Original Author: 吳孟聰(MengTsung Wu, TOGKF Taiwan)
Translator: 張鑒輝(Alex Teo, TOGKF Singapore)
Recently, due to certain circumstances, I came across an article written by Koyama Masashi(小山正辰) Sensei of the All Japan Karate-Do Federation Goju-Kai(全日本空手道連盟剛柔会) on his website, and this prompted me to seriously go through all literature I had previously been too lazy to read through. Later, I also came across some strange remarks by a foreigner of other Karate style, which made me decide to organize and publish the content I had compiled.
Who is Higaonna Kanryō?
Simply put, he was the teacher of Miyagi Chōjun Sensei(the founder of our Goju-ryu Karate style), and is known by titles such as ‘Ashi no Higaonna, meaning Legs Higaonna(足の東恩納)' and 'The Reviver of Modern Naha-te(那霸手中興の祖)'.
He was born in 1853 in Nishimura, Naha, during the Ryukyu Kingdom era, and later passed away in 1915 at the home of his disciple, Miyagi Chōjun(宮城長順) Sensei. It is said that in his youth, he traveled to China, then still part of the Qing Empire, to study martial arts under a man named 'Ryu Ryu Kō(リュウリュウコー)'. However, there are differing accounts about when he went, how long he stayed, and who ‘Ryu Ryu Kō’ was.
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| Higaonna Kanryō(東恩納寛量) |
In pages 1~3 of『The History of Goju-ryu KarateDo(剛柔流空手道史)』written by Higaonna Morio(東恩納盛男) Sensei, it is stated: Higaonna Kanryō Sensei, through the influence of his father and people of Kume(久米) Village, first developed the idea that Chinese martial arts were powerful. Later, his father passed away when Kanryō Sensei was 14 or 15 years old. Believing that one needed great mental and physical strength to survive in troubled times, and driven by his admiration for Chinese martial arts, Kanryō Sensei developed the idea of going to the Qing Empire to study martial arts.
At the age of 15 or 16, he found a way to make this happen and acted on it, he went to Fuzhou where he became a disciple of a man named 'Ryu Ryu Kō'. He trained there until he was 30 years old, and only returned to his now Japanese-ruled homeland under the instruction of his teacher.
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| 『The History of Goju-ryu KarateDo(剛柔流空手道史)』 |
What Higaonna Morio Sensei wrote in the book differs somewhat from the commonly told oral history—or rather, one could say it’s more reserved. Normally, Morio Sensei would say:- One of the main reasons Kanryō Sensei went to the Qing Empire to study martial arts was to become stronger so he could avenge for his father’s death.
- He was only accepted as a disciple by 'Ryu Ryu Kō’ after saving Ryu Ryu Kō’s family, he wasn’t taken in unconditionally or without reason.
- During the course of his training, Kanryō Sensei let go of his desire for revenge, and only then did his teacher tell him he could return home.
However, it’s worth noting that this is the version passed down within the TOGKF(Traditional Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate-do Federation), and there are variations between different schools. That being said, the common thread among all these versions are:- Kanryō Sensei did go to China to study martial arts and stayed there for a considerable period.
- The true identity of his teacher remains unverified even in modern China, only some schools insist with certainty that it was Xie Chongxiang(謝崇祥).
