Martial Arts and especially "tode" as practiced in Okinawa at the turn from the 19th to the 20th Century was simply not organized as it is today. Individuals would often train under several sensei, in some cases sensei taught together, even if their "style" varied. While there was some concept of "style" at the time, the modern concept of "styles" is a post World War II phenomenon.
While Sensei sometimes referred to Miyagi Chojun as "Sensei", if one understands oriental traditions, this very possibly was only a formal and polite recognition of Miyagi Chojun as the rightful successor of Higgashionna Kanryo Sensei or even to the fact that he simply was a "recognized" teacher. Evidence now indicates that Tukerii Sensei, in his Okinawan personna, possibly studied with Higgashionna Kanryo Sensei, as well as other Okinawan and Chinese teachers.
The actual amount of training Sensei actually received directly from Miyagi Chojun, if any, is unknown. Tukerii Sensei, like both Miyagi Chojun and Higashionna Kanryo Sensei, received extensive training in China. Much of what we, his students, attribute to Okinawan Naha-te or Goju may have actually come from Chinese White Crane, the Chinese predecessor to the Okinawan form. "A rose by any other name would always smell as sweet", a quote from Shakespeare could easily apply to Dai Ni Gojuryu. When his early students began to train under Tukerii Sensei, we generally were introduced to him by some other student or acquaintance as "A Chinese man that teaches jujitsu."
Judo was probably the most popular and widely known of the martial arts taught and practiced in the U.S. in the mid to late 1950's. Many people simply presumed that "jujitsu" was a more formal name for "judo." The idea of karate, aikido, or any other martial art was lost on most Americans. It was all lumped together as "Jujitsu."
Sensei called what he taught "Tode". When some of his students began to compete in the early days of the open style tournament circuit in the early 1960's they ran across practitioners doing forms quite different from the ones we did. The first people we ever saw performing forms similar to the ones we knew were calling themselves Goju stylists (these were Japanese Goju kai stylists). We asked Sensei if what we practiced was Goju, and his response was "something like that." When students began to identify themselves as Goju stylists, initially Sensei was displeased, preferring "Tode". But, to students with no real knowledge of Okinawan dilect or Japanese, the name Sensei used sounded to us like "Toadie". Somehow the image of a toad just didn't appeal to American students, and they more and more began to identify themselves in tournaments and to other schools as Goju stylist because this was a name that was recognized and understood. Eventually he dropped his objections to this, but continued to call what he taught "Tode."
In the early 1970's a number of Goju stylist (primarily Japanese Goju stylist) in the U.S. were beginning to break away from their Oriential Mother Organizations and form their own styles and Associations. While Sensei seemed to have no problem with some of them doing this, he felt some were ranking people too high and too fast, and others simply didn't seem to know what they were doing at all, in his opinion.
At this point Sensei was no longer teaching any new students and had not done so for about half a decade. He was only teaching his senior students. All new students were under the instruction of his senior students in their own schools and clubs. When the other Goju organizations began to emerge, a number of the clubs began to loose some students to some of these organizations. Often students who simply used it as a means to seek some quick promotion which may have been offered. The senior students felt that an organization was needed to represent Sensei's style, and establish both some guidelines and structure to the loosely nit group of teachers, schools, and clubs surrounding Sensei.
After considerable discussion and much prodding, Sensei agreed to form an Organization. The students pushed for a name other than "Tode" for a style. A lot of names were bantered around, but one name which had caught on in a particular club had gained a wide popularity. The name was "ni-goju". The students who coined the name were ignorant of Japanese, and simply presumed it ment "Second Goju", indicating a second alternative form or interpretation of Goju as contrasted to Miyagi Chojun's form.
Sensei detested the name, first it was gibberish in Japanese, and second, he never really liked the name "Goju" for some reason. But, student pressure and refusal to drop use of the name prevailed and Sensei simply changed the name to a more correct "Dai Ni Gojuryu".
