According to martial arts historians, Goju Ryu (literally the hard-soft style originated on the island of Okinawa. Its founder, Chojun Miyagi (1888-1953) established the style in 1929 by combining the Okinawan empty hand (or Te) styles of the island’s two major regions, Naha and Shuri, with Chinese White Crane Kung Fu. Master Miyagi began studying Naha-te at the age of 14 under the instruction of Kanryo Higaonna (sometimes written as Higashionna).
As a young boy Master Higaonna (1853-1917) had trained in the art of Shuri-te and later in the art of Chinese Kempo (from Seisho Arakaki). At the age of 23, Higaonna decided to travel to Fukien province in China to further his training in Chinese Martial arts. For 13 years, Higaonna trained daily in basic techniques, breathing methods, kata (including Sanchin), and fighting skills under teachers including Ryu Ryo Ko and Wan Shin Zan. He returned to Okinawa after this period and began teaching a new style Karate that combined Shuri-te with the kata and fighting skills he had learned in China. Higaonna referred to his style as Shorei-ryu (Enlightened Spirit style) and more commonly as Naha-te (Naha hand). His top disciple was Chojun Miyagi.
Master Miyagi trained with Master Higaonna for 13 years. At the age of 27, Master Miyagi traveled to China to try and find his teacher’s Chinese instructors. Though he was unsuccessful, Master Miyagi spent a year training with several Chinese martial artists, especially in the White Crane style. Shortly after Master Miyagi’s return to Japan, Master Higaonna died of an illness. Master Miyagi began to teach at this time, combining the Naha-te of Higaonna with techniques and kata adapted from the Chinese White Crane style. In 1926, Miyagi, and other leading martial arts instructors in the Naha area, established the Karate Research Club to explore Karate basics, kata, fitness and philosophy. In 1929, recognized as a leading authority on Nah-te, Miyagi began teaching his style at the Naha Prefectural Police dojo. His strong reputation led to invitations to demonstrate his style before foreign dignitaries and at tournaments and universities in Japan, China and Hawaii.