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History of USAGF Karate
A Karate style is similar to a family tree. The founder is the base or trunk of the tree, the high-ranking black belts make up the limbs and the students are the branches and twigs who later, as the tree grows, become the limbs.
The USAGF style of Karate traces its roots back to the Gojuryu style which was originated by Chojun Miyagi. Miyagi combined the strong snap techniques of the Okinawan styles and the soft techniques of Chinese Kenpo to create Goju. The name Goju is a combination of two Japanese words, “GO” meaning hard and “JU” meaning soft indicating that the Goju Style is “the way of hard and soft.”
The Chief Grandmaster of the Japanese Gojuryu Karate was Gogen Yamaguchi. He was the primary disciple of Chojun Miyagi and is known to westerners as “the cat.” Disciples and students of Yamaguchi included Masutatsu Oyama, Richard Kim, Peter Urban, and many others. After receiving his master’s degree in Japan, Peter Urban returned to the United States and founded Urban Goju (also known as the United States of America Goju Association or USAGA). Today there are many American Styles of Goju Karate and they have all, in some way, stemmed from Master Urban.
Master Kelljchian studied under Master Joseph Hess and received his master’s degree from Grand Master Peter Urban. Master Kelljchian went on to establish the United States of America Goju Federation (USAGF), which is one of the largest Martial Arts organizations in Florida. Master Kelljchian has authored several books, has received countless awards, has appeared in magazines, newspapers and on TV, but his greatest reward is the love and respect of his students. He has dedicated his life to Karate and he is destined to live the way of the warrior forever. |
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