KyokushinKaikan is a karate style that implies direct contact and a vertical stand ; the style was founded in 1964 by Masutatsu Oyama, born Hyung Yee Choi. Kyokushinkai translates from Japanese as “the path of the supreme truth”. The roots of Kyokushin come from a philosophy that includes self-improvement, discipline and tough training (well structured, drastic, hard).
Kyokushin has influenced many karate schools with its ‘full contact’ techniques, emphasising realistic combat, physical strength, a whole curriculum of training preparations. The Knockdown Karate competition system introduced by kyokushin is embraced by many different organisations and karate styles. Other martial arts organisations got inspiration from Kyokushin along the years and brought about some additions, such as the "grappling" techniques, but still pursuing the same realistic, practical philosophy of training methods. Currently, Kyokushin kaikan is known as the most powerful karate style.
Origins
Masutatsu Oyama (his true name was Hyung Yee Choi) was born in 1923 in Kinje, in South-West Korea, few miles away from the Yellow Sea shores and about 180 miles South-West of Seoul. Since the age of 9, Yee trained under the expert watch of his idol, a North-Korean fighter ; he left to Seoul when he turned 13, to go to high school. With only 14 years of age, he left his country and got to Japan to be a student at the Military Academy in the Yamanashi province. He started studying karate, Shotokan style. For two years, he trained in this martial art brought to Japan from Okinawa at the beginning of the century. However, unhappy with the training, Oyama decided to leave to Tokyo and continue studying. He was accepted to train in Shotokan at Mejiro, where Funakoshi - the father of Japanese karate - was teaching Shotokan with his son. At the age of 18, Oyama met the Korean Gojukai karate specialist, Cho Hyung Ju. They soon became friends and Oyama studied the Gojukai style with him for the next two years. In 1945 he gets married ; in the same year, he receives 4 Dan from Gichin Funakoshi. Taking Cho Hyung Ju’s advice, Oyama retreated to Yamanashi, 60 miles West of Tokyo. Soon after coming back to the capital city he met Tenshichiro Ozawa, a famous politician and statesman. Eventually, he convinced him to go back to the mountains and stay there for at least one year, live a simple life all by himself, train and get stronger. Oyama spent month after month following a strict schedule: he was training for seven hours, sleeping for eight hours, having three meals a day, and meditating and relaxing for the rest of the time. It’s the time when he worked on developing his own breaking techniques. He was walking on his hands, supporting his weight on two fingers ; pushing 200 kg ; smashing telephone posts with his fists and taking them apart ; breaking stones and timber with only one blow with the edge of his hand. One year passed, and he stayed on Kyosumi mountain, living and training like the Yamabushi (warrior monks) of the old Japan. As he was finding that his fists, powerful like hammers, are too strong for the flesh and bones of mortal humans, he started fighting with bulls and putting them down with fist blows on their head, slashing their horns with shuto uchi and killing them by twisting their necks. He also started smashing trees, rocks, glass, bricks, roof plates, timber, whatever his powerful hands could find. He made 40 attempts to break down bull horns using the edge of his hand, and 36 of these were successful. The very long horns would be split in pieces. Although the story goes that Oyama had killed 50 bulls, in reality he only killed three, in all cases by twisting their neck. All bull fights in the Tateyama region took place in 1949. The movie company Shochiku once sent a team to shoot a 20-minute movie about killing a bull. In 1947, Oyama won the Japanese Karate Championship ; his bull fighting had made him famous in the country and abroad. In March 1952, the professional fighting association invited him to Chicago, together with judoka Kokochi Endo and Big Togo, the professional fighter from Hawaii. After a big demonstration in Chicago, the three took on an American tour that continued until November, in which they challenged professional fighters and box fighters. Oyama won all the games by K.O. In 1955 he receives the 6th Dan from Gogen Yamaguchi. In 1957, Oyama travelled to the far Northern islands in Hokkaido, where he spent six months. During this time he had an attempt at fighting a bear, but the match proved impossible, because the bear was so big, that Oyama couldn't even get to its head with his fist. Mas. Oyama came back to the US in 1959 ; he gave some demonstration shows and established "Mas. Oyama's Karate" in Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. He also gave some demonstrations at the FBI Headquarters in Washington DC, and he took the demonstration tour to New York as well. In 1960, when Oyama left to New York to organise the North-American Karate Tour at Madison Square Garden, New York Times described him as “the toughest man in the world”. Although he changed the name of the style from "Mas. Oyama's Karate" to "Kyokushinkai" in 1961, he only built his general quarters, Honbu, in 1963. In 1969, Oyama organised what is deemed to be the “First open tour of the entire Japan”. He was granted the 9th Dan in 1974. In April 1994, Sosai Oyama dies and, through his will, leaves Akiyoshi Matsui as the leader of KYOKUSHINKAIKAN - I.K.O. Unfortunately, the scandal breaks as Sosai's will is challenged by many of the Japanese Shihans and not only by them. A new schism occurs, this time formal. However, most people recognise Akiyoshi Matsui - now called Sokei Matsui - as successor of the Kyokushin school. Some of the former students break apart with Matsui and prefer the lead of shihan Yukio Nishida and of some other shihans. This led to a schism in Kyokushin in all countries and resulted in two paradoxical world championships organised in 1995 and having the same name - The VI Open World Championship. The 26th of April 1994 was a sad day for the Kyokushin movement all over the world. The death of a legend and remarkable teacher was a shock for the entire world. Oyama not only created and developed a fight system, but his philosophy gave millions of people a sense and fulfilment in life. He was deemed as one of the best karate teachers in the world ; he taught many remarkable teachers and instructors, thus building a good reputation for Kyokushin karate. He created a tough, but fair style. For most of the world, he was and will ever be “the toughest man in the world”. “Sometimes I was in contact with gangsters, and there was always a possibility to partner up with them, but instead of becoming a gang leader, I took a different path in life and I became a master."
