Why is our Goju..... Goju?

A conversation between Danny Williams and Sensei Lewis. Kindly retold by Danny for the benefit of all DKK students..........

Danny: Here’s a question for you… what is it that makes what you teach, ‘Goju’? Is it solely that the Kata are Goju Kata? Or is it your MA history?

Sensei Lewis:

Hmm, I think I teach proper traditional Karate and what separates us from Shotokan / Wado etc, is that we teach Goju Kata, apart from that they really shouldn’t be too different, but obviously they are due to the development and ideals over the years of original instructors, my instructors, and me.  

My MA history comes into it greatly because I moved away from Kyokushinkai because it wasn’t giving me the answers. Goju Kata has given some answers but also allows me to continue to search for others. I may not even realise I’m looking for answers until an answer hits me… eureka moments.  

I also sometimes think that if we got rid of the Kata, we would be a Jitsu system, but maybe one that couldn’t look into its own and pull things out since there aren’t any clues / stepping stones to be had from Kata.  

The Kata really gives us the longevity of learning as well as the other Kata. 
 
Only 6 Kata including Sanchin up to Shodan. There are still 7 more Kata to look at.

One of the things that I really like about DKK’s Goju, is yours’ and Gavin’s interpretation of what Kata is, and the way you use it as ‘notes’ from the Masters’.  I certainly think you’re right that we would lose a lot if we took out the Kata. So would you agree that the reason we can call it Goju is a combination of the chosen Kata, and the lineage? 

The reason I originally asked, is that I was thinking how many of the techniques you teach are very similar to Muay Thai, and that made me think ‘What is it that separates the systems?’  

I think of myself as a ‘Budo Ka’ that currently studies DKK’s system of Goju Ryu Karate, rather than a Karate Ka. Do you feel the same as you studied lots of different systems? It is by far the most holistic system I’ve trained in, indeed the most holistic I’ve seen! Is that you, or is that Goju?

Sensei Lewis:

Some of our techniques may look a bit Muay Thai, or do they look like us? I don’t think that we’re similar to Thai, kick
and punches are different. If you strip our movement away, I think our techniques are more akin to other Karate systems.

I feel I’m Karateka and proud of it, but I am also DKK Karate which allows an approach that isn’t governed by the syllabus alone and adhere to the Goju way (?) or is it DKK’s way of, if it fits into our Kata basis, ideas and fundamentals, then it’s Goju as we see it… DKK.  

What I’ve studied previously, including non-MA,  like Table Tennis, has a bearing on movement and understanding, but I feel that it was all going towards Goju since the Kyokushin was veering away and going back toward Goju, so maybe
it was inevitable? 

Holistic is probably myself and Gavin, and the way we work together, but we believe in what we do and that it is the backbone, and other ideas / techniques can be added as extra. I feel that Goju as a system is quite holistic, we maybe
more than other Goju associations. Though we feel that Miyagi and his instructor Higaonna both took from other fighting systems. I think they’d applaud what we do; never sit still and think you know it all, keep searching and learning.

I was reminded of how restrictive other systems can be when I went to a Wu Shu class the other week.  In sparring at the end, they were doing nothing that I wasn’t accustomed to except Tobi Yoko Geri. However, in sparring with the instructor, he said afterward that I put in grabs (which kept disabling his movements) which they don’t do, and evidently
can’t deal with!  

I also asked about ground work, but they do that either. Their idea is that as their system is what’s taught to the Chinese army, then when you’re on the ground it’s too late – they’ll pull out a gun.  I tried to make the point that it could be needed on the street, but he wasn’t having any of it!  In thinking about it afterwards, it became obvious that he would be able to
teach a DKK’er very little of practical use. It is the unrestrictive, holistic, learn-from-anywhere attitude of DKK that
appears to be our greatest strength. 

Danny Williams (2nd Kyu Brown Belt)