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Japan Karatedo Federation Gojukai

As noted earlier, an offshoot of the Okinawan Goju-ryu system of karatedo was developed in Japan proper in 1952 by Master Yamaguchi Gogen, a student of Okinawan master Miyagi Chojun. Master Yamaguchi, known as “The Cat,” was one of the easiest karatedo masters for Westerners to recognize because of his trademark long hair, a rarity among Japanese Karatedo sensei. In addition Yamaguchi Sensei infused his karatedo style with his own spirituality, even creating a system he called Karate-Shinto, a mixture of ideas and practices taken from Shintoism, yoga, Zen, and karatedo. He was also fond of shamanistic practices, a favorite being to meditate beneath a waterfall. He felt that the drumming of the water on his head created a state of being which was conducive to spiritual awakening. The more ancient, shamanistic goal of the practice was to derive power from the energy-spirit (kami) of the waterfall.