Original subtitles

Okanawa, mysterious island, mysterious country, not even a country, a whole world

for karate fans and all lovers of traditional martial arts.

Anyone who has been here before always wants to come back and those who have not

been here dream to come to this place someday.

And as a rule, Okanawa doesn't leave anyone disappointed.

Clean air, unusual silence, smiling open people.

All of this calms you down, helps to stop, relax, take

a deep breath and move forward again, reinvigorated.

Many coming to Okanawa understand that they become renewed, their feelings become

calmer, and the view of the world becomes cleaner.

And this is the magical power of the island, not so similar.

Not only to the rest of the world, but even to central Japan, which it is a part of.

If you have never been to Okanawa and you think that the

whole island is a small cosy village, you are deeply mistaken.

The island is more than 1200 square kilometers

and it is the fifth largest island in Japan.

It has 11 cities and the capital of the prefecture of Okanawa, the city of Naha,

is a truly delightful and amazing site.

There is a modern monorail, great service, excellent infrastructure, delicious food,

and again, the people.

And no less surprising.

It was in this place that the extremely effective and popular today martial art,

Karate, was born.

These people, who are so responsive and kind in the streets, become very serious

in the halls, where strict discipline reigns, extreme overcoming of oneself.

It is those two.

Some people, who like the island's guardians, do

not forget the Okanawa's fighting spirit down.

There are a lot of them.

But among these Karate monuments, one stands out.

His name is Morio Higaona.

Would you describe yourself as a violent man or a gentleman?

Yes.

So, if I were to ask you why you carry weapons with you all the time,

you carry weapons and refer into your hands.

No, no, no, no, no, sense, the other side of your hands.

From now, back to the Orient.

Gojuryu is a style of karate from Okinawa.

Famous for its very powerful close range fighting techniques.

It is perhaps the best known of the Okinawan systems.

A master Mario Higuano is one of the most famous teachers of Gojuryu.

Every three years, Master Higuano gathers his best instructors and faithful

followers, and together is one they line up

and touch the real spirit of Okinawan karate.

More than 1,000 participants from all over the

world came to the 7th International Budosai.

This was the most important event in the life

of the Federation and the whole of Okinawa.

Perhaps there is no other organization in Okinawa that can hold such an event.

This certainly confirms that Morio Higuano is

one of the greatest masters of modern karate.

Despite his age, the strength of his karate is amazing.

His presence in the hole alone is a huge motivation for everyone.

From the white belt to the 8th Dan, he does not tolerate

laziness in a negligent attitude towards karate.

He is a living legacy of the covenants of the old

masters, and that is why his karate is flawless.

But to come to such a level, he takes years of painful

work, attentive attitude towards his students, and your way.

This way does not forgive laziness or weakness.

Every second of his life, Sensei Higuano has devoted to his main passion,

Goduru, and in the presence of such a person, a living legend in the world of karate.

Every student wants to give all his strength to prove by diligence and

persistence that he is worthy of his teacher.

The history of Morio Higuano Go Juru Karate has more than a dozen years,

and every month, every day, his karate marks the Okinawan spirit, which

influenced the activities of the entire organization, without lowering the bar and

preserving the unshakable traditions of the island of Okinawa.

This is the seventh world put aside that we have hosted in Okinawa.

Before 1998, we hosted the World Championship in Okinawa as well.

However, we don't do tournaments in Okinawa anymore.

The main objective of our event is to preserve traditional karate.

And by doing so, we want to create friendship and peace.

At this event, we train together.

Then we have masters demonstrations where people will

see the highest level of traditional karate performances.

And we have a Sayonara Party, where each country performs an aspect of their own

culture, and deepens our understanding of each other and promotes friendship.

In karate training, we understand each other and build friendship regardless of

any differences in background, such as culture, language, religion,

color of skin, political beliefs, et cetera.

The International Okinawan Gojuru Karate Do Federation, or

IOGKF, was established in July of 1979 by Morio Higano-Sensei.

The IOGKF was established for protecting and preserving traditional Okinawan Gojuru

Karate Do as an intangible cultural treasure in its original form,

as passed on by the Gojuru founder, Chojun Miyagi, and

spreading this art throughout the nations of the world.

