MIYAGI RETURNS:  Miyagi appeared to be far removed from the contemporary karate training that was going on . In an essay written by him in 1942, he starts the paper with this qoute, " I don't know when it was changed, but "karate" is now written with letters as "Empty Hand" instead of "Chinese Hand". Anyway, I am happy to know that nowadays Karatedo is popular all over Japan as a unique Okinawa martial arts, and even it has been officially recognized by Dai Nippon Butoku Kai (Great Japan Fighting Arts and Moral Association) as one of Japanese fighting arts. However, without doubt, I am sure that the roots of Karatedo is in China."

A MISCELLANEOUS ESSAY ON KARATE  by Chojun Miyagi. Remarks: This short article first appeared in "Bunka Okinawa" Vol.3 No.6 dated August 15, 1942, and re-appeared as an appendix in the book "Chugoku" Okinawa Karate Kobudo no Genryu" written by Masahiro Nakamoto published on April 1, 1985 by Bunbukan

In his description of the kanji "Ju", Miyagi has been quoted as saying that kanji represents a softness to the level of blocking like the wind or bending like the willow. If you have trained in Goju with any of the living masters today, then you know you have NEVER been taught to apply any goju techniques... like the wind.  And by that I mean to block in a way that as the defender, you merely brush the opponents arm or fist on the attack - so soft in fact that your opponent does not even realize that they have been touched in the first place. The Ateru Goju-Ryu Karate Jutsu fellowship is DIFFERENT.. Although we focus heavily on what many consider to be traditional Okinawan strong training.. kihon ichi, kihon ni, kihon san, kihon ido, neko ashi Ido, Kata, Bunkai, Bare knuckle Kumite etc, We also train in the theory and application of the soft aspects we believe exist within Goju Ryu. Huunjin has developed the Five Hands Systems that embrace the soft Kung Fu aspects that are so sorely missing today. One thing that is certain, whether one is speaking of the past (Funakoshi-Miyagi-Gogen the Cat) or the more present (Higa-Itosu-Higaonna-Yamaguchi); with over 200 eye witnessed direct attacks threatening serious physical harm to Hanshi Cullen, due to the effectiveness of the 5 hands systems, not one of the attackers made contact with or harmed Hanshi in any way. In addition, by using the 5 hands systems of frictionless defense, the vast majority of the time only one soft defense technique was used with no attacker getting back up within 5-10 minutes. In anybody's book- that would be considered extremely successful. Local Findlay OH law enforcement have commented that despite the fact that they have witnessed dozens of these incidents in person, that Hanshi Cullen was never cited, taken in for questioning or even considered as one of interest in these many altercations.

We have infused the China hand techniques into our Goju making it true Ateru Goju Ryu Karate Jutsu. ONE TECHNIQUE FIGHTING.

OUR FOUNDER: Kevin "Huunjin" Cullen is the founder of Ateru Goju-Ryu Karate Jutsu. He is a complex man who has dedicated nearly 4 decades of his life to the art of Goju. He has immersed himself in many other martial arts receiving black belts in Judo, Shurite Kempo, and JuJitsu as well as being a published poet, professional musician, photographer and potter. His goal is to share his unique style of Goju with as many open minded people as he can. Mr. Cullen received his shodan from Gosei Yamaguchi (With Gogen's Seal on it) and trained under his auspices for 13 years. Cullen traveled to the Castro district hombu for either week long or two week long training junkets. They would typically train 8 two hour classes per week. Once in the dressing room as the "Fremont" group appeared there was a unison moan from Mr. Yamaguchi's regular junior black belts. Upon being asked why they appeared so forlorn the response of one of the black belts (who was also moonighted as a stand up comedian) was, "Oh man, you guys here again? Well, we won't be seeing you until Thursday's mandatory black belt class." To which the following question was asked "Why is that?" and his retort this time was..."whenever you guys come  out the classes get twice as hard.. it's like he is trying to kill you or something so we will just see you in a few days". The local Yudansha chuckled as they left. Before that locker room conversation, the Fremont group thought their "one sensei on four yudansha" training scenario was just because they had flown out to train with Mr. Yamaguchi and he wanted to give them his undivided attention.

