Gōjū-ryū

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Gōjū-ryū techniques

Gōjū-ryū is Japanese for "hard-soft style." It is one of the main traditional Okinawan styles of karate.[1] Gōjū-ryū uses a combination of hard and soft techniques.[2] Both principles, hard and soft, come from the famous martial arts book used by Okinawan masters during the 19th and 20th centuries, the Bubishi (Chinese: 武備志; pinyin: Wǔbèi Zhì).[3] , which means hard, refers to closed hand techniques or straight linear attacks. , which means soft, refers to open hand techniques and circular movements. Gōjū-ryū uses both circular and linear movements. It combines hard striking attacks such as kicks. It also uses close hand punches with softer open hand circular techniques. These are used for attacking, blocking, and controlling the opponent. This includes locks, grappling, takedowns and throws.

References[change | change source]

  1. Robert Rousseau. "A History and Style Guide of Goju-Ryu Karate". About Sports. About, Inc. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  2. Seikichi Toguchi, Okinawan Goju-Ryu: Fundamentals of Shorei-Kan Karate (Burbank, CA: Ohara Publications, 1976), p. 14
  3. "Gojuryu Karatedo Kobudo GIKKU YUZENKAI 剛柔流 空手道 古武道 勇善会 Japan international karatedo kobudo union 厚木市 空手道場". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-09-17.