PAPAKURA
KYOKUSHIN KARATE
KYOKUSHIN KARATE
Kyokushin (極真) is a style of stand-up, full contact karate, founded in 1964 by Korean-Japanese Masutatsu Oyama (大山倍達 Ōyama Masutatsu). "Kyokushin" is Japanese for "the ultimate truth." It is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline and hard training. Its full contact style had international appeal.
Kyokushin is often referred to as the “strongest karate” due to the advanced form of full contact karate. Kyokushin fighters are known worldwide for their powerful full contact fighting expertise.
Karate is both an art and a philosophy.
Because each person has a different personality and physical capability, this is reflected in his or her interpretation of Karate. Therefore the Karate Masters founded their own schools over the ages, teaching their own style of ryu.
Kyokushinkai is the name given to our ryu, which originated with the legendary Master Masutatsu Oyama – a man of tremendous physical strength and mental resources.
Kyoku – means ultimate
Shin – means truth or reality
Kai – means to meet, join or associate.
It takes time to fully understand the meaning.
MASUTATSU OYAMA
Sosai Oyama, 10th Dan, was the founder of Kyokushin Karate 1923-1994. He started training at Chinese Kempo at the age of nine. When he was 15 years old, he started training in karate under Genchin Funakoshi. Mas. Oyama trained hard under various teachers and made great progress, becoming a 4th Dan at the age of 22. Two years later, in 1947, he won the All Japan Karate Championship.
In 1948, Mas. Oyama decided to undergo the rigors of training alone in the mountains. This he did on Mt. Kiyosumi in the Chiba Prefecture, where he stayed for 18 months, training daily to strengthen his body and spirit.
Oyama made his first of many visits to North America where he held numerous demonstrations and participated in many fights against boxers and wrestlers. He won all fights he participated in.
In 1954, he opened his first dojo in Tokyo. This dojo was the beginning of the KYOKUSHINKAIKAN. In 1964, the Tokyo Honbu was officially opened and the International Karate Organization-Kyokushinkaikan (I.K.O.K.) was established. Kyokushin Karate today is one of the largest and most famous of all karate styles
