Okinawa Goju Ryu Karate Kenkyukai

About the Kenkyukai

The Okinawa Goju Ryu Karate Kenkyukai, established by Masaji Taira Sensei (9th dan, Hanshi), is a network of like-minded martial artists dedicated to the research and analysis traditional Okinawa Goju Ryu Karate kata.

The Okinawa Goju Ryu Karate Kenkyukai is a world-wide organization with a Mission to spread our shared understanding of traditional Goju Ryu kata to a new generation of practitioners who will pass on its original teachings while fostering an environment of friendship and solidarity.

Our goal is to research, preserve and promulgate the applications, principles and training methodologies of Okinawa Goju Ryu Karate and their kata.

The Okinawa Goju Ryu Karate Kenkyukai welcomes all qualified candidates who wish to share the nobility and Samurai virtues in the highest form and spirit.

Those who wish to become a member of the Okinawa Goju Ryu Karate Kenkyukai must contact Kyoshi Glenn Cunningham directly at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to be considered for membership. Kyoshi Cunningham is an Official ShibuCho ( chief representative) of the USA appointed by Masaji Taira Sensei (9th dan, Hanshi) as of 2014.

Our Tradition

We teach Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate-Jutsu. Goju-ryu (剛柔流), (Japanese for "hard-soft style") is one of the main traditional Okinawan styles of karate, featuring a combination of hard and soft techniques. Both principles, hard and soft, come from the famous martial arts book Bubishi (Chinese: wu bei ji), used by Okinawan masters during the 19th and 20th centuries. Go which means hard, refers to closed hand techniques or straight linear attacks; Ju which means soft, refers to open hand techniques and circular movements.