POLITICS STINK BUT EXIST FROM TOLEDO TO TOKYO, NAHA CITY AND BEYOND: Like so many of the dojos of the Goju-Kai Karate-Do, USA, the Fremont dojo eventually left the ranks of  Yamaguchi's Goju Kai group for a number of reasons. We don't care to get political or point fingers at this point but are happy to discuss the reasoning one on one with anyone at anytime.  LET'S RECAP: It's important to note that the top Yudansha at the Fremont dojo remained directly under N. Gosei Yamaguchi for a full decade after the Midwest Goju Kai had been excommunicated by Mr. Yamaguchi, giving them the highest level of Goju instruction available in the nation for that period of time. But why was there a rift between Goju-Kai Karate-Do, USA and the Midwest Goju Kai (MGK)? While under the Goju-Kai Karate-Do, USA membership, Mr. Coleman, the MGK's leader, had self promoted himself  either by his own hand or by that of his organization the Midwest Goju Kai. That kind of behavior was unacceptable when you consider the fact that each and every student who promoted to kyu ranks on up had to have their attendance logs and promotional results sent directly to San Fransisco for Mr. Yamaguchi's approval. Many students flunked their testing by way of Mr. Yamaguchi, sometimes for no more reason than being 1 class short of the required number to promote. Mr. Coleman's infraction was brought to Yamaguchi's attention by the Fremont dojo which was, at the time, also a member of the Midwest Goju Kai. Now there's history and then there's reality; and although some would like to re-write history and/or fabricate a specific truth, the facts are that Mr. Yamaguchi sent out a letter giving the Midwest Goju Kai's Yudansha the opportunity to remain aligned with Yamaguchi's Goju Kai but they would have to renownce their current leaders(Coleman and Stamper). NONE of the Midwest Yudansha remained with Yamaguchi due to the "manipulative spin/truth" offered to them. In recent conversations with one of those black belts they admitted that they had been tricked to think that it was all Yamaguchi's fault and as a result they also remained with the MGK. The same letter that Toledo received was aso delivered to Fremont but in the case of Fremont it was shown in its entirety and as a result, all Yudansha decided to stay loyal to Mr. Yamaguchi and the Goju-Kai Karate-Do, USA. Making them the only black belts east of California tied to Goju-Kai Karate-Do, USA. There is something special about training directly under Mr. Yamaguchi. Although you risk the homogeniality of just one look at one style, the pure high level training and responsibility for correct technique was immediately noticable by masters from every style that Huunjin would seminar with. There is no substitute for 10 years of that level of training. 

After leaving  the Goju-Kai Karate-Do, USA, the Fremont dojo went independant for a couple years, continuing to train diligently while looking for a larger group to tie in to. During that time Cullen was promoted to San Dan, making him and another black belt of the same rank second in command. At the request of Brad Smith, Cullen went to a GKK event for the pupose of meeting and evaluating the leadership, teaching style and knowledge base of M. Yamakura, the chairman of the GKK. Yamakura was deemed an excellent teacher and leader and as a result, the Fremont, Findlay and Sandusky dojo's rejoined with the former Midwest Goju Kai - The Goju Ryu Karate Do Kyokai. All of the Yudansha's rank were unjustly demoted by one as a "hidden payback" for earlier troubles the MGK experienced due to Fremont blowing the whistle on Coleman. This slap in the face was out of character for an organization that historically either allows clubs to enter status qou with their rank or with the promise of a quick rank boost in the future for joining. But it was endured because of the belief that Mr. Yamakura could offer the continued education that the small elite group of dojos truely needed. And although many of the schools in the GKK's training were sub-standard compared to Yamaguchi based workouts, the training received in the week long Gasshukus (which had never occured in the GKK until Huunjin took the initiative and asked Yamakura about the fasability of it) offered a tough but enjoyable flood of information and growth.

