The origins of karatedo go back to the ancient travels of Buddhist monks throughout the Asian frontier. Unarmed and oppressed; it became necessary for them to develop a weaponless form of self-defense for their survival.



Merchants travelling south from China to the RyuKyu islands; or Okinawa; brought with them this art of the ‘Chinese Hand’ or ‘To-De’ (later to be called karate-empty hand).



During this time Japan invaded these islands and its warriors found themselves confronted by the fierce retaliation of skilled practitioners of this secret art.



In the late 1800’s; an enthusiastic Okinawan youngster by the name of Chojun Miyagi became well-skilled in the art and determined to know more. He was advised to travel to China to study the many different methods of martial arts. His search lead him to the hard school of Shaolin Chuan; the soft school of Pakua Chan; and from these two he developed his own style of Goju; hard and soft. He advocated that both the hard and the soft complimented each other and he created the Sanchin and Tensho, a formal exercise which combined both these elements.



Also featured in the style is the breathing exercise known as Ibuki, which incorporates external breathing, Yo ibuki; a strong vocal hiss which emphasizes dynamic tension, and internal breathing. In Ibuki, which is nasal and is performed with techniques. The use of this exercise creates deep abdominal development and rejuvenation of energy. The whole body is exercised both internally and externally.



The student of Chojun Myagi; the carpenter Murata; traveled to Japan and began to teach. One of his students was a young man who was agile, fast and strong and had a reputation for being a deceptive fighter, giving no ground to any adversary. He was known as the ‘Cat’, because of his favorite fighting stance, Neko ashi kamae (cat-stance). His name was Gogen Yamaguchi. He soon proved to be a man of credibility and initiative and became highly respected in karate circles in Japan.



He systemized the style into basically the system used all over the world today, and organized the style into its current organization, Goju Kai (Kai meaning organization).



On his deathbed, the old master Miyagi called for all the senior members of Goju Kai and announced to them his choice of a successor. It was then that Gogen Yamaguchi became 10th Dan and the Grand Master of Goju Kai – the Kaicho.



At about this time, Japan was occupied by the American Forces and many American servicemen became attracted to this dynamic art, and in particular to the well-organized school of Gogen Yamaguchi, and then brought home to America the discipline they had learned. Miyagi had visited Hawaii in 1930 and then Yamaguchi traveled to Hawaii on the invitation of Instructor Masaichi Oshiro of the Hawaiian Goju Kai school in 1966. It was there that the head of our style, Hanshi Tino Ceberano, first met Yamaguchi in his local humble dojo. He had decided to live in Australia with his Australian wife and asked for Yamaguchi's blessing to open a dojo in Australia. The Master agreed and so the Goju Kai was established in Melbourne in late 1966.



From small beginnings the school has grown substantially and has been visited twice by Master Yamaguchi and his son Goshi Yamaguchi before Master Yamaguchi's passing in 1989. Hanshi Tino Ceberano is well known as the 'father of Australian Karate.' With the passing of Master Yamaguchi without leaving a defined successor, Hanshi Tino Ceberano has continued to develop Goju; however, the style remains basically as it was taught by Miyagi, and progressive training methods have been given added enhancement. Karate has become not only a means of self-defense but an effective way of acquiring and enhancing both physical and mental health and discipline for all people.