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Which dan does Masutatsu Oyama have? Sport! It's not just goals, meters, seconds

Born on July 27, 1923, in one of the villages of South Korea. His real name is Yong Yi Choi.

Masutatsu began practicing martial arts very early, at the age of 9. In 1938, at the age of fifteen, he left for Japan and entered an aviation school, he wanted to become a pilot like the hero of his time, the 1st Korean fighter pilot. Surviving in difficult conditions at such a young age turns out to be much more difficult than he thought, especially since Koreans studying at flight schools in Japan were considered strangers and were treated accordingly.
Despite the difficult time in his life, he continues to practice martial arts, judo and boxing. One day he notices some guys practicing Okinawa Karate. This piques his interest and he goes to Gichin Funakoshi's dojo at Takushoku University, where he mastered what is today called Shotokan Karate (non-contact style of karate).

Oyama progresses quickly: by the age of 17 he receives 2nd dan, and by the time he enlists in the Imperial Japanese Army, at the age of 2, he receives 4th dan. At this time he became seriously interested in judo, and the results in this martial art were no less outstanding. By the time he completed his judo training, Masutatsu, in less than 4 years from the start of his training, reached 4th dan in judo.

After Japan's defeat in World War 2, Masutatsu Oyama fell into despair and depression and practically abandoned his practice. Fortunately, So Nei Chu had already entered his life.
Co Nei Chu W is a master of that time, a Korean, a fellow countryman of Oyama, living in Japan, and one of the outstanding masters of Goju Ryu. This Master was famous for his physical and spiritual strength. It was he who inspired Oyama to devote his life to the Martial Path (Budo). So suggested to Oyama the idea that Oyama should seclude himself from people and spend 3 years training his mind and body.
At the age of 23, Masutatsu Oyama meets Eiji Yoshikawa, the author of the novel “Musashi,” which was based on events from the life and deeds of Japan’s most famous Samurai. The novel and its author help Masutatsu Oyama more deeply understand the code of the Samurai - Bushido.

That same year, Masutatsu travels to Mount Minobu in Chiba County, where Musashi founded the Nito-ryu sword fighting style. Masutatsu believed that this would be a good place to begin his rigorous training. Among the things he took with him was a copy of Yoshikawa's book. A student named Yashiro went with him, but loneliness took a very heavy toll on him, and after six months of training, Yashiro secretly escapes at night. This takes a very hard toll on Oyama, and the desire to return to society becomes even stronger. With Nei, Chu convinces Oyama to continue training with many examples, and Oyama decides to become the strongest karateka in Japan.

After some time, the person who provided Masutatsu with the means to live reported that he could no longer provide support to Oyama. After 14 months, Oyama has to break his solitude.
Some time later, in 1947, Masutatsu won the 1st, after World War 2, All-Japan Karate Championship. Despite this, Oyama still feels empty in his soul due to the fact that he was unable to spend 3 years in solitude. Oyama decides to devote himself and his life to karate.
He begins again, now on Mount Kiezumi, in the same vicinity of Chiba. Oyama chooses this place for his spiritual ascent. Oyama's training becomes more intense to the point of fanaticism in terms of the level of stress - 12 hours a day, every day and without a break.
He stands under the cold water of waterfalls, throws river stones with his hands, uses trees as a makiwara, and does 100 push-ups, thereby strengthening his body. He includes in his daily schedule training in the scholarly works of the classics of martial arts, Zen and philosophy. After 18 months, Oyama completes his seclusion, having gained self-confidence and the ability to completely control himself.
During a short but fruitful retreat in the mountains, he lives according to a strictly developed regime, often mentioned in biographies of Oyama and serving as an edification for frivolous students:

4 o'clock in the morning - rise. Meditation with eyes closed - 10 minutes. Jogging in the mountains - 2 hours.
7 am - cooking.
8 a.m. - meal, during which breakfast and lunch are combined.
9 am - start of practice. Perform a complex consisting of 5 exercises 10 times:
lift 20 times - 60 kg barbell;
finger push-ups 20 times;
handstand push-ups 20 times;
pull-ups on the bar 20 times;
deliver 20 fist blows from the right and left to the makiwara.

After completing each complex, perform breathing exercises and immediately proceed to the next complex.

After performing this complex 10 times, rest for up to 11 hours.
11 a.m. - kata performance.
At the same time, perform any 1 kata 100 times every day. For example, on the 1st day of Heian-1, on the 2nd day of Heian-2, etc. until he completes all 5 Heian complexes, and then perform them in reverse order. The same should be done with all remaining kata.
2 pm - lifting weights. Lift a 60 kg barbell 20 times, then gradually increase the load.
Perform 1000 push-ups: 200 times on 2 fingers, 200 times on 4 fingers, 400 times on 5 fingers. Before performing each complex, take a short break. From time to time, in order to diversify your workouts, perform 1000 push-ups on your fists with a break after 500.
3 pm - development of sparring techniques; training with makiwara; rope climbing; perform exercises for the abdominal muscles - 200 times; after - breaking stones.
5 pm - cooking. Dinner.
6 pm - meditation and going to bed.

In addition to this, it should be said that a large number of devotees and martial arts enthusiasts adhered to a similar daily routine not for a year or two, but for 20-30 years or their entire lives.

However, for a master who decides to challenge the largest schools, a person who wants to introduce a new method of teaching karate, the 1st victory in the tournament was clearly not enough. A completely modern man, Masutatsu quickly realized that only bright advertising could help in such a bold undertaking. With his ardent determination, Oyama began preparing a serious advertising campaign, training spectacular performances. In 1949, Oyama settled in a shack next to the city slaughterhouse and spent 7 months there studying animal behavior. He develops his own method of eliminating bulls with his bare hands - cutting off the bulls' horns at the root with a "hand-sword" blow.

