Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate has a very pure lineage. The founder of Goju-Ryu Karate is Chojun Miyagi. The fictional character Mr Miyagi from the 1984 Karate Kid film was based on Chojun Miyagi, as the film was written by a Goju student.

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Chojun Miyagi's Sensei, Kanryo Higashionna learnt the White Crane style of Kung Fu from renowned master Ryu Ryu Ko in the Fuzhou region of China. Higashionna returned with those skills to Okinawa, where he lived and taught students including Chojun Miyagi. Chojun Miyagi, became Higashionna’s top student at only twenty years of age. Like his Sensei, Chojun Miyagi also travelled to Fuzhou, China to study with the masters of the White Crane Kung Fu. When Miyagi returned to Okinawa in 1933 he formulated what is now known as Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate Do.

 

The word Go in Japanese means hard, Ju means soft and Ryu means school, thus Goju-Ryu is the hard/soft school of Karate. Miyagi believed the ultimate aim of karate-do was to build character, conquer human misery, and find spiritual freedom. Even though training was physically very hard he also emphasised the importance of cultivating intellect before strength.

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Chojun Miyagi Sensei handed down this traditional martial art to several students. One of his students Meitoku Yagi taught Heiji Tada who founded Seishikan Goju Ryu Karate Do in Japan. Heiji Tada's youngest son Masao Tada brought Seishikan karate to Australia in 1972 and founded the first karate school in Kent Town, South Australia.

 

Masao Tada lived in Adelaide for approximately two years during which time he saw the karate school increase from the original 25 students to 1500 members! One of Masao Tada's students was John Plant who is a current instructor at this club, Adelaide Seishikan. Refer to the photos on this page to visualise what training with Masao Tada in those two years was like.  

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Following Masao Tada's return to Japan,  Kyoshi Tsujimoto from Osaka Dojo in Japan came to Australia to continue the growth of Goju karate in Australia. He stayed for just over 2 years, opening more dojo's.

 

Masao Tada is a senior member of the All Japan Karate Federation Goju Kai and is the current Kancho (head) of Seishikan. Every year Masao Tada visits Australia to share his knowledge.

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Adelaide Seishikan Karate Club was founded by Carl Driesener at the current location of 13 Beatty St Linden Park. In 2015 Carl Driesener moved interstate at which time Ed Czerwinski became the new administrator of the club. A role in which he continues.