Kyokushin Academy Facebook
1923 - 1994
Masutatsu (Mas) Oyama was born Yong I-Choi on the 27th of July, 1923, in
a village not far from Gunsan in Southern Korea. At a relatively young
age he was sent to Manchuria, in Southern China, to live on his sister's
farm. At the age of nine, he started studying the Southern Chinese form
of Kempo called Eighteen hands
from a Mr. Yi who was at the time working on the farm. When Oyama
returned to Korea at the age of 12, he continued his training in Korean
Kempo.
In 1938, at the age of 15, he travelled to Japan to train as an aviator,
to be like his hero of the time, Korea's first fighter pilot. Survival
on his own at that age proved to be more difficult than he thought,
especially as a Korean in Japan, and the aviator training fell by the
wayside.
He
did however continue martial arts training, by participating in judo and
boxing. One day he noticed some students training in Okinawan Karate,
this interested him very much and he went to train at the dojo of Gichin
Funakoshi at Takushoku University, where he learned what is today known
as Shotokan Karate.
His training progress was such that by the age of seventeen he was
already a 2nd Dan, and
by the time he entered the Japanese Imperial Army at 20, he was a fourth
Dan. At this point he
also took a serious interest in judo, and his progress there was no less
amazing. By the time he had quit training in Judo, less than four years
after he had started, he had achieved the rank of fourth
Dan in Judo.
The
defeat of Japan and the subsequent indignity of Occupation almost proved
to be too much for Mas Oyama, who nearly despaired. Fortunately for all
of us, So Nei Chu came into his life at that time. Master So, another
Korean (from Oyama's own province) living in Japan, was one of the
highest authorities on Goju Ryu in Japan at the time. He was renowned
for both his physical and spiritual strength. It was he who encouraged
Mas Oyama to dedicate his life to the Martial Way. It was he too who
suggested that Oyama should retreat away from the rest of the world for
3 years while training his mind and body.
When he was 23 years old, Mas Oyama met Eiji Yoshikawa, the author of
the novel Musashi,
which was based on the life and exploits of Japan's most famous Samurai.
Both the novel and the author helped to teach Mas Oyama about the
Samurai Bushido code
and what it meant. That same year, Oyama went to Mt. Minobu in the Chiba
Prefecture, where Musashi had developed his Nito-Ryu style of sword
fighting. Oyama thought that this would be an appropriate place to
commence the rigours of training he had planned for himself. Among the
things he took with him was a copy of Yoshikawa's book. A student named
Yashiro also came with him.
The relative solitude was strongly felt, and after 6 months, Yashiro
secretly fled during the night. It became even harder for Oyama, who
wanted more than ever to return to civilisation. So Nei Chu wrote to him
that he should shave off an eyebrow in order to get rid of the urge.
Surely he wouldn't want anyone to see him that way! This and other more
moving words convinced Oyama to continue, and he resolved to become the
most powerful karate-ka in Japan.
Soon
however, his sponsor informed him that he was no longer able to support
him and so, after fourteen months, he had to end his solitude.
A few months later, in 1947, Mas Oyama won the karate section of the
first Japanese National Martial Arts Championships after WWII. However,
he still felt empty for not having completed the three years of
solitude. He then decided to dedicate his life completely to karate-do.
So he started again, this time on Mt. Kiyozumi, also in Chiba
Prefecture. This site he chose for its spiritually uplifting
environment.
This time his training was fanatical — 12 hours a day every day with no
rest days, standing under (cold) buffeting waterfalls, breaking river
stones with his hands, using trees as
makiwara, jumping over
rapidly growing flax plants hundreds of times each day. Each day also
included a period of study of the ancient classics on the Martial arts,
Zen, and philosophy.
After eighteen months he came down fully confident of himself, and able
to take control of his life. Never again would he be so heavily
influenced by his society around him. Though it is probably safe to say
that his circumstances were also probably never again as traumatic!
Mas Oyama’s Bull Fighting, Challengers, and the Godhand
In
1950, Sosai (the founder) Mas Oyama started testing (and demonstrating)
his power by fighting bulls. Three of which were killed and some had
their horns taken off with knife hand blows. That it is not to say that
it was all that easy for him. Oyama was fond of remembering that his
first attempt just resulted in an angry bull. In 1957, at the age of 34,
he was nearly killed in Mexico when a bull got some of his own back and
gored him. Oyama somehow managed to pull the bull off and break off his
horn. Today of course, the animal rights groups would have something to
say about these demonstrations, despite the fact that the animals were
already all destined for slaughter.
In 1952, he travelled the United States for a year, demonstrating his
karate live and on national television. During subsequent years, he took
on all challengers, resulting in fights with 270 different people. The
vast majority of these were defeated with one punch! A fight
never lasted more than three minutes, and most rarely lasted more than a
few seconds. His fighting principle was simple — if he got through to
you, that was it.
If he hit you, you broke. If you blocked a rib punch, you arm was broken
or dislocated. If you didn't block, your rib was broken. He became known
as the Godhand,
a living manifestation of the Japanese warriors' maxim
Ichi geki, Hissatsu or
"One strike, certain death". To him, this was the true aim of technique
in karate. The fancy footwork and intricate techniques were secondary
(though he was also known for the power of his head kicks).
