This is the entrance of the original Hamagawa Dojo in Sunabe, Chatan-Cho, Okinawa. This Dojo stood in this location until 2002, and was demolished to make way for the new dojo of Takamiyagi Hiroshi’s Goshukan-Ryu Karate Kobudo Honbu Dojo. While the building is newer with more modern amenities, the spirit of the old Hamagawa Dojo remains for those of us who were fortunate enough to train there. We left our sweat and blood in that old wooden floor, and we took with us memories that are still as vivid as the day they were made.

The Hamagawa Dojo is indeed a special place in the history of Okinawan Karate, for it was within those four walls that Goshukan-Ryu was conceived from the loins of old Shuri-Te and Wu Zhu Quan.  Today there are only a few original first-generation students that remain actively training and teaching, and we have been charged with passing the torch of Goshukan-Ryu to the 3rd and 4th generation of students.

I have selected a few dozen photos from the Hamagawa Dojo that mean the most to me; some were taken by me, some by my dojo mates, and several were given to me by Takamiyagi Sensei from his private collection. These photos have been assembled into a limited edition calendar, and are being made available to the public for a very worthy cause.

As many of you know, I have been tasked with translating and publishing a bi-lingual edition of my teacher’s book “Five Ancestor Kenpo Volume 1” by next summer. This project is quite an undertaking and the historical significance is profound, as are the costs associated with publishing. While crowd-funding seems to be the popular vehicle to raise funds, I have always been taught to give something of value when asking for funds; so, instead of crowdfunding this project, I am launching a series of limited edition publications for the sole purpose of raising funds for this project. This idea was borrowed, as we also publish calendars to assist with fundraising for our IOGKA Karate organization, and it has been mildly successful.  Please help support this historical effort by purchasing a copy or 2 of the Limited Edition 2016 Historical Hamagawa Dojo Calendar, and please share with all of your martial artists friends too.

Click on the link to find out more details, and to preview the calendar.
If you haven’t heard about the book project, please visit Five Ancestor Kenpo – Volume 1. Bilingual Edition on facebook.

CLICK HERE http://www.lulu.com/shop/http://www.lulu.com/shop/garry-parker/2016-historical-hamagawa-dojo-calendar/calendar/product-22477348.html