Kyokushin today
Existing as a single organisation under the lead of its founder, Mas Oyama, the Kyokushin structure divided into different groups at the master’s approval, each group claiming its own authority as a representative of the true Honbu.
Many of these groups use identical or very slightly different names. Therefore, there is much confusion in terms of inside policies and rivalry between groups. Various other organisations have derived from Kyokushin and teach similar techniques, but under different names. Also, many dojos in the entire world want to teach a Kyokushin curriculum, but without having any formal ties with the organisation itself.
Although it is difficult to quantify, the assumption is that the number of students and instructors involved in learning and teaching the style or one of its variations is quite high, ranging around millions in the entire world.
Techniques and Professional Training
Initiation to Kyokushin includes three key elements: technique, discipline/shape, sparring. These are sometimes called the three “K’s”, by the Japanese words: kihon (technique), kata (shape), and kumite (sparring).
The Technique (kihon)
The Kyokushin system is based on traditional Karate, such as Shotokan and Goju-Ryu, while including a lot of elements from fight sports such as boxing, Muay Thai and kickboxing in kumite. Many of the techniques used in Kyokushin Karate cannot be found in other karate styles.
Within this form of karate, the instructor and his students need to do a lot of sparring in order to prepare for full contact fight. Unlike some forms of karate, Kyokushin puts great emphasis on full contact fights, sometimes done with no gloves or protection gear. This seeming violence is however moderate, as bare-fist blows in the head are not allowed.
This reduces immediate and long-term risks of head trauma. While all kicks to head and face are allowed, lesions are a rare occurrence, due to the nature of these techniques ; in the long run, head trauma that is common to boxing and kickboxing is virtually inexistent. This makes the Kyokushin training style very popular among professionals in the field.
Elbow hits to face used to be allowed in the first Kyokushin tours and training sessions ; however, this resulted in numerous lesions, so that students had to abandon training. Thus, it was decided that hand and elbow hits to head and neck be no longer allowed in professional training and competitions. Oyama thought that wearing gloves would lessen the reality infusing this style of fight.
Technically speaking, Kyokushin is a particularity of a circle of styles, successfully incorporating a mix of powerful linear techniques.
The Kata
The Kata is a sort of a self-training ritual, where sequences of memorised movements are deployed with the purpose of doing a fight manoeuvre. According to the most famous Kyokushin text, "The Budo Karate of Mas Oyama", by Cameron Quinn, after a long interpretation from Oyama, the Kata found the following origins in Kyokushin:
The Sparring (kumite)
The sparring, also known as kumite, is used for training in applying the various techniques in a fight situation. Sparring is usually a key part of the training in most Kyokushin organisations, especially at higher levels, with experienced students. In many Kyokushin organisations, arm and elbow hits to the head and neck are forbidden.
However, knee kicks to the head, fist hits in the higher part of the body, as well as kicks towards the inside and outside are allowed. Gloves and foot protection gear is worn in some Kyokushin organisations, especially outside touring events. Children usually wear head protection gear in order to diminish the impact of any blow in that area.
Speed and control are instruments one works with in sparring ; in a training environment, the artist's intention is not to hurt his opponent, but rather to successfully perform the right movements. The fighting competition is far from complying with the knock-down karate norms, where the goal is to knock out the opponent. In Kyokushin, "full contact" sparring is deemed as the final test of strength, endurance and spirit.
