The History of Karate: Okinawan Goju-Ryu

Rating:
Summary: Finally Something for Karate History Buffs to Chew on!
Review: Chalk up another terrific book published by Dragon Books. Morio Higaonna's work (translated by his wife, Alanna Higaonna) does for goju ryu karate what Shoshin Nagamine's book "Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters" has done for shorin-ryu karate. Finally the rest of us have access to the thoughts of the surviving (at the time of publication) old time karate men. Higaonna has gone out of his way to locate the men who studied under Kanryu Higaonna and his top student, the humble and skilled Chojun Miyagi.

Higaonna relates the recollections of men like Seko Higa, Seisho Aniya, An'ich' Miyagi, Meitoku Yagi, Yoshimi (Gogen) Yamaguchi, Seiko Kina, Shichi Arakaki and many more. This volume is packed with valuable historic photos, and includes a number of tables which compare Okinawan, Fujian, and Mandarin names for forms and weapons. There is an appendix with a number of interesting referrences, including laws imposed upon Okinawa by the Satsuma clan after the Island came under japanese domination, and brief biographies of prominent figures whi influenced the development of Goju, such as White Crane Master Go Ken-ki. There is a glossary as well as an index. The only glaring error I found was in the index, where the names of Okinawan persons were cataloged by their first and not last names--evidently a computer error nobody caught.

For anyone with a driving interest in Okinawa karate or general Okinawa history, this is an important volume which should not be neglected. What a pleasure to read! Higaonna's 4 volume series, "Traditional Karate-Do: Okinawa Goju Ryu" volumes 1-4 is also highly recommended for those seeking a perfect technical guide.

Rating:
Summary: A "must read" for the Goju-ryu karateka student
Review: For those wanting to understand the "total picture" and the build up of the Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate style, this book cant be put down after opening. Infact you will want to read it 2 or 3 times. A "must read" for those attempting a dan grading and a fantastic resource for those engrossed in "the Way".
Nearly as good as the buzz of training under Sensei personally.....

Rating:
Summary: A "must read" for the Goju-ryu karateka student
Review: For those wanting to understand the "total picture" and the build up of the Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate style, this book cant be put down after opening. Infact you will want to read it 2 or 3 times. A "must read" for those attempting a dan grading and a fantastic resource for those engrossed in "the Way".
Nearly as good as the buzz of training under Sensei personally.....

Rating:
Summary: Great Master + Great Writer = Amazing Book!
Review: Gojo ryu, one of the main styles of karate on Okinawa, has benefitted greatly from the expertise of Sensei Higaonna, the author of this well-reasearched book. He is a master technician of combat and also, in keeping with tradition, an accomplished man of letters. Thus he is a modern embodiment of the scholar/warrior that is held as the ideal in both Western and Asian cultures.

Concerning the text of his book, it is endorsed by a virtual "who's who" of Gojo ryu. He covers in great detail, in an engaging style, the various aspects of martial arts on Okinawa and the surrounding islands, including the Chinese influence. After this general background, he goes into much detail with the history of Gojo ryu's masters and influences. Some great photos add to Higaonna's gift of story-telling.

I would recommend Mark Bishop's book on Okinawa Karate as a detailed and readable (and ususally accurate) account of the major and minor traditions of Okinawan combat arts.

Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: A Must for Goju Ryu Practitioners
Review: If you train in Goju Ryu this book should be on your bookshelf and read several times. Higaonna Sensei has put into this book many stories, experiences, and views of many Goju Ryu practitioners from the past, that are a part of Goju history, folklore, and lineage. I do not agree with 100 percent of the opinions shared in this history book, but I agree with the far majority of the material in this book and consider it an enjoyable and benefical read. I sincerely hope it is republished again in the near future so more people have access to this information.

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Summary: This should be the starting point for all karate strudents!
Review: In his book the History of Karate, Mario Higaonna teaches us the correct lineage of Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate Do and its history. A very interesting text including interviews with former students of the late Grand Master Chojun Miyagi who founded Goju Ryu Karate. This book is a treasure that will allow students of traditional karate the opportunity to get to the true roots. Sensei Higaonna is exceptionally dedicated to meticulous detail of the Goju Ryu history and should be applauded by all karate ka for his diligence in getting the word out to the world.

Rating:
Summary: a classical work!!
Review: In Martial arts the word master is frequently used . Higaonna Morio Hanshi is a living example of that word. Not only in his abilitys physically but in the humble way by which he lives. He is trusted & respected in Japan and this has opened up a lot of doors for his research. I know this personally having trained under him and his teacher Anichi Miyagi privately in Japan. I find it interesting that people write reveiws of his book (of which he spent the last 30 yes 30 years researching) and say that dont think he is being honest or he's got certain parts wrong....... have you ever seen Higaonna sensei's karate? even in his 60's he is still as breathtaking as ever. i know this personally as i performed a demonstration with him last year and this year at both the Tokyo & Okinawa Budokan, i am half his age and still couln't keep up with him during a prearanged sparring demo. I think if half the people who write or say negative things about him actually met him or came to one of his seminars they would be humbled and profoundly greatful to have met a man of his character and abilitys.

I would like to finish with a quick story... I acompanied Higaonna Sensei a couple of years ago to a training camp in San Diego held by Nishiyama Sensei's people also there was the late Karate Master Richard Kim . After Higaoon Sensei had finished teaching Sensei Kim came up to me to tell me how lucky i was to have such a great teacher , he kept telling me how lucky i was to find such a great teacher. He went as far as to tell me that in his lifetime he had trained with all the great masters including the founder of Goju Ryu Miyagi Chojun and none of them explained and demonstrated karate like him.



Rating:
Summary: A great example of a history book
Review: Morio Higaonna doesn't write bad books. Along with this book, there is is 4 volume set of Goju-ryu technical books that are great reference material. He obviously cares how he is perceived by people reading his work and takes great care that his name is attached to only quality material.

What I love about this book is that it is well written, very clear with a good index. It is well organized chronologically and the pictures are actually some that you haven't seen in other books and are interesting. There are pictures of Miyagi that I haven't seen before, as well as pictures of turn of the century China and Okinawa. It gives a great overview of how things looked and a generally good feeling of how things must have been at the time.

What I don't like about this book is that I find it biased in a few different ways. Some may be intentional to make the Goju-ryu style more historically and culturally significant that it actually is (not to say it isn't, but there's no need to twist the truth over it). Others are simply because of Higaonna's inexperience as a historian. He has done a lot of first hand digging in China and around Okinawa to get direct accounts from as many sources as possible. This is done well. The conclusions that he draws from the reports that he has are a little shaky at times however.

He will sometimes assert or dismiss a formerly accepted view because his instructor "would probably have told him if it were true" or "the teaching of Tote was done in secret at the time" with no supporting evidence. It would be better to say that he doesn't know, and leave it at that.

Despite these flaws, the book contains a lot of new information that has been researched directly by the author and people who worked with him. It represents a considerable amount of effort that created a book well worth your time.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: This book is a must have for any karate student. Morio Hiagonna explains in great the detail the history of Goju ryu.He talks about the the masters of this art including Kanryo Hiagonna and Chojun Miyagi and their lives. A very well done book.