The last few months has seen IOGKF International
achieve many milestones. Higaonna Sensei is turning 75
years old, Sensei Bakkies has reached 50 years of training and IOGKF England (EGKA) is celebrating its 40th
Anniversary.
However in October 2013, another ground breaking
milestone was achieved, when Sensei Linda Marchant
became the first female in the entire history of the
IOGKF to obtain the rank of 7th Dan; an achievement not
only for Goju-ryu, but martials arts everywhere. Everything from major newspapers in the United Kingdom,
social media sites and even martial arts magazines like
this one have celebrated her accomplishment.
Sensei Linda stood tall and performed everything that
her male counterparts were also required pass to succeed in their gradings. Her constant training and determination has lead to her becoming one of IOGKF International’s most popular characters and has forged a
path for women within Karate’s history books.
But it hasn’t always been like this. Women’s involvement in martial arts, Karate in particular, has only come
about in the last 50 or so years. Now with so many talented and inspiring female martial artists
across the globe today, it is difficult to fathom that until recently it was a man’s world – full stop.
To understand this we need to look back to a different time. Until World War II and the American involvement in the battle of Okinawa, Karate wasn’t a household word. Prior to this, the culture of Japan ran along the lines stated in the famous James Bond movie ‘you only live twice’ “In Japan Men
come first, Women come second”.
The women of the family were responsible for the cooking,
cleaning and caring for the children. A harsh sounding reality,
but on the western side of the globe, a women’s role was basically playing out the same way.
According to all historical records available today, Chojun Miyagi Sensei (the founder of Goju-ryu Karate-ka) did have female
children, but none of them were ever taught or permitted to
train. Miyagi Sensei’s wife, Makoto Miyagi, was a great support
to her husband and would often socialise with students before
and after training took place at her home, but never actually
trained in Karate.
As the war ended, the Americans returned home and many soldiers took with them, the art of Karate. It rapidly became popular
throughout America and the rest of the western world and competition fighting drew much attention. Oknawan instructors
such as Kyuna Choko Sensei (Shorin Ryu Master) visited
America in the 1970’s to teach and popularize Karate.