The Culture
The Grades:
Coloured belts have their origin in Judo, as well as the preparation of the “gi” - or ”Dogi”, more accurately in Japanese. In Kyokushin, the ranking of belts varies depending on different groups, but according to Oyama’s Honbu, the kyu ranks and the belt colours are as follows:
White(no rank)
White with an orange stripe: 10 kyu
Orange with a light blue stripe: 9 kyu
Light blue: 8 kyu
Light blue with a yellow stripe: 7 kyu
Yellow: 6 kyu
Yellow with a green stripe: 5 kyu
Green: 4 kyu
Green with a brown stripe: 3 kyu
Brown: 2 kyu
Brown with a golden stripe: 1 kyu
Black: 1 Dan
Each of the coloured belts has two levels, with the second level represented by a stripe on the belt. The white belt represents no rank at all ; however, it does have a place in the "gi". Therefore, the white belt is used by practitioners who have not earned any qualification rank. In some Kyokushin variations, the orange belt is replaced by a red belt. The belt system conceived by Oyama was pursued for 30 years, except for the orange/red, which was introduced in the last year of his life. Also, some groups used red belts for the high Dan ranks ; Oyama however did not embrace this practice and always wore the black belt at the dojo and in the organisation.
Kyokushin Karate has a belt classification system similar to that of other martial arts. The requirements for each rank vary in different countries and some are more rigorous and demanding than others. For instance, in some European countries, for each classification level, the student is required to comply with all full requirements up to the rank for which he will be tested.
So, the student who is tested for the black belt rank will comply with all the requirements for the orange belt, then with all the requirements for the blue belt and so on. Also, the requirements regarding free fights for the first degree black belt vary from twenty to forty rounds, depending on the region, usually with very high-level contact, with no protection gear except for the mouth and the inguinal area.
It’s not the number of fight rounds that is so important, but rather the intensity of the effort committed defines the rank. In some fields there are no formal grades ; instead of the student’s presentation after a new level of training, the instructor gives an assessment considering the student’s capacity to comply with all the requirements of the respective level.
At the beginning of training, every student is given a white belt. Every time the student successfully qualifies to a level, he is granted a kyu rank, a stripe on his current belt or a totally new colour of the belt. Getting a 1-Dan black belt - Shodan - can take up to 4 years, many times even 6 - 10 years of professional training.
Starting with the white belt, every belt requires a different number of fights that are needed for a qualification sparring rank. What defines the Kyokushin black belt is represented by power, spirit and courage in kumite.
Competition and Tours
Competition tours are a key part in Kyokushin. Kyokushin tours are organised all along the year, on every continent in the world ; however, the biggest ones are held in Japan, where the live broadcasts attract thousands of viewers. Tours are organised per weight categories or as open tours. Kyokushin tours are known in the world as the Karate Olympics. The Kyokushin culture holds it that accepting a challenge represents the commitment of a Kyokushin practitioner to the principles of the art.
A way of participating in a challenge, where a Kyokushin student tests his courage and desire to win over an opponent, lays as the principle of such competition tours. Most kyokushin tours comply with knockdown rules, where points are given for knocking the opponent down through kicks and fist blows. Hand blows to the head, face, neck and spine are forbidden. Many Kyokushin tours are very open and allow karate practitioners to compete and embrace any martial arts style.
Influence Over Other Knockdown Styles
Kyokushin had a great influence over other styles ; also, knockout karate rules have been embraced by a large number of fight styles. Many other karate styles have their roots in the Kyokushin, such as Ashihara Karate, Budokaido, Godokai, Enshin de Karate, Seido juku, Musokai, Shidokan and Seidokaikan (the style that is the origin of the K1 Kickboxing tour) ; these are knockdown styles and make use of the same competition norms, with slight variations.
Some other styles, such as Kansuiryu Karate and Byakuren, are also knockdown karate styles, but their roots are independent from Kyokushin and they just embraced the same competition format. Some original Kyokushin styles, such as Jushindo and Daido Juku, have been strongly influenced by the kyokushin techniques and traditions, but chose to give up knockdown karate sparring in favour of influences of competition rules from a mixture of martial arts.
Other styles, such as Kokondo, are strong derivates of Kyokushin, but have eliminated the knockdown format and focused on “street fighting”, without having any orientation towards tours and competitions.
Bonus, find below 5 parts of a documentary made by the Discovery Channel brothers about Kyokushin karate.
