Kanryo Higaonna was born into an impoverished but prominent family in Naha, Okinawa, on 10 March, 1851.
As a boy, he was small but very quick and nimble for his age, and was interested in the fighting arts early on and began formal training in Chinese Kempo of the Fukien style. He achieved his desire to study in China when he convinced the owner of a ship bound to China to grant him passage in 1866. He was introduced to Ryu Ryuko after a year in Foochow and was only allowed to be accepted as a disciple and allowed to train after he had satisfied his master's expectations, before which he was only allowed to do chores, clean, and attend to the garden.
He assisted his master at his bamboo craft trade during the day and trained in the evenings and, as was the norm at the time, training was very severe. He trained in Sanchin kata and developed his musculature through weight training using what we now perceive as traditional Okinawan implements. Although the training took its toll, he developed a reputation amongst the locals as one of his master's most skilled students.
He left Foochow and returned to Okinawa after 13 years and began giving private lessons to the sons of the man who granted him passage. He went back to his old job as a merchant, but his reputation was growing, and sailors and travellers from China sought to become his disciples. Just as he had learned from his master, his training was severe and only a few who began would continue.
In 1905 he began teaching at a public high school and was considered alongside Itosu to be the foremost karateka in Okinawa, and he is responsible for developing the Naha-te style, derived from which many of his students went on to form their own systems.
He died at the age of 63 on 23 December 1915 but his legacy lives on through his followers - most notably Chojun Miyagi, the founder of Goju Ryu, and Kenwa Mabuni, the founder of Shito Ryu.
Goju Ryu karate was founded by Chojun Miyagi in the late 1920's. He was born in Naha, Okinawa, on 25 April 1888, and his teacher was Kanryo Higaonna, the founder of Naha-te.
Go means "hard" and Ju means "soft" - hence Goju Ryu is translated as "Hard and Soft way". It is a blend of Okinawan Te "Hard" and Shaolin Kung Fu "Soft" with emphasis on the White Crane style. Other Chinese influences include Pakua Chang, I Chuan, and Tai Chi Chuan, which Sensei Miyagi studied on several trips into the Chinese Mainland.
Goju Ryu is a close-range self-defence system characterised by circular blocks, joint manipulations, and kicking techniques to lower body parts. Dynamic tension and breathing are major elements in its training, incorporated into many of the kata.
Sensei Miyagi died at the age of 65 on 8 October 1953.
(Excerpted from Sensei Arnold de Beer's book "Insight into Goju-Ryu", printed October 1998)