ABOUT KARATE

Kyokushin Karate

Sosai Masutatsu (Mas) Oyama, the founder of Kyokushin Karate, was born in South Korea in 1923. He began his lifelong journey along the Martial Way at the age of nine, while living on his sister’s farm in Manchuria (southern China), where he was first introduced to “Eighteen Hands,” a southern Chinese form of Kempo. At the age of twelve, he returned to Korea, where he continued his training in Korean Kempo.

​

In 1938, at the age of fifteen, Mas Oyama traveled to Japan to train as a pilot while simultaneously pursuing martial arts through judo and boxing. Shortly thereafter, he began training at the dojo of Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan Karate. Oyama’s progress was extraordinary: by the age of seventeen he had achieved Nidan (2nd Dan), and by the age of twenty he had reached Yondan (4th Dan) in Shotokan Karate. During this period, he also developed a deep interest in judo and attained the rank of Yondan in less than four years.

​

At the age of twenty-three, Masutatsu Oyama met Eiji Yoshikawa, the author of “Musashi.” Deeply inspired by both the book and its author, Oyama began to understand the meaning of the Bushido code—the way of the samurai. Seeking further spiritual and physical development, he retreated to Mount Minobu, a place chosen deliberately because Miyamoto Musashi had once refined his swordsmanship there. After fourteen months, Oyama was forced to leave the mountain. A few months later, he participated in and won the first martial arts competition held after the Second World War. Despite this victory, he felt compelled to complete a full three-year mountain training. This time, he chose Mount Kiyozumi as his spiritual training ground.

​

Oyama’s training in the mountains was exceptionally severe. He trained up to twelve hours a day to perfect his style. He shattered river rocks with his bare hands, trained beneath freezing waterfalls, used trees as striking and kicking targets, and leapt over rapidly growing plants. In addition, he devoted daily time to studying classical martial arts, Zen, and philosophy.

​

During the 1950s, Mas Oyama demonstrated his power and skill by fighting bulls. In total, he fought 52 bulls—three of which were killed instantly with a single strike, and 49 of which had their horns broken using shuto (knife-hand) techniques. In 1952, Mas Oyama traveled throughout the United States for a year, demonstrating karate live on national television. In the years that followed, he accepted all challengers—approximately 270 in total. Most opponents were defeated with a single technique. A fight never lasted longer than three minutes and rarely more than a few seconds.

Oyama’s fighting art was rooted in the samurai principle “Ichi Geki Hissatsu”—one strike, certain death. Once he penetrated your defense, the fight was over. If he struck you, you broke; if you blocked his punch, your arm would be broken or dislocated; if you did not block, your ribs would be shattered. Because of his extraordinary power and skill, he became known as “The Godhand.”

Mas Oyama was a man who observed other fighting styles and incorporated all techniques that were effective in real combat into his karate. Through this approach, Kyokushin Karate evolved into one of the most powerful martial arts in the world. It soon became known as “The Strongest Karate,” not only because of the incredible strength and endurance demonstrated by Mas Oyama, but also due to the strict demands of its training and competition.

To test his own limits, Mas Oyama decided to undertake the legendary 300-man kumite over the course of three days. He selected the strongest students from his dojo to fight him one by one. After each student had fought him once, they would begin again from the start, until three hundred fights had been completed. Over the three days, each student faced Oyama approximately four times, though many did not make it past the first day due to the power of his strikes. Oyama defeated all opponents with unwavering determination, though he himself sustained serious injuries. According to legend, he was even willing to continue into a fourth day, but no opponent was able—or willing—to face him due to exhaustion and injury.

Mas Oyama, a non-smoker, passed away in 1994 from lung cancer.

Since its founding, Kyokushin Karate has spread to more than 120 countries and is practiced by over 12 million people, making it one of the largest martial arts styles in the world.

The Kyokushin Karate of Sosai Mas Oyama is regarded as one of the most physically demanding martial arts. The word Kyokushin literally means ultimate truth. Respect, discipline, and perseverance form its core pillars. These principles extend beyond the dojo into daily life, making Kyokushin not just a martial art, but a way of life that undoubtedly contributes positively to personal growth.