International Okinawan Gōjū-Ryū Karate-dō Federation (IOGKF), is an international
Martial Art
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...
organization covering
Gōjū-ryū
, 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 used by Okinawan masters dur ...
Karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
.International Goju Ryu Karate Federation Retrieved on 16 February 2010. It was founded by
Morio Higaonna
is a prominent Okinawan karate practitioner who is the founder and former Chief Instructor of the International Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate-do Federation (IOGKF).Morio Higaonna: History Retrieved on 16 February 2010.Sajnog, C. L. (2004): ''Fundamentals of freestyle Goju-Ryu''. College Station, TX: VBW Publishing. () The IOGKF was established for the purpose of protecting and preserving the traditional Gōjū-ryū karate style of
Okinawa
is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi).
Naha is the capital and largest city ...
n as an intangible cultural treasure in its original form as passed on by Gōjū-ryū founder, Chojun Miyagi. In 2012 Higaonna took up an advisory role within the Federation and appointed Tetsuji Nakamura as his successor and chief instructor of IOGKF International. Ernie Molyneux and Henrik Larsen were also promoted to IOGKF Vice Chief Instructor at the same time and together the three formed the IOGKF International executive committee. In 2022 at the age of 84, Higaonna Sensei stood down from his role of Supreme Master and IOGKF.
Membership
Since its formation, the IOGKF has grown to have more than 55 affiliated countries and over 75,000 members worldwide.Sidney, J. (Ed.) (2003): ''The Warrior's Path: Wisdom from contemporary martial arts masters''. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications. () IOGKF Membership https://iogkf.com/iogkf-history/
Structure
IOGKF Structure:International Goju Ryu Karate Federation: IOGKF structure /ref>
* Founder of the IOGKF: Morio Higaonna
* World Chief Instructor & Chairman: Tetsuji Nakamura
* IOGKF Vice Chief Instructors: Ernie Molyneux and Henrik Larsen
* IOGKF Executive Committee: Tetsuji Nakamura, Ernie Molyneux, Henrik Larsen and Jorge Monteiro.
* IOGKF Advisors: Katsuya Yamashiro, Joe Roses, Luis Nunes, Pervez Mistry.
* IOGKF Technical Committee: Sydney Leijenhorst, Torben Svendsen, Paolo Spongia, Linda Merchant, Andy Franz.