Goju Revolution: Unveiling Africa’s Own Survival, Self-Defence System

By Professor Danny Gwira / Posted August 15, 2025

The revolution is on! Not a armed weaponry-based one but an initiative that recognizes basic survival and self defence tactics that is Africa-centric inspired. See the introductory interview I gave here: https://ddnewsonline.com/self-defense-the-goju-revolution-of-martial-arts/ It will give one a better understanding to the background of this article.

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My name is Professor Danny Gwira and I am the Founder of the survival systems called African Goju and South American Goju. I have personally trained over 12000 students worldwide in 34 countries, spanning more than sixty years in the martial arts. Given global trajectory in survival protocols, I think the time is apt to share my secrets to a wider audience and give something back to the world. My aim is to teach people basic and advanced techniques of self-defence, keeping fit and staying safe, leveraging the African Goju/South American Goju way.

Going forward, from time to time, I will teach you some simple exercises, some self-defence techniques and some tips to keep you and your family fit, strong, healthy and safe. If you are already training in a gym, then you will understand how important it is of maintaining active the blood flow in one’s body. If you cannot afford to join a gym, there are some exercises that I will gladly share with you which can easily be done at home or any convenient space.

The entire body of a human being is a cellular network of strains that impact our physical well-being, when properly harnessed into a wholesome healthy regime through the right exercises. Let’s take for instance the body. You will find out that the chest or upper body is the ‘engine room’ which houses your internal organs from where everything in your body emanates. This is of prime importance because the chest is a major component of all man’s strength. The man with the small chest cannot be very strong. To have a strong chest; one has to exercise in order to make sure that the heart, and the lungs are in good condition. The exercises, if performed diligently, will ensure you of a powerful and healthy chest that would make you proud, even in terms of lifestyle. A strong chest means a strong body and a strong body means greater confidence in oneself, which is a key ingredient to personal self-defence which might be a precursor to keeping you and your family safe.

One hundred percent effort must be put into the recommended exercises, stated hereunder, else they will not work optimally. Nonetheless, when adhered to, they are guaranteed to be successful but of course, the rest is up to you.

The key recommended exercises for beginners are:

1. THE CHEST

The first exercise for the chest is very simple. Practise breathing good clean air. It is oxygen which helps the body to function. Without it, we would die. Practise taking walks in less-congested areas, so as not to be breathing smoke and other debris from towns and cities. Evening walks are highly recommended as there is less dust in the atmosphere. Always walk with your chest firmly out, your shoulders pushed back and square; and breathe in deeply through your nose and slowly out from your mouth. This must be done seriously for the best results. Soon it would become a good habit which you will never regret as it would ensure you a longer life. The newly-acquired oxygen will help remove waste matter from the body and replenish it with energy.

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2. BREATHING:

This is another breathing exercise and is highly beneficial for those who have not got time to go for walks. This can be done anywhere without causing you any embarrassment. Do it anytime you feel inclined. Stand feet apart, preferably by a window so as to acquire full oxygenic benefits and stretch out your arms above your head as if trying to touch two opposite corners in a room and breathe in very deeply. Bring your arms slowly down in front of you whilst breathing slowly out. Do these about ten times each morning as soon as you wake up, and just before you go to bed.

3. THE PUSH-UP:

This is the push-up which I am sure is well-known to everybody. Lie on the floor face downwards; and in that position, raise your body up and down with your arms whilst keeping your toes pointing down on the ground. This should be done about five times to begin with; but try to increase the number by one every day until you can do 100 non-stop.

4. SITTING POSITION:

Whilst sitting on a chair; put your hands on the seat by your sides and raise the body several times with your hands until you are tired.

These exercises must be done seriously every morning and evening. They are not difficult and only last a few minutes, so everyone a fraction of time to do them. Hopefully, at the end of one week, there will be noticeably improvement, which will ginger you to make exercise regime a life-long habit.

After doing the chest exercises, you should still have some energy left to try the self-defence techniques. The difference between self-defence and karate is that in self-defence, the opponent has actually grabbed you; whereas in karate, he moves in to attack you. Both are very important links in the African Goju/South American Goju chain. You may know how to kick and punch; but can you do so in a restricted space like in a taxi or crowd situation? Certainly No! Hence the imperative to understand that in modern day self-protection, one increasingly needs more self-defence than actual karate, which has become more of a sport. It is not everywhere you can throw your legs, as it can put you into trouble. If someone grabs you, of course you can punch him or kick him and most times that would work.

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The unique feature of African Goju and South American Goju is that, unlike karate where you have to kick someone in a conspicuous in such a way that everybody will know and possibly lead you into serious trouble with the law, Goju is psychologically simplistic and won’t draw that much attention. We apply simple common-sense concepts; which are my way of dealing with certain holds in the safest way. The tactics fit seemingly well with things around without drawing attention and yet, effective in addressing the apparent danger.

As African Goju is increasingly being embraced by more people, it has become a realistic, needful and effective survival system with potential to be able to navigate the dangerous world unscathed. You see, it is not just a matter of someone holding you and getting out of it. Many aspects have to be taken into consideration. Who is the man holding you? He could be a military man, or the son of the Chief of Police, or someone in government. Extended family plays such a major part in African life that a simple slap on someone could end you up in the deepest trouble. It is not who you know, it is who knows you!

You may want to critically review the simple techniques to ascertain which is good for you before you attempt to practise it with a friend. Practice your preferred exercise over and over until you are perfect in it. Afterwards, do it again with your eyes closed; so that you will be able to simulate it when situation arises, at any time or place. In the beginning, it is advisable to keep things simple but later on, they will get more dangerous, until you’re able to garner the maturity and composure which comes with years of active experiences as I have attained at this my level of practice.

SINGLE WRIST GRIP:

It’s a situation where your opponent standing in front of you grabs your right wrist with his left hand and squeezes hard. Then, he twist your wrist 90° anticlockwise towards his thumb and force it out in the small gap between his thumb and fingers. It’s the only way out. Use the same technique to get out of your opponent holding your left wrist with his right hand by twisting your wrist 90° clockwise and then forcing it out in the small gap between his thumb and fingers.

The foregoing introductory tips would help to keep you out of trouble or dangerous situations and importantly, preserve your independence.

THE TIP FOR THE WEEK:

For instance, if you are living alone and you don’t feel safe, there are basic procedures to insulate or keep you from harm’s way. You have to make sure that your doors (especially your rear door) and windows are always locked. Keep in regular contact with family and friends through phone calls, chat groups and social media; so that someone always know where and how you are, and can raise the alarm when they don’t hear from you at the usual time. Don’t invite anyone into the house, unless he or she is a close friend. Keep at least one light on in the house, even when you are asleep.

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If self-defence to you means having a gun at home, then keep one if you have a licence for it and you feel it will make you more confident; especially if you live in the middle of nowhere. Just remember that if you point a gun at someone, you will be breaking the law and could still be prosecuted, even if you don’t fire it.

THE A-Z OF AFRICAN GOJU

AWARENESS: Be aware of all possibilities before you fight but please understand that we are all mortals. Nobody is unbeatable because the biggest, toughest and strongest fighter in the world can easily be killed with a single knife stab or bullet from the smallest, weakest person; which means, there is no real guaranteed way to defend you. Isn’t it best to avoid fighting by not annoying anyone?

Remember: “If it can go wrong, it will; when one least expects it to!”

Roooarsss!!!…Ssssss!!!
Prof. Danny Gwira

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Enquires can be obtained from Grand Master Ohio Michael Elakhe via: africangojunigeria@gmail.com, okhaide.oe@gmail.com