History

There are many styles of Japanese Karate, and all of them originated on the island of Okinawa.

In the beginning, there were three schools, all of which were named after the city that had fostered the style. The original schools of Tomari-te and Shuri-te were unified into the style now known as Shorin-Ryu.

The original school of Naha-te remained in its pure form and evolved into the present day Goju-Ryu.

Today, Goju-Ryu is one of four main traditional karate styles widely practiced in Japan and worldwide.

The school of Goju-Ryu Karate was founded by Master Chojun Miyagi.

Master Miyagi chose the name "Goju" from the principal of Chinese martial arts. "Go" means hard or resilient; "Ju" means soft or yielding.

Goju-Ryu karate is the hard-soft style of karate where the powerful techniques of Go are based on the hard external style of Shaolin Chaun while the yielding techniques of Ju follows the soft Pakua-Chan empty-hand fighting styles of China.

In Goju-Ryu Karate, the power of the strikes and blocks is developed from speed and focus.

Seiwa-Kai Goju-Ryu Karate was established in Calgary in 1979.

Presently, the club has five branches located in northwest and southwest Calgary. The club offers classes for beginners, children, and adults.

All students of Seiwa-Kai Goju-Ryu Karate are members of the National Karate Association and Karate Alberta Association.