saved his daughter from drowning during a heavy flood and begged the master to teach Kung Fu as a reward. In the 1880s, after Ryūkyū was annexed by Japan, Kanryo returned to Okinawa and continued the family business. He also began to teach the martial arts in and around Naha. He began by teaching the sons of Yoshimura Udun Chomei. His style was distinguished by its integration of both go-no (hard) and ju-no (soft) techniques in one system. He became so prominent that the name "Naha-te" became identified with Higaonna Kanryo's system. He travelled to China several times thereafter. His last visit was in 1898 when he escorted Yoshimura Chomei and two of his sons to Fuzhou. History records that they were blown off-course to Zhejiang and travelled by land to Fuzhou with an escort provided by the local Zhejiang authorities. He began to teach Naha-te to the public in 1905 in the Naha Commercial School. Kanryo was noted for his powerful Sanchin kata, or form. Students reported that the wooden floor would be hot from the gripping of his feet. Legacy Several of Kanryo's students went on to become influential masters of what came to be called karate, amongst them Chōjun Miyagi, Kenwa Mabuni, Kyoda Shigehatsu, Koki Shiroma, Higa Seiko, Tsuyoshi Chitose and Shiroma Shinpan (Gusukuma). See also Pechin References External links Akari-ki Karate: Higashionna History of Kanryo Higaonna at glenridgemartialarts.com History of Goju-ryu 1853 births 1916 deaths Okinawan male karateka People from Naha 19th-century Ryukyuan people 20th-century Ryukyuan people