KYOKUSHIN KARATE IN BRIEF
Kyokushin was founded by Masutatsu Oyama in 1964, but it had been
developing since the early 1950s. As a child, he also trained in
Kempo, and later extensively in Shotokan under Gichin Funakoshi,
Goju Ryu under So Nei Chu, and Judo.
Kyokushin rapidly gained in popularity, to the extent that more
than 12 million people worldwide practice it. It became known as
"The Strongest Karate", not only because of the incredible
feats of strength and endurance that Mas Oyama performed, such as
the 300
man kumite, but also because of the rigorous requirements of
training and tournaments. It requires you to be strong in mind and
body, and this characteristic of its practitioners is generally
well recognised among the martial arts in general. Kyokushin is
best known for its full contact fighting.
In 1994, Mas Oyama died, leaving behind a saddened organisation.
The original one he formed broke up into a number of different ones
using the same, or similar, name, which sometimes is a source of
confusion to the uninitiated. The spirit of the karate however still
remains much the same in all of the groups.
KYOKUSHIN means "search for the ultimate truth"
This is represented by the stylised Japanese kanji characters on the left hand side of this page. These are embroidered over the heart on every Kyokushin karate uniform, and almost universally recognised by most established martial arts. The logo was developed for Mas Oyama by a renowned calligrapher.
This truth is a personal truth - it cannot be given to you. You must find it through training, sweat, pain, but above all, persistence.
The Kanku seen on the right side of this page (above the IFK logo) is another significant identifying symbols of Kyokushin.
