Lineage
An unbroken line from Okinawa to Sydney.
Four teachers, each a direct student of the one before. Every student who bows into the dojo is the next link.
剛柔流 · Gōjū-ryū
剛 gō, hard. 柔 jū, soft. 流 ryū, style. The banners in the 1984 photograph carry the same three characters the dojo trains under today.
The style
What Goju Ryu is
Goju Ryu — the hard-soft style — is one of the traditional Okinawan schools of karate. It pairs powerful, linear techniques (go, hard) with circular, flowing movement (ju, soft).
The style is built on breathing, close-range fighting and the development of body and mind together. Practitioners learn to be soft when softness is called for and hard when it isn't.
Both our dojos teach the curriculum as it was handed down through this lineage, so a student at Carlingford and a student at Concord learn the same kata, the same way.
The chain
Teacher to student, four times over
- 01
Chojun Miyagi
Founder of Goju Ryu
1888–1953
Founded Goju Ryu — the 'hard-soft' style — in Okinawa, combining the island's fighting methods with the Chinese systems he studied in Fujian.
- 02
Gogen Yamaguchi
'The Cat'
1909–1989
Miyagi's student, who brought Goju Ryu to mainland Japan and gave the style its philosophical framework. Known as 'The Cat' for the way he moved.
- 03
Gonnohyoue Yamamoto
Soshihan
b. 1938
A direct student of Yamaguchi, Yamamoto Soshihan carried Goju Ryu internationally. He has taught at the Concord dojo on visits in 2013, 2019, 2023 and 2024.
- 04
Andrew Roubas
Shihan · 9th Dan · founder
Sydney, since 1984
A student of Yamamoto Soshihan, Shihan Roubas founded this academy in 1984 and has taught Goju Ryu in Sydney for more than forty years.
- 05
You
The next link
Every student who steps onto the floor joins this line and carries it forward. Your first class is free.
Hard and soft
The two halves of the style
- 剛 · Go · hard
- Powerful linear strikes and blocks
- Strong stances and direct movement
- Physical strength and conditioning
- Committed, decisive technique
- 柔 · Ju · soft
- Circular, flowing movement
- Redirecting an opponent's force
- Flexibility and adaptability
- Breathing and internal energy
Still taught by the source
Yamamoto Soshihan, at the Concord dojo, 2024.
The lineage isn't a wall chart. Soshihan has taught at the dojo on his visits to Sydney, most recently in April 2024, and the dojo's instructors have trained at the Hombu Dojo in Tokyo.
Join the line.
Your first class is free, at either dojo. No experience needed.
Ages 8+ & adults · Concord & Carlingford