Okinawan Goju-ryu karate, with its unique emphasis on development of external power and internal chi, represents a lifelong discipline integrating physical fitness, self-defense, spiritual nourishment, and a philosophy that one can live by in an evermore stressful and complicated world.
In 1983, I entered the dojo (training hall) of Sensei Anthony Mirakian and the U.S. Headquarters of the Okinawan Goju-ryu Karate-do Meibukan Association in Watertown, Massachusetts. Upon observing the class, it became immediately clear that this was no ordinary dojo, nor was Sensei Mirakian an ordinary teacher.
As Sensei Mirakian’s student, I came to understand that he was not only a pioneering force in the martial arts found in the West, but also was a living embodiment of the “golden age” of Okinawan karate, teaching the art of Okinawan Goju-ryu exactly as it had been practiced in the 1950s.
I consider myself very fortunate to have learned Okinawan Goju-ryu from Sensei Anthony Mirakian, who embraced the philosophy, honored the standards, and made a lifelong commitment to extend the legacy created by Goju-ryu founder Chojun Miyagi, passed on to the late Meitoku Yagi, and carried forward as Sensei Yagi’s most senior active student for more than 50 years.
At Karate Providence, my goal is to continue training in the spirit as I was taught, and to honor the philosophy and standards exemplified through this honorable lineage.