Okinawa Series: Goju-Ryu Karate

This exclusive five-part documentary takes you inside the world of traditional Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate. Filmed during Kieren Krygier's time training at Tetsuhiro Hokama Sensei's dojo in Okinawa, it offers a rare, first-hand look at how Karate is practiced at its source — far beyond what is typically seen outside Japan.

This is not a performance or a demonstration. From the structure of the classes to the conditioning, the applications, and the hidden details woven through the system, it is real training, captured as it happens. If you have ever wondered what it is genuinely like to train in Okinawa, this is your chance to step inside.

Episode One — What to actually expect if you traveled to Okinawa and walked into a Karate class, including the hour and a half of physical conditioning you are expected to complete as a "warm-up" before the real teaching even begins.

Episode Two — A sequence of applications forming the building blocks for defending against wrist grabs: angles, leverage, footwork, relaxation, engaging the tendons, and the breath developed through the practice of the San-Chien (Sanchin) form.

Episode Three — Two complex applications showing the hard/soft principles of Goju-Ryu in action, working against the nervous system through the ulnar nerve of the hand and fingers while simultaneously targeting the sciatic and tibial nerves of the legs and two points on the top of the feet.

Episode Four — A further sequence of wrist-grab defenses built on angles, leverage, footwork, relaxation, and striking, with the ability to flow and change according to your opponent's resistance.

Episode Five — The secrets hidden in plain sight within the Okinawan Gi. A horizontal line on the back marks a point on the midline between the sixth and seventh thoracic vertebrae; the episode also reveals why there are slits on both sides of the Gi, and why the belt knot is tied below the navel.