Dr. Juan Otero Jr., Hanshi, is a Grandmaster of Okinawan Goju Goshin-Ryu Karate-Do with over 58 years of continuous martial arts practice. He is also a licensed psychoanalyst and behavioral health specialist — a dual background that shapes every aspect of how he teaches: precise technique married to the psychological discipline required to truly internalize a martial art.
Dr. Otero began his training in 1966 at the Bronx Goju-Kai School and has never stopped. In 2005 he founded the Okinawan Goju Goshin-Ryu Karate-Do Association, preserving the lineage he has carried for six decades. He joined Owaza Martial Arts as Senior Advisor and Instructor in 2025.
He holds the rank of Hanshi — the highest instructional title in classical Japanese and Okinawan martial arts systems — and is a recognized Grandmaster in both Okinawan Goju-Ryu and Goshin-Ryu.
Credentials & Ranks
Martial Arts
- Hanshi — Okinawan Goju Goshin-Ryu
- Grandmaster — Okinawan Goju-Ryu
- Grandmaster — Goshin-Ryu Karate-Do
- 58+ years continuous practice (est. 1966)
Professional
- Licensed Psychoanalyst
- Behavioral Health Specialist
- Founder — Okinawan Goju Goshin-Ryu Association (2005)
- Senior Advisor & Instructor — Owaza Martial Arts (2025)
Training Philosophy
Dr. Otero's dual expertise — decades of martial arts at the highest level alongside a clinical background in psychoanalysis — gives him an unusually clear view of why students stall, why they succeed, and what it actually takes to internalize technique rather than just imitate it. He teaches the Goju principle directly: go (hard, external) and ju (soft, internal) are not opposites — they are the same movement seen from the outside and the inside.
That internal dimension is also the foundation of his Tai Chi instruction at Owaza: the same principle of conscious movement, root, and intent that defines classical Goju-Ryu runs through every Tai Chi form.
Tai Chi Classes at Owaza — Taught by Dr. Otero
Dr. Otero teaches Tai Chi at Owaza on Monday through Thursday mornings and Saturday afternoons. Classes are small and appointment-only — the same structure as every Owaza program. Whether you are drawn to Tai Chi for balance and fall prevention, stress reduction, or a low-impact martial arts foundation, Dr. Otero's depth of experience provides a level of instruction rarely available outside a dedicated internal-arts school.
Learn more about Tai Chi classes →About Okinawan Goju Goshin-Ryu
Okinawan Goju Goshin-Ryu Karate-Do is Dr. Otero's synthesis of the classical Okinawan Goju-Ryu tradition — the system developed by Chojun Miyagi in the early 20th century and brought to the continental United States in the 1950s — with Goshin-Ryu, a practical self-defense application layer built on the same structural principles.
Dr. Otero trained at the Bronx Goju-Kai School beginning in 1966 and founded his own association in 2005 after nearly four decades of study, teaching, and refinement. The system emphasizes kata, breathing, and the complementary tension of hard and soft force — the same internal principles that Dr. Otero brings to his Tai Chi classes at Owaza.