Since its formation, the teachings of Morio Higano-Sensei have been spread

around the world, and the IOGKF has now more than 55

affiliated countries and over 75,000 members worldwide.

The IOGKF is one of the few karate organizations that the Japanese government

recognizes as a true Japanese traditional martial arts organization.

But the most important are the leading instructors of

the organization brought up by Sensei Higano-Sensei.

They, along with their Okinawan mentor, are the core of the whole organization

transferring knowledge and experience to their students.

And perhaps the main feature of Udo-Sai as a place

of Gojuru Karate concentration is in this knowledge.

It should be noted that Gojuru Karate is primarily

about the nuances of techniques that forge mastery.

Look at your skills and abilities from a new angle.

Gain experience in one place from the leading instructors

of the organization and finally find your Gojuru.

And so the Okinawan Karate appeared.

It was a long process.

The history of Gojuru knew many masters who had a great influence on the

development and establishment of the style.

And this story is inextricably linked with the history of the whole island.

Gojuru, like a lot in the culture of Okinawa, has Chinese roots.

A few

centuries ago, Okinawa, or more correctly the Rooku Kingdom,

had closed ties with China, political, economic, and cultural.

The embassies of the Emperor of China were not a

rare phenomenon at the core of the Rooku's kings.

And together with them, ordinary people of the heavenly empire often settled on the

island, gradually sharing their knowledge and experience with the local population.

This happened also in the field of martial arts.

Thus, Okinawan Karate was born, which however, in those faraway times,

was called tode, the hand of the Tang dynasty.

But this was not the reason for the creation of Gojuru Karate, well,

at least indirectly.

The origins of the style lie in China, where the future master, Kanuro Higawana,

went to learn the secrets of Chinese martial arts.

And much later, his best pupil and successor, Miyagi Children, having

reworked this teacher's knowledge, created a system called Gojuru.

It is with the name of this man that the spread of style in Okinawa is connected.

He was a true master, for whom Karate was not just a system of self-defense,

but a tool for education of personality.

He equally assessed both the technical skills

and the personal qualities of each student.

Such an example could not be left without attention.

The ideas of Master Miyagi still resonate in the hearts of his followers.

At present, the inhabitants of the island feel great warmth

towards their Chinese neighbors and their common history.

A beautiful Chinese park was created to honor it, with

the monument dedicated to the founders of Gojuru nearby.

Symbolic, isn't it?

The

founder of our style, Miyagi Children's Sensei, said, do not harm others.

Karate is used only for self-defense.

The main objective of Karate training is to become a better person.

Karate is not for attacking others.

Through Karate training, we challenge ourselves.

We train to overcome our weaknesses.

In our organization, the country may host its own tournaments.

For example, in 2010, we had the IOGKF World Championships in Cape Town,

South Africa.

However, as Okinawa is the origin of Karate, we will not host a tournament here.

Gojuru started in Okinawa.

I want to maintain the philosophy of our founder, Miyagi Children's Sensei.

Children's Sensei was a great master, and I want to preserve his teachings.

This is the reason why we do not host the tournament in Okinawa.

Instead of competing against each other, we train together, deepen our

understanding of each other, build friendships,

and pass the art on to the next generation.

And it is not just words.

The organization of Higao No Sensei is a really one big family.

Well, very big and very friendly.

Keep in due respect to all Sensei, the atmosphere among

all members of the organization is casual and friendly.

And this cannot but bribe.

Sincere smiles and real warmth can be filled in every word and gesture.

Such respect and love are not given for nothing.

They need to be earned, regardless of rank or social status.

And being in such an atmosphere, it is not only pleasant, but also useful.

The person, his thoughts, his feelings change.

Being close to the best masters of modern karate, seeing their sincere attitude

towards their colleagues' friends' students, you start to wonder whether you

correspond to such high standards of humanity.

The answer cannot always please, but will leave to change to become better,

not only in karate, but in life.

And when you see such examples before yourself, it's easy to do it.

But the organization of Morio Higao No is a family, not only in the figurative,

but also the literal sense of the word.

This grandiose event was attended by a real, sincere family.

Alana Higao Anana and his son, Eric, are worthy continue of his father's traditions.

