa and many masters started thinking about wide-scale teaching programs. In 1905 Kanryo Higaonna started to teach in a Naha town school.

Chojun Miyagi

originator of Goju-ryu, Higaonna’s student

He offered trainings two times a week at the school yard, so he got first students. Chojun Miyagi, who would later grow into an outstanding martial arts master and name the style as Goju-ryu, was one of them. Later Chojun Miyagi recalled that Kanryo’s Higaonna training program had been so hard he wanted to quit several times. But his natural stubbornness wouldn’t let him, so he dropped out of the school and quit his work in a bank instead and gave all his time to martial arts. At the moment Kanryo Higaonna saw the potential in the young man and his in-depth training started.

The Committee for Okinawa Karate was established in 1940. It included the main masters from Okinawa. The Committee was charged with a task to develop kata to be taught in schools. The goal was to bring up future warriors and karate has always been a great way to develop physical strength. The spiritual side of karate was also important. So, that is how the kata for mass learning were created. Those are still being taught in schools.

And there are also a lot of teachings about secret techniques of karate. Those secrets are not meant for everyone.

The World War II had a devastating effect on Okinawan karate. The US attacked Okinawa in October, 1945. A rain of bombs turned the cradle of Goju-ryu into burnt burying ground. Many outstanding masters and students lost their lives. Priceless archives and documents perished in fire.

It took Okinawa a long time to rebuild after such a devastating blow and the years after war were tough. However karate was not forgotten. The masters who were still alive managed to pass their knowledge to new followers and Goju-ryu returned to the path of development.

Masaaki Ikemiyagi

student of Meitoku Yagi

Karate has increasingly entered the public domain, and now it is a part of curriculum in many schools in Okinawa.

In 1970 fifteen year old Masaaki started to study karate from Meitoku Yagi in his dojo. Later Yagi has become not only his first and most respected teacher, but also his spiritual advisor who would pass the secrets of Goju-ryu tradition on to Ikemiyagi.

Talking about perspectives of karate in the world Ikemiyagi is excited to note that now many leaders and presidents are into karate. In Japan there are examples of the Cabinet Secretary and current Deputy Governor of Okinawa Prefecture. According to the Sensei’s opinion, a good role model created by the leader will influence people to get into karate more.

When discussing the unique nature of the style the Master points out that Goju-ryu has a potential allowing even the ones «who are subtle of body» to become strong fighters. Most Okinawans are not naturally that strong or muscular. But they are very hardworking people. If nature does not bestow Okinawans with some qualities, they are eager to develop those qualities with great perseverance.

The teachings of Miyagi Sensei, founder of Goju-ryu, say: «Don’t let anyone beat you, but don’t beat anyone either.» It means that one has to avoid conflict as much as possible. «If you like someone — tell them. If you don’t like someone — keep quiet,» — Ikemiyagi Sensei adds his own wisdom.

The Master often participated in fights on the main islands and quite often he fought opponents coming from abroad. Challenges were common among Okinawan young people, and Masaaki Ikemiyagi had always been the first to accept them. When he was young he became well-known as a qualified karate fighter and a dangerous opponent. In some cases, when he was visiting local tournaments, the opponents would just walk out after learning that he was going to take part.

Though the Master was unstoppable in the ring, he would always avoid fights and provocations in everyday life. And there was plenty of opportunities. Having learned that Ikemiyagi was a karate fighter, Okinawans after a few drinks or tourists would seek a fight with him on purpose. He was small and subtle, and that was giving wrong impression to such fail karate fighters. If, after some time, he met the bully in the street, Ikemiyagi would invite them to visit his dojo and show training with punchbags. After that the might-have-been opponents usually went away in silence. «That is the victory without a fight,» — the Sensei says.

People often talk about sports karate, which is just a resemblance to a martial art, replacing the traditional karate when discussing the challenges traditional karate faces nowadays. Ikemiyagi Sensei does not think that sports karate is a rival to the traditional styles and sees no problem. He believes these two branches of karate are like two pairs of wheels in a car. Both need careful approach, and both must move ahead at the same time, just like the car’s wheels.

The Master says that competitive karate is a temporary thing. One can be into it when he or she is young. After reaching some certain age one finds it hard to continue with competitions. Then they move on to traditional karate and fully immerse themselves in the study of deep layers and fascination the kata have.

Karate has many aspects to it. Ikemiyagi Sensei and like-minded people see karate as a culture and a martial art. Others value its competitive side; for example, athletes train to win at the Olympics. Sensei thinks that coming to karate as to a sport gives great motivation to gradually open its spiritual aspect.

Masaaki Ikemiyagi is more concerned with Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). In his opinion, it’s not even a sport, but a show with a tinge of exhibition fights.

The Sensei also believes that karate without study of basics in form of kata is not karate. He thinks that the wrongest way for those who want to learn karate is to try to create their own moves and techniques without excellent knowledge of basics.

One more fatal misperception of karate is that one cannot get stronger, no matter how long he has been doing kata. The people who think so even doubt that Goju-ryu can be called a martial art. According to Ikemiyagi such opinions can be expressed by people who do not have enough training, or their training is wrong.