was a Gojū Ryū

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

teacher who was born in Naha. At age 13 he began to study under

Higaonna Kanryō , and sometimes known as Higashionna West to distinguish him from his cousin, was a Ryukyuan martial artist who founded a fighting style known at the time as Naha-te. He is recognized as one of the first students of Fujian White Crane Kung Fu ...

until Higaonna's death 4 years later. Higaonna had three students at the time: Juhatsu Kyoda (1887–1968), Chojun Miyagi (1888–1953), and Seko Higa (1898–1966). Kyoda went on to create his style, To'on Ryu, and Miyagi assumed the mantle of Higaonna's legacy. Higa, a policeman at the time, continued his studies with Miyagi Chōjun for 38 years until Miyagi's death. In 1931, Higa retired from the police force and opened his dojo in the Kumoji section of Naha. Only four students of Miyagi's were allowed to open a dojo while the master was still alive: Seko Higa, Jin'an Shinzato, Jinsei Kamiya, and Meitoku Yagi. In 1935, Higa went to the island of Saipan to teach Goju-ryu at the request of a friend. The move was not successful and Higa returned to Okinawa two years later. Seko Higa - Shodokan Goju-Ryu

Among Higa's students were Choboku Takamine, his son Seikichi Higa (who carried on his father's ''

dojo A is a hall or place for immersive learning, experiential learning, or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts. The term literally means "place of the Tao, Way" in Japanese language, Japanese. History The word ''d� ...

'' in

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

), Kanki Izumigawa who spread Goju-Ryu in mainland Japan Kawasaki area,

Seiichi Akamine Seiichi (written: , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese karateka *, Japanese cult member *, Japanese politician *, Japanese photographer *, Japanese philosopher *, Japanese art di ...

(creator of the Ken-Shin-Kan, spread Karate-do in South America). Seikichi Toguchi (creator of the ''Shoreikan''), Zenshu Toyama (creator of the ''Shinjikan''), Choyu Kiyuna, Seitoku Matayoshi, Seiko Fukuchi (1919–1975), Eiki Kurashita, Zensei Gushiken, Izumi, Hokama Tetsuhiro and others that carried on the ''Goju-ryu Kokusai Karate Kobudo Renmei''. The Goju-ryu Kokusai Karate Kobudo Renmei ("Goju-ryu International Karate Kobudo Federation") is a tightly knit organization founded by Seko Higa and run with corporate efficiency with a president, vice-president, and secretary. Its first president was Seiko Higa himself, who ran it from 1960 to 1966. The next president was Uemon Tetsuo, who ran it from 1966 to 1967; the third generation was Takamine Choboku, who held office from 1967 to 1989. Higa's son, Sekichi, was president in 1990. The fifth-generation president was Eiki Kurashita until 2007. Zensei Gushiken took office in 2008. He held his office till 2019 when Akira Gushi was appointed to be the current president of the Renmei. True to its name and to the founder's vision, Higa's Federation is international in scope: it has branch dojos in Japan, Hong Kong, France, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Russia and North America. In recent years branch directors (Shibucho) were appointed in Canada (Yaro Tarana), Czech Republic (Mirek Brokes) and Slovakia (Erik Stefak).

References

Okinawan male karateka 1898 births 1966 deaths People from Naha Gōjū-ryū practitioners Place of death missing {{Japan-karate-bio-stub