One day, during the first week long gasshuku in which Huunjin trained with Yamakura in Oklahoma, they were learning Yamakura's Yakusoku Kumite by the numbers in line drill format. When Yamakura faced Huunjin instead of calling out the number and then giving the command to defend he simply call the number of the technique and fired a bomb to the middle of Huunjin's forehead. With ears ringing Huunjin laughed out loud asking Yamakura, "What happened to the call, like all the other one steps?" Yamakura's reply: "Kevin, sometimes you have to block the punch!" The next time they were face to face during this drill,  they were performing upper one step number seven which included a nage throw to the floor. Now the floor was cement with indoor outdoor carpeting and no pad on it. Again Yamakura, who is past all Japan Fighting Grand Champion,  and winner of the Henry Cho at Madison Square Garden, neglected to give the call to defend as he had for the last six techniques. Huunjin was ready this time and fended off the lighting quick attack, threw the Grandmaster over his hip, bouncing him off the cement floor. He then added a bit of spice to the series with an impromtu telling punch to the solar plexus with the appointed kiai. Yamakura, being an exremely strong opponent, looked up at Kevin Cullen (the Huunjin name came later) and said "Ahh Kevin, I see you get me back huh!" to which Mr. Cullen replied, "Hai Sensei". From that point on these two warriors built a lasting bond in Goju Spirit. The "Y" imprint from Mr. Yamakura's signature ring remained embossed on Cullen's head the rest of the day as a reminder.

After training for 10 years with Yamakura, Mr. Cullen asked MR. Yamakura to bestow a Japanese name on him much in the manner that Gogen was given his name by Miyagi. After two years of thought Yamakura named Mr. Cullen "Huunjin". The kanji reads "Dark Cloud Man" and as decscribed by Mr. Yamakura himself, the short meaning is: The bringer of death, the savior of the people. The long historical tale of the Huunjin is "He is the lone warrior, an ALMOST mythical man who is at the bottom of the valley surrounded by thousands of samurai. He kills them all and saves the village. He is the savior of the village. " Now realise this name was not given to Mr. Cullen haphazzardly. During a gashhuku, Mr. Yamakura stopped in the middle of a four hour training session and told Huunjin that he "reminded him of a man he hates." At this he inquired why Yamakura would say that to which his response was, " You remind me of a guy in Japan that I could never beat". Of course being embarrassed by this comment Mr. Cullen snapped to attention and whispered. Iiye (pronounced E Yay!) which means -no!. During the 13 yrs of training with Motoo Yamakura Huunjin received his 3rd (for the second time), 4th and 5th Degree Blacks, Renshi and the Chairmans award (the GKK's highest honor) from that organization and was due to receive Roku Dan and Kyoshi as well but opted to to split from that organization because of the many back room secret promotions and political disparities that kept on occurring.

EXCELLENCE OUT OF BASICS: When Kevin Cullen began his Goju training in 1973 he would take each new technique he learned at karate class and then go home and do each one 500 times before bed. He would do upwards of 3,000 waza each night before bed which would happen around 3-4 am each day. Huunjin's intensity and love for the art never slowed down. Another example of  his work ethic is Fridays before he would fly out to train with Yamaguchi for a week or two (16 two hour classes), Cullen would perform 300 kata back to back with only one 30 minute break making it an ordeal that would start at 8am and run non-stop until around 10pm. Mr. Cullen still teaches 12 classes per week, every week, and all ages from 3 till 83. (He actually had an 83 year old woman sign up and take Goju for a year.-He is still amazed by this)

In 2005, international master and 10th Dan George Alexander gave Cullen the highest praise after attending a seminar on the Martial Oceans innaugural cruise by saying, "You are a true master of Goju! Your theories on true attack velocity and energy of attack are eye opening." The two have become good friends and are members of the elite Mondo Silente professional dive team. Cullen's methodologies may be contemporary and high energy, but his faith in traditional Goju has never waivered. These things you need to know. His only wish is to share his discovery with as many traditionalists as he can while he is able to do so.

