Gōjū-ryū (剛柔流) is one of the main traditional Okinawan styles of karate, featuring a combination of hard and soft techniques.  Gō, which means hard, refers to closed hand techniques or straight linear attacks; jū, which means soft, refers to open hand techniques and circular movements. Gōjū-ryū incorporates both circular and linear movements into its curriculum, combining hard striking attacks such as kicks and close hand punches with softer open hand circular techniques.

It was established by Chojun Miyagi in 1930 and incorporates White Crane Kung Fu techniques learnt by his Sensei, Kanryo Higoanno in Fuzhou, Southern China from Ryu Ryu Ko in the late 1800’s.

This style has been then handed down to Anichi Miyagi and subsequently to Grand Master Morio Higaonna 10th Dan. Higaonna Sensei is widely considered to be the finest and most formidable Karate-ka of our generation. He formed the IOGKF in 1979 and TOGKF in 2022. On 8 May 2013, the Okinawan Government presented him with an award and title recognising him as an Intangible Cultural Treasure of Okinawa, the highest an individual may receive in Japan for martial arts .