Japanese vs Okinawan Karate: enter Goju Ryu


After my long experience in Goju Ryu (exactly 4 days) I became aware of a fascinating fact: I never trained punches or kicks in Goju Ryu. Not in Japan, not in Okinawa.

Surprising, because my previous experience in Karate (Shotokan and Kyokushin) was focused, 95%, in punching and kicking as hard as you can. 

In this intensive Goju Ryu crash course (the 4 days were in the same week) I trained throws, locks, weapons, vital points, small joint manipulation, breathing, attacking the eyes, breaking necks and other ways of incapacitating an attacker and leaving him (or her) maimed on the ground.

How is this divergence of training objectives so big? After all, they were all Okinawans those who took Karate to mainland Japan...



Please, excuse my generalizations. I am talking only about my reduced experience. Yours may be different. Please, let me know in the comments!!




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