剛柔流 · strength and softness
Two principles. One complete practice.
Goju-Ryu brings together firmness and adaptation, tension and fluidity, action and breath.
剛
GO
Strength · firmness · determination
柔
JU
Softness · flexibility · adaptation
GO → JU → GO
The principles alternate, relate and transform. Breath gives them rhythm and unity.
ORIGINS · NAHA
From Naha to Okinawakan
An art transmitted across generations, preserving ancient principles while remaining a living practice.
1853–1915
Kanryo Higaonna
A decisive figure in Naha-te. His studies in Fuzhou, southern China, and later teaching in Naha helped form the technical foundation from which Goju-Ryu would emerge.
1888–1953
Chojun Miyagi
A disciple of Higaonna, he deepened and organised the system. Around 1930 he named it Goju-Ryu — the school of hard and soft — integrating kata, breathing, conditioning and application into a coherent practice.
1922–1999
Eiichi Miyazato
One of Miyagi’s principal students and a central figure in preserving Okinawan Goju-Ryu. In the 1950s he founded the Jundokan in Naha, training practitioners who would carry the tradition beyond the island.
1927–
Kiichi Nakamoto
A direct student of Chojun Miyagi, Kiichi Nakamoto is a 10th Dan and the founder’s last living student. His presence spans the development of post-war Goju-Ryu to the present, providing a direct human connection to the system’s origin.
PORTUGAL · PRESENT
Jaime Sequeira Pereira
A foundational and indispensable figure in Portuguese Goju-Ryu, Jaime Sequeira Pereira is Hanshi — master of masters — and holds the highest karate rank in Portugal. A student of Kiichi Nakamoto, he is technical director of Ikigai Dojo and a living reference for Okinawakan in Portugal.
A LIVING CONNECTION
Miyagi → Nakamoto → Jaime Pereira → Ikigai Dojo
Kiichi Nakamoto leads the Goju-ryu Okinawakan Karatedo Kyokai and is the current teacher of Jaime Sequeira Pereira. Through Jaime, this transmission also forms a secondary line in Mário Azevedo’s training.
The full history is made of several lines of transmission. Here we mark the essential milestones of the tradition followed at Ikigai Dojo and the direct connection that remains alive today.
Elements of practice
Kihon · Kata · Kumite · Bunkai · Breathing / Ibuki
They are not isolated parts. Each element helps illuminate the others, from fundamental movement to application, from relationship with another person to mastery of breath.