C.N.G.K. HISTORY

Bodiharma

According to legend, Bodhidharma was born in India during the early 6th century. He traveled from India to the Songshan Mountains, in the Honan province of China, and founded the Shao Lin Temple. The monks at the Temple were weak and in poor condition and thus very vulnerable to attacks from bandits and muggers. Bodhidharma created ch'uan fa to help them improve physically. Bodhidharma taught 18 postures, 2 sutra, and sitting meditation (zazen). The kata include exercises and breathing techniques to foster physical health and strength which were modeled on the movements of animals i.e., the tiger, monkey, leopard, crane, and snake. The sutra were developed to foster mental and spiritual growth. These kata, sutra, and zazen, formed the fundamentals of ch'uan fa, the precursor of

Karate-Do and influence of breathing applications .

Chojun Miyagi

Goju Karate was founded in the late 1920's by Chojun Miyagi. Chojun Miyagi was born on April 25, 1888 in Naha, Okinawa. He studied under Kanryo Higaonna, the founder of Naha-te. “Go" means Hard, and "Ju" means Soft, while Ryu means way or Way of Life, hence the Goju-Ryu translation indicating the “Hard & Soft Way of Life". The Goju-Ryu style is a blend of Okinawan Te (Hard) and Shoalin 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 to the Chinese mainland. Master Miyagi was particularly interested in the breathing exercise of the Zen monks. The breathing aspect is one exercise that distinguishes the Goju school from all others. Breathing methods are used by different martial arts schools, however, they are not quite the same as those of Goju. Returning from intense study in China, Master Miyagi decided to organize a systematical instruction of the art of karate do. He established the Goju school, the first instructional organization in the field of martial arts. This was an advanced stage of instruction, where only self-defense techniques were taught to selected individuals.

Meitoku Yagi

A student of Grandmaster Chojun Miyagi, Yagi Meitoku Dai Sensei founded the Meibukan (Enlightened Warrior) school of Okinawa Goju Ryu Karate in 1927. He developed the Taikyoku training kata and the Kumite drills Rezoku Kumite, Kakome Kumite as well as systematized the Ippon and Nippon Kumite. In the 1980s and 90s after several research trips to Taiwan he also created 5 new kata as per the sacred animals of Taoist cosmology: Seiryu (Blue Dragon, East), Shujako (Red Pheonix, South), Genbu (Black Turtle Warrior, West), Byaku (White Tiger, North), and Tenchi (Tai Chi or Grand Ultimate).

Meitatsu Yagi

is the eldest son of Meitoku Yagi and followed after him as a teacher and practitioner of Karate. Meitatsu was tutored directly by his father, grand master Meitoku Yagi himself. By training under his father for over fifty years, he was groomed and trained to carry on the legacy of Meibukan Gojyu-Ryu Karate.  Currently Meitatsu is the president of the International Meibukan Goju-ryu Karate Association (IMGKA)

Richard Kim

Sensei Richard Kim is considered by many to be one of the most knowledgeable Martial Artists. Born in 1917, he began studying Martial Arts at the age of 6. His training includes Karate-Do, Judo, Shorinji-Ryu, Kempo, Tai Chi, Ba Gwa, and Boxing under many notable teachers. His vast experience in the Martial Arts has been made available to others through his writings and teachings. His students include Peter Urban, Benny Allen, Don Warrener, and Wallace Platt.

Peter Urban

Sensei Peter Urban is a teacher, a writer, a self -employed businessman, and a consulting psychologist. His specialty is the field of martial combatives and their cognates, and he is considered the world's foremost authority on Karate-Do Psychology or Psychotherapy (Philosophical Psychoanalysis of the Martial Arts). He is the head of American Goju Do. Sensei Urban began training in 1953 when he was 18 years old. He had gone to Japan as a sailor in the US navy and stayed for 8 years to study Karate-Do. Sensei Urban started studying in Yokohama with Sensei Richard Kim and then a year later trained with Sensei Yamaguchi and Sensei Mas Oyama in Tokyo. He returned to the States and taught Karate-Do, introducing Goju Ryu to North America. In 1965 he founded his famous China Town Dojo, and established American Goju-Do. Sensei Urban believed that America should have its own endemic Karate-Do style, in much the same way that the Okinawans and Japanese have theirs. He developed an uniquely American style which includes the additions of the Kata Empi Ha and Urban Han. His students include Skipper Ingram, Chuck Merriman, Phil Maldonato, Johnny Cool, Al Gotay, Bob Dalgleish and Wallace Platt. When Sensei Urban turned sixty, he was quoted as saying: "Karate has been very, very good to me and on this day I celebrate that fact forever. The purpose of Karate training is to walk with confidence in your old age. I walk with confidence. I started Karate as a very young child. That is why I walk with confidence today."

Robert Dagleish

Master Bob Dalgleish started his initial training in 1959 under the guidance of Master Masami Tsuruoka, 9th Dan and head instructor of the Chito Ryu style of Karate Do in Toronto, Ontario. Between the years of 1965 and 1967, Master Dalgleish journeyed from Toronto to New York, several times to learn Japanese Goju style under Master Peter Urban. However, Sensei Dalgleish had to start at the bottom and wear a white belt for a period of 2 years and after a 2-week grading period, he was again recognized as his previous rank of 3rd degree black belt by Master Urban. Sensei Dalgleish then retuned to Toronto and introduced the Goju style to Canada via the Eastern Karate Club.  In 1971, Master Dalgleish was granted the 5th degree Black Belt in Goju Ryu and later was granted the Masters' rank of 'Renshi' by Shihan Yamamoto, from Japan.  Master Bob Dalgleish travelled to Sudbury, Ontario in 1970 to establish the Sudbury Goju Kai Karate Dojo, until his death in 1978.  Dalgleish's most senior student and the man who even today is considered to be the senior Goju teacher in Canada is Bill Hind Kyoshi. Bill Hind's school is still operational today --  "Canada Goju" . 

William (Bill) Hind

The Head Instructor for the Canada Goju Karate Association is Hanshi Bill Hind, (9th degree black belt). Hanshi Hind has been training and instructing in martial arts for over 40 years. He is the most senior student of Goju-ryu karate in Canada, having trained longer than any other Canadian.

Jay Purdy

In the 1980s, a Canadian karate student, Jay Purdy travelled to the Meibukan Dojo in Naha, Okinawa, Japan to learn the traditional methods of Goju-ryu Karate. Sensei Jay’s personal experience with Dai Sensei Meitoku Yagi inspired many changes to the way Goju Karate was practiced in Canada.Today, Hanshi Jay Purdy heads the organization of Canada Karate Instructors called Canadian Naha-te Goju Karate. This organization is dedicated to promoting the teaching of Chojun Miyagi through the lineage of Meitoku Yagi.

Tom Cako

Tom Cako, Director of Tri-City Training, began studying Goju karate since he was a young age as a student of Hanshi J Purdy.He established and directs the tri-division company, Tri-City Training which includes Goju Ryu Karate, Olympic Freestyle Wrestling, and physical preparation. For many years, Tom was a competitive athlete in the sport of Amateur Wrestling, where he was able to achieve national status and represent his country in both national and international events.With passion and conviction, Tom continues to develop his own skills and to pursue these disciplines. As Director, Tom Cako is committed to promoting a lifelong, healthy lifestyle in his students, one that focuses on all aspects of their lives.