OUR KYOKUSHIN KARATE FOUNDER

Sosai Mas Oyama, was the founder of Kyokushin Karate (1923-1994). He was ranked 10th Dan Black Belt in Kyokushin Karate.

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 rigours 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. It was in 1950, after returning from the mountains, that Mas. Oyama first started matching his strength against that of a bull. He fought a total of 52 bulls, killing three and breaking the horns off 40.

In 1954, Mas. 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 1953 Oyama opened his own karate dojo, named Oyama Dojo (form of Gōjū-ryū), in Tokyo, Japan. 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/influential of all karate styles.

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