In 1950 - Sosai Masutatsu Oyama begins to demonstrate his strength by engaging in fights with bulls. The number of bulls with which he had to fight was 52, of which 3 bulls were killed, and 49 bulls had their horns cut off with the famous “shuto” blow (a blow with the edge of the palm). There was no question of ease of fights. Masutatsu happily recalled his 1st experiment, which only ended with him enraging the bull. In 1957, in Mexico, when he was 34 years old, Oyama was on the verge of life and death when a bull gored him with its horn. Masutatsu managed to overthrow the bull and cut off its horn with a blow. This incident confined Oyama to bed for six months and he miraculously managed to recover from his fatal wound. The Humane Society of Japan launched a protest to stop Oyama's fighting with animals after learning that Oyama intended to fight a tiger and a bear, even though the bulls Oyama killed were destined for slaughter.

In 1952, Masutatsu organized a tour of the United States, where he created a sensation and completely confused the audience by demonstrating incredible performances. And indeed, what must have been the reaction of American spectators when the visiting master split huge cobblestones like porcelain, blew off the neck of a beer bottle without the bottle falling off, hit himself on the knuckles with a hammer, punched through thick boards laid in 15-20 layers of tiles and 3-4 bricks lying on top of each other? Masutatsu travels throughout the United States for a year, demonstrating his karate skills live and on national television.
Over the following years, Oyama challenges masters of various types of martial arts, including boxers, to a duel, and conducts 270 fights with various fighters.

Most of the fighters were defeated with 1 blow! The fight never lasted more than 3 rounds, and rarely lasted more than a few seconds. His tactics were simple: Oyama closed the distance, approaching the opponent and delivered a blow, the legal result of which was that the opponent became the owner of the fracture. If the opponent managed to block the blow, then this block was not enough and the blow went through him. If the opponent could not block the attack, then his ribs were broken. Masutatsu becomes known as the "Hand of God", as a clear reflection of the Japanese fighters' principle of "one strike, one death". This was the true purpose of karate technique. Complex leg techniques and intricate techniques were secondary (although Oyama used them too, and very effectively).

In 1953 - opens his 1st dojo in Mejiro in Tokyo. In 1956, the 1st permanent dojo opened in a former ballet studio behind the grounds of Rikkyo University, 500 meters from today's Japan Central Dojo. By 1957 there were 700 students, despite the huge number who could not stand the arduous and grueling training. Adepts of other styles came to Oyama's dojo to practice full contact karate.
One of the first instructors, Kenji Kato, told newly arrived adepts of other styles to follow the techniques of other styles, and learn any methods and techniques that could help in real combat. This was the karate that Masutatsu Oyama developed.

Masutatsu took methods and techniques from all martial arts and was not limited to karate alone. The students of Oyama's dojo took the training of fighting techniques seriously, seeing in their training, first of all, the art of fighting. Some restrictions were still present during kumite (full contact combat) - blows to the head were applied with an open palm or with knuckles wrapped in a towel. Grabs, throws, and groin strikes were allowed. The kumite rounds lasted until complete defeat was declared. Injuries were common in those days, and student dropout rates were extremely high (over 90%). No leniency was shown to the students. Everyone got what they deserved.

At this time, Masutatsu Oyama came up with the idea of opening his own school. He began to create a new school of karate - Kyokushinkai (Society of Absolute Truth), openly contrasting it with all previously existing directions and styles of karate.
The school's world center officially opened in June 1964, and the name Kyokushin, meaning "Ultimate Truth", was officially adopted. Since that time, Kyokushin has spread to more than 120 countries around the world, and today there are more than 12 million registered IKO members, i.e. it is one of the largest karate federations in the world. Celebrities associated with Kyokushin include: Sean Connery - honorary 1st dan; Dolph Lundgren 3rd Dan - Australian Heavyweight Champion; President of South Africa Nelson Mandela - honorary 8th dan; Australian Prime Minister John Howard - honorary 5th dan; who was awarded a black belt at the official opening Kyokushin dojo in Sydney in June 1988.

What is this? Victory of the new style of karate? No, rather, the optimally realized potential of the entire karate heritage, the immortal testaments of the old masters. Masutatsu never hid the eclectic nature of his karate style. Having abandoned the dogmas and attitudes that were characteristic of traditional martial arts and, above all, the narrow sectarian approach, he undertakes a general revision of a large number of types of martial arts (both with and without weapons), with the task of selecting the elements necessary for his style. All this, taken together, was designed to provide the style requirements: strength, durability and efficiency.

Masutatsu introduces a large number of new, borrowed and invented combinations into the tactics of kumite (free duel), thereby undoubtedly expanding the arsenal of karate, although in his developments we will not be able to find a coherent system tied to philosophical and cosmogonic models, which the old ones could boast of intercontinental schools. In the field of philosophy, Masutatsu follows the path of traditional teachings. Having studied the works of Takuyan, Miyamoto Musashi and other masters of the past, he continues to develop their ideas about the merging of man with the entire boundless Universe, about the transformation of the spirit-mind into Emptiness through Zen practice. Wanting to be able to bridge the gap between the abstract constructions of Zen logic and the reality of modern life, Masutatsu emphasizes the introverted essence of self-knowledge: Nothing in Zen is opposed to existence. This is not relative Nothing. This can only be achieved by overcoming the antinