<p>Thomas Lickona’s character education model proposes a standard sequence in which moral knowing precedes moral feeling, which precedes moral action. This article challenges that sequence through qualitative field research at MTsN 1 Kudus and SMPN 1 Kudus, Central Java, Indonesia. Drawing on the indigenous Gusjigang philosophy — a local wisdom tradition from Kudus, Central Java, attributed to the fifteenth-century Islamic saint Sunan Kudus, comprising Bagus (moral virtue), Ngaji (religious learning), and Dagang (entrepreneurial ethics) — both schools systematically invert Lickona’s sequence by beginning with moral action through habituation practices, entrepreneurship activities, Islamic rituals, and community service. This praxis-first approach subsequently generates authentic moral feeling, culminating in deepened moral knowing through structured classroom reflection. The reversed sequence finds theoretical resonance in Aristotle’s habituation, Ki Hadjar Dewantara’s Tringo principle (nglakoni, ngrasa, ngerti), Dewey’s experience-based learning, and Bandura’s social learning theory — all dimensions that Lickona’s standard model underweights. The article argues that Gusjigang’s inverted sequence is not a deviation from sound character education theory but a culturally embedded alternative instantiation of it, particularly effective when local wisdom anchors moral formation. These findings carry implications for character education theory, curriculum design, and scholarship on locally-grounded moral pedagogy.</p>