Oyama Dojo
In 1953, Mas Oyama opened his first "Dojo", a grass lot in Mejiro in
Tokyo. In 1956, the first real Dojo was opened in a former ballet studio
behind Rikkyo University, 500 meters from the location of the current
Japanese honbu dojo (headquarters). By 1957 there were 700 members,
despite the high drop-out rate due to the harshness of training.
Practitioners of other styles came to train here too, for the
jis-sen kumite (full
contact fighting). One of the original instructors, Kenji Kato, has said
that they would observe those from other styles, and adopt any
techniques that "would be good in a real fight". This was how Mas
Oyama's karate evolved. He took techniques from all martial arts, and
did not restrict himself to karate alone.
The Oyama Dojo members took their kumite seriously, seeing it primarily
as a fighting art, so they expected to hit and to be hit. With few
restrictions, attacking the head was common, usually with the palm heel
or towel-wrapped knuckles. Grabs, throws, and groin attacks were also
common. Kumite rounds would continue till one person loudly conceded
defeat. Injuries occurred on a daily basis and the dropout rate was high
(over 90%). They had no official
do-gi and wore whatever
they had.
The beginning of Kyokushin
The current IKO World Headquarters were officially opened in June 1964,
where the name Kyokushin,
a name aptly chosen by Sosai’s wife Mrs Chiyako Oyama meaning "Ultimate
truth" was adopted. From then, Kyokushin continued to spread to more
than 120 countries, and registered members exceed 10 million making it
one of the largest martial arts organisations in the world. Among the
better known Kyokushin
Yudansha (black belts) are Sean Connery (Honorary
Shodan), Dolph Lundgren
(Sandan, former
Australian heavyweight champion), and President Nelson Mandela of South
Africa (Honorary Hachidan),
and most recently (June 1988), the Australian Prime Minister, John
Howard (Honorary Godan)
who was awarded the grade at the official opening of the one of the dojo
in Sydney.
Sadly, Sosai Mas Oyama died, of lung cancer (though nominally a
non-smoker, it's rumoured that he may have enjoyed to odd cigar, at the
age of 70 in April 1994, leaving the then 5th
Dan Akiyoshi Matsui in
charge of the organisation. This has had many political and economic
ramifications throughout the Kyokushin world, which are still being
resolved. In the end, the result may well be a splintering of Kyokushin,
much like Shotokan now appears to have done, with each group claiming to
be the one-and-only true heir of Mas Oyama's Kyokushin, either
spiritually or even financially. It has even been suggested, not
entirely in jest, by one Kyokushin commentator in Australia (Harry
Rogers) that maybe Oyama created the turmoil on purpose, because he
didn't want Kyokushin to survive without him! Perhaps though the fact
that Sosai was a Korean native living in Japan and so too is Matsui is
not simply a coincidence, that Sosai left his beloved association in the
hands of a fellow countryman is not beyond reason, indeed no-one can
doubt Matsui, who was the youngest ever knockdown world champion and is
one of just a handful of Kyokushin practitioners to complete the 100 man
Kumite, is an awesome Karate-ka. It is however reasonably certain that
all Kyokushin groups, regardless of their ultimate allegiance, will
still try to maintain the standards set by Mas Oyama.
Maybe a Kyokushin splintering will be a good thing, since in all good
families; some of the children eventually do leave home and start their
own families. Some of the splinter groups may remain faithful to the
Kyokushin principles, such as our very own
Hanshi Steve Arneil in
Great Britain did in 1991. Many others, such as Shigeru Oyama and
Tadashi Nakamura in the U.S.A, have taken it further by developing their
own style based on Kyokushin. With Kyokushin practitioners featuring in
MMA in Bass Rutten and 5x World Strongest Man winner Mariuz
Pudzainowski, UFC in Champion Georges St-Pierre and K-1 with World
Champions Andi Hug, Semmy Schilt, Francisco Filho and Glaube Feitosa, it
is clear that Kyokushin continues to develop and Sosai’s legacy is set
to continue long into the future.
Sosai Masutatsu Oyama summed up his entire Martial Arts philosophy in
eleven mottoes also known as the Zayu no Mei Juichi Kajo,
which are central in his teaching. Many of these hold very
practical application, even today. Many people do not pay enough,
if any, attention to them. When practicing Kyokushin we should not
forget there principles.
The Martial Arts way begins and ends with courtesy. Therefore, be
properly and genuinely courteous at all times.
Following the Martial Way is like scaling a cliff - Continue upwards
without rest. It demands absolute and unfaltering devotion to the
task at hand.
Strive to seize the initiative in all things, all the time guarding
against actions stemming from selfish animosity or thoughtlessness.
Even for the Martial Artist, the place of money cannot be ignored.
Yet one should be careful never to become attached to it.
The Martial Way is centered on posture. Strive to maintain correct
posture at all times.
The Martial Way begins with one thousand day and is mastered after ten
thousand days of training.
In the Martial Arts, introspection begets wisdom. Always see
contemplation on your actions as an opportunity to improve.
The nature and purpose of the Martial Way is universal. All
selfish desires should be roasted in the tempering fires of hard
training.
The Martial Arts begin with a point and end in a circle. Straight
lines stem from this principal.
The true essence of the Martial Way can only be realized through
experience. Knowing this, learn never to fear its demand.
Always remember: in the Martial Arts, the rewards of a confident and
grateful heart are truly abundant.
Click the picture above for a tribute to Sosai Oyama