In such moments, you understand what an extremely modest person

Sensei Higahona is and how sincerely his students love him.

But it's one thing to be a student, and another thing to be his son.

For me, Higona Sensei, first as my father, ever

since a young age, I kind of saw him as just dad.

And we would always go to different countries, and he

would teach karate to many different types of people.

But I always just saw him as a father, because I didn't understand the importance

of karate and self-defense that he taught from such a young age.

I can only see it, but I couldn't understand it.

It wasn't until I was older, maybe when I became a teenager, I started to finally

understand a little bit how important karate is in self-defense.

Not just for military and police, but also for regular people every day,

defending themselves physically, but also mentally, learning how to be

confident and knowing that they can defend themselves if

they had the opportunity where they might get attacked.

And so when I started to understand that, when I started becoming an adult,

then I started to have a lot more respect for my father as a karate instructor,

because he was doing so much good for so many people around the world.

Yeah, I didn't get that level of understanding until I was in my 20s.

After all, the relationship between a father

and the son best characterized as a person.

Eric Higona is the new generation of traditional karate followers.

Master Gojuru, modest, open person, nevertheless is

very sensitive to changes in the world of martial arts.

It should be noted that Eric is a good fighter in the system of mixed martial

arts who repeatedly proves his skills in the tournaments.

But his sincerity about Gojuru karate is really endearing.

Perhaps his dedication to the cause, to which his father, Morio Higona,

devoted his life, makes us believe that karate is something

more than a set of blocks, punctures and physical exercises.

This is the formula of life.

Karate, first of all, is a relationship between people in the hall at

competitions, at work, and most importantly in the family.

If there is no peace, trust or respect in the family, then the rest of life most

likely will be like a bad road, restless, nervous and shaking.

And along such a road, as in your life, you

will not go far, and you will not achieve money.

But life is something unpredictable, sometimes one can be born to a family,

and sometimes you can come to a family.

Still, a family remains a family.

This bullseye has a special meaning.

Two years ago, Higan sense was hospitalized, and he was really ill.

And he stopped traveling the last two years.

So many people around the world didn't see Higan sense for a long time.

And I think this time, we have over 1,000 people coming from 40 countries.

And, of course, everybody, the main purpose is they want to run from Higan sense.

And the purpose of this event is to try to spread and preserve, try to go to the way

it was taught, from Choyo Mi'ak sensei to Aichi

Mi'ak sensei, Aichi Mi'ak sensei to Higona sensei.

Not just technique, but it's the philosophy.

Well, if you really talk about the philosophy of Okinawa, it is better to do

it walking along the island with something to see and think about.

It is probably impossible to understand karate

if you don't try to learn about the Okinawans.

They are attitude to life, to themselves, and to us.

We are so funny and alien to them, so fussy

and confused by strange thoughts and concerns.

In the past, the people of Okinawa have been through a lot of adversities and trials.

And despite all that, they have preserved in their hearts the Okinawan spirit.

Life is the main treasure.

Unlikely inhabitants of central Japan who keep a sword in the family alcove,

the Okinawans keep a musical instrument of salsin and compose songs about joy and

sadness and express their feelings through dance.

These cultural features, the attitude of the Okinawans to the surrounding world,

had a tremendous impact on the formation of karate as a unique system of

personality education within the framework

of the military culture that came from China.

No matter how times change, no matter how the world and society change, we can say

with confidence, Okinawan karate will continue to develop with new dojos

bringing around the world, surprising people, making them want to engage in a

conversation both with themselves and with their teachers and colleagues.

A conversation implies the ability not only to speak but

also to listen and therefore to hear and to understand.

And you cannot understand if you shy away from arguments.

You cannot understand if you are unwilling to hear.

You cannot hear if you shout at each other.

And you cannot talk to the enemy.

This is the way.

The path of knowledge, difficult and thorny, a path of errors and falls.

But the opportunity to remain human, to improve and discover new boundaries,

an endless world of Okinawan martial arts and traditions.

For example, the castle of the Ruku Shuri Kingdom, the main attraction of the

island, destroyed during the Second World War, resurrected

as a phoenix to a life with no place for cruelty.

