Yamaguchi Goju Kai England is the official branch of the International Goju Kai Karate-do Association, (I.K.G.A.), which is led by Saiko Shihan Goshi Yamaguchi - President of I.K.G.A. (Son of Kaiso / Gogen Yamaguchi). Yamaguchi Goju Kai England is a Member of I.K.G.A. Europe which is led by Hanshi Ingo De Jong - Vice President I.K.G.A. 

Goju Ryu is the style we practice. Goju is Japanese translating to 'hard' ('go') and 'soft' ('ju'). Incorporated into our style of karate are both elements, and as a result we practice both fast striking / blocking techniques but also softer flowing open hand moves.

Emphasis is placed on all aspects of karate training, including:

• Kihon Ido, or moving basics. This is a the practice of performing strikes / blocks while moving in varying stances.
  
• Kata, which are choreographed techniques. There are 17 separate kata in Goju-Kai Karate (without Shihan kata), varying in degree of difficulty and their focus. Some, such as 'heishu' kata, concentrate on breathing and control of the spirit. In contrast, some kata solely center on explosive physical moves, while some are a mixture of the two.
  
• Kumite, which is freestyle fighting. In competition karate this is practiced via point scoring for using different techniques on an opponent. Attacks are performed with control and light contact only.
  
• Bunkai / pair work. Bunkai is the application of kata demonstrating the use of the moves in mimicked real life situations against an opponent. Pair work is the demonstration of many of the basic techniques against an opponent.
  

We believe that students of Goju-Kai Karate should be versed in all aspects, and although we have some classes focussing on specifics, in order to grade and progress in belt ranks students must develop an understanding in all of the ways of Goju-Kai.