CONSIDER THE SOURCES: Mr. Yamaguchi is a living legend, Mr. Yamakura was on the pro fight circuit with Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris for a year. By the way, you may ask him how well he fared with those two guys but his reply may stagger your belief system.  Mr. Cullen is pleased with his name Huunjin and is dedicated to live up to it's implications. Mr. Nishiyama's legacy is unquestionable as is George Alexander's. When one works hard- they are noticed by those who know the difference. 

IN THE BEGINNING: All things have a beginning, a middle and an end. Goju's beginnings are well documented and the result is ten's of thousands worldwide that train religiously in Goju. We are in the middle time right now and although the constant bickering and political motives of many Goju organizations create static for us all, I believe it is a very exciting time for GOJU! There are many factions, organizations and schools of thought. For example, there is the Okinawan style which is uglier, more powerful and works out of higher stances. The strikes or GO of this version are super strong and feature many hand and body conditioning exercises with the focus on power instead of fine lines and beauty. The Japanese stylists have adopted the strictest of standards and focus on low shiko dachis and neko ashi dachis. These are taught and enforced to the letter of the law and keep Goju extremely artsy and beautiful. As a result, some of the power is lost but it is still very good Goju. Nowadays, kata practitioners at international tournaments have incorporated extra long pauses and dynamics into their kata simply for effect. This seems to completely take away from the katas real meaning and looks show boaty but the crowd seems to like it. Oh did I forget to mention that each group believes that theirs is the only "TRADITIONAL" version out there. Well that's laughable since every one of them was adapted by whoever forged their particular Goju path which takes away from the traditional legitimacy of their art anyhow. Another thing you must consider is that ALL OF THEM leave out TRUE JU. When you add in the CHINA HAND, you complete GOJU with a true balance of ideas and techniques. When you look at Kung Fu stylists, their techniques appear as if they would have no effect on a strong attack, yet as if moved by the wind, the linear attack is bounced off effortlessly.

Ateru Goju Ryu Karate Jutsu combines the best of all of those worlds into a beautiful but highly funtional system. Our GO is based on the Okinawan hip twist at the end of each strike which is devestating, the low kicks and thrusts and agressive bare knuckle kumite. Our JU goes back to the CHINA HAND concept. Our founder has taken the soft elements of GOJU and created his 5 hands systems.  Kawa Te (River Hand) , Maru Te (Circle Hand) , Nagashi Te (Flowing Hand) , Kakuto Te (Chicken Beak/Dog Head Hand) , and Kakae Te (Hooking Hand). Each one of these is a stand alone as a system but can work together in concert to form an amazing alliance of hand and body defense. When you learn to block like the wind you open a whole new world of functionality and opportunity. One technique fighting is a reality.. only at True Goju.com.

NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION: Cullen came upon the soft side of Goju honestly and by accident. As the dj for a hugely successful nightclub in the 80's, he ended up extracting 80 percent of incorrigibles that would enter. (between 600-900 would pass through the door Thursday through Sunday.) When he would escort them out, many of them would take a cut at and/or try to take Mr. Cullen out. Kicks, punches, grabs, take downs... you name it. They tried them all. These attackers were a cross section of college kids, football players, military on leave, off duty law enforcement, bikers, hoods, mma fighters, thugs and martial artists. Of the over 200 real attacks on Mr. Cullen, he never used more than one of his unique techniques, his attackers never regained the ability to attack again and there were no kicks or punches ever thrown.

Both Miyagi and Funakoshi are both qouted as saying that the perfect fight ends in one technique where no one is seriously hurt. Grandmaster Cullen has mastered that through the trial by fire method. He had an epiphany one night in a dream where he relived many of those attacks and realised that althought he was doing good GOJU he was applying it in a way that no one had ever taught before. Blocking in a way that he barely touched his opponents and thereby utilizing all of their energy and force to destroy themselves. You will learn more about this when you read on about the five hands systems. Suffice it to know that although Cullen has dispatched hundreds of bad guys of every type in the most delicate and risky arena that exists- in the streets, and all by using just one technique.