There is a place for a smile and a sincere desire to teach.

What?

What?

Sensei Tetsuji Nakamura, the man entrusted by Master Higohan to fulfill a lifetime's

duty of protecting traditional gojuru and passing it on to the next generation.

In July 2012, Sensei, he announced to his senior students around the world that he

would be passing the flame of gojuru to Sensei Nakamura, and

man who has been one of his closest and most loyal students.

You take him over here.

She's like, yeah, all the time.

That's going back to my university time.

I was practicing different type of gojuru.

And I was very lucky to find one master in Okinawa.

His name was Shuichi Alagaki Sensei.

And he was an ordinary student of children's sciences, a founder of gojuru.

And actually, originally, I came to Okinawa to train with Shuichi Alagaki Sensei.

But Shuichi Alagaki Sensei did not have gojuru.

And he introduced him to gojuru.

And also, he told me, this is the best master in the world in gojuru.

You train this gojuru.

And that's how I started building gojuru Sensei.

But back then, I had no idea who he is.

Gojuru says about living in California, and he came after...

I became a student of gojuru Sensei.

And eventually, I was asked to come to California

to become a jideishi and as an instructor.

And since then, I'm very close to gojuru Sensei for many, many years, two days,

two days.

And I'm still daily writing from him.

For many decades, Sensei Nakamura has studied

gojuru under the guidance of Morio Higone.

But what does it mean?

What distinguishes such training from what ordinary students are used to?

In karate, as in the art of self-defense, it is not theoretical knowledge,

but the smallest nuances that are transmitted from hand to hand that are important.

Long training that hardens not only the body, but also the spirit.

A few years ago, Sensei Morio Higone was in a hospital.

The situation was very difficult, and literally the

whole world held its breath hoping for the best.

And it happened.

And the great master is back in the hall, his face

is concentrated, and the movements are powerful.

And this is gojuru karate.

It is impossible to live outside of karate.

It does not happen apart from life.

It cannot end when there are still strengths and opportunities.

And perhaps this is the main challenge for any person.

To be in line, to be always a little better than you were.

And the applause with which Sensei was awarded is the best truth of this.

I see gojuru in the world as a self-defense art.

And it is an art that is very applicable to many different styles.

You can use it for self-defense, and you can use it for military training.

But you can also use it for MMA.

I view MMA as martial arts, part martial arts, part sports.

The focus of many mixed martial arts or MMA gyms is for sport.

And not so much self-defense.

Some are geared towards self-defense.

And the way I view gojuru is very multi-purpose.

Like I was saying, self-defense.

It can be confidence building.

It can be unifying.

But it can also be the techniques that gojuru

can apply to a sport like mixed martial arts.

There is a lot in gojuru.

Tactics, technique, and physical condition.

Everything the real martial art cannot exist without.

But there is an even more important component.

The man.

It is the personality that fills with meaning, the hardest training,

pain, overcoming oneself.

Gojuru Karate is a constant work with oneself, with weaknesses and laziness.

And in this battle, everyone who practices karate is found to win.

Because it's karate of Sensei Morio Higano.

Buddha Sai is the best proof that gojuru karate does not lose its relevance today.

And everyone finds something in it.

For some, it is a challenge to oneself and their abilities.

To some, it is the way to learn how to fight.

And for others, it is the opportunity to touch the traditions of Okinawa.

But to separate the tradition and the present in Okinawa is impossible.

Preservation of traditional values is the most important part of life, both for the

residents of the island and the mission of the government, that supports and

increases in every way the interest in many

cultural aspects matched by nothing in the world.

And such masters of Okinawan karate as Morio Higano is

one of the most valuable treasures of Okinawan culture.

It's not for nothing that a large number of foreigners came to Okinawa just to see

with their own eyes the living legend of

Okinawan karate Morio Higano to speak with him.

To train and to learn not only about karate but also the

calm confidence and wise attitude to life and people.

Undoubtedly, one can say that Okinawan traditional karate is one of the most

powerful tools for forming not just a healthy body but also a high moral level

in those who are sincere and open to new views of the world and culture.

Gojuru karate.

It's not just the art of self-defense but a whole world, a planet named Gojuru.