Oyama Karate
Oyama Karate or Kyokushin kaikan is a style of full contact karate, and also a philosophy self-improvement, discipline and hard training. It’s been around since 1964 in Japan, but is practiced worldwide by some 12 million students. It was founded by Korean born Masutatsu Oyama who started studying martial arts at the age of 9 on his sister’s farm. He would later move to Japan and join the army, but after World War II he trained in Shotokan Karate with its founder, Gichin Funakoshi, before going on a 14-month training retreat in the mountains of Japan alone.
He would return to compete and win a tournament before going on another 18-month solo training trip. His time of personal reflection seemed to benefit him greatly, because when he returned he would begin teaching until his death in 1994. The family school still operates today. Though there have been some disputes among his followers, the message remains clear. Oyama Karate is about self defense for combat on the streets of the real world.
Masutatsu did things differently during his time that held on to karate’s roots. After World War II, martial arts began turning into combat sports and lost their edge. Some instructors continued to teach hard hitting styles and Masutatsu was one of those men. The techniques, forms, and sparring remained part of the style, but boxing and kickboxing moves were also part of the training. When students spar they don’t use pads and gloves, and they also do body hardening exercises.
It takes a lot to go against the tide like Masutatsu did, but he held to his beliefs. He understood what martial arts really were all about. He made better people who were prepared for battle in the streets and in life. Self defense isn’t learned from combat sports, but from hard training that is based in reality. Combat sports are a good introduction for a student, but they aren’t self defense training. Oyama Karate is a good choice for those of you who want to learn real self defense or just add to your World War II combatives knowledge. In a real fight it’s all about hitting hard and hitting first, and if your style doesn’t let you do that you’ll get hurt.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