The Organization initially identified itself in the U.S. as "The International Ni-Goju Karate Association" totally oblivious to the fact that Ni-Goju was not correct Japanese. But with only a few of the senior students having much knowledge of Japanese, the name given by Sensei, Kokusai Dai Ni Gojuryu Karate Kyokai, was just too much of a mouthful that wasn't understood. So the organization became known by both names to it's practitioners.
The style is still colloquially referred to as "Ni-Goju" but it's official name is Dai Ni Gojuryu. Sensei prefered to apply the concept of Goju (hard and soft) to "jin", rather than breathing as Miyagi applied the term. The ideology of a second approach to hard/soft became the building block of the style.
It is our understanding that Miyagi Chojun Sensei coined the word Goju based on the concepts of breathing. Tukerii Sensei prefered to refer to the Chinese "jin", and saw the "hard" (Go) and "soft"(Ju) in light of this concept. "Jin" refers to the control and focus of chi. Kochei Tohei Sensei of Aikido theorized that development of chi wasn't necessary, only the ability to focus and control it. Tukerii sensei would have strongly agreed with this concept. The concept of "jin" used by Sensei describes the combination of physical effort and "chi" effort one places within any given technique. Some techniques would be 80% "chi" and 20% "physical" thus "soft", then would run a continuum to the opposite extreme where a technique was 20% "chi" and 80% "physical" thus "hard". The bulk of technique fell in the range between these two extremes. Degree of personal mastery also played a part in the percentages of each that were applied in each technique. Thus, a beginner was more "hard" and a master was more "soft". It was in this way that Sensei interpreted the term "Goju", and thus compared to Miyagi Chojun Sensei's use of the concept it was indeed a "second Goju" or "second theory of hard and soft".
In 1972 the Organization was officially launched with Sensei serving as it's first President and Headmaster. Sensei who abhored such titles as "master" and "grandmaster" chose the title "headmaster" and used it in the same sense that the Brittish use the term, to mean the principal of a school. Two other organizations were chartered by the International Association, "The American Ni-Goju Karate Association" for the U.S., and the "European Ni-Goju Karate Associaton" for Europe. The U.S. Association was headed by Charles Bouton, a senior student of Sensei in the U.S., and an instructor named Okura headed the European Association. Okura Sensei was a 5th Dan, who came to Sensei from another style. Both organizations originally awarded all kyu ranks and Dan grades through 3rd Dan.
Okura Sensei ceased teaching in the early 1980's, communication with him became sporadic and eventually ceased, and no other schools continued teaching the style in Europe. The main practitioners of the system in Europe were American Servicemen, who if upon returning to the U.S continued to practice were taken into the American Association. At that point, Sensei ceased the granting of Dan grades through the chartered affiliates, and only authorized them to award the kyu grades, and certificates of specialization in the associated techniques of jujitsu, aikijitsu, sword, and kobudo practiced as part of the system. The International Association began awarding all Dan grades at that time. While all of the former American Ni-Goju Karate Association dan grade holders were eventually ranked under the International Association, there were a few practitioners dan graded by the European Association that never were dan graded by the International Association. If any are still teaching or practicing, it is unknown, but no one is validly ranked above 3rd dan by that Association.
In 1984 Sensei ceased all teaching except to Charles Bouton, and appointed him with the title of "Chief Instructor and Senior Vice-President" of the International Association. Sensei died in November of 1985, having promoted Charles Bouton to 8th Dan-headmaster in October of the same year. In his will he bequeathed the ownership and name of the Dai Ni Gojuryu system and the Kokusai Dai Ni Gojuryu Karate Kyokai to Charles Bouton, and named him to be his successor as President and Headmaster of the Association.
Today Charles Bouton continues as the President and Headmaster of the Kokusai Dai Ni Gojuryu Karate Kyokai. John Liles, a senior student of Bouton Sensei, is the current president of the American Ni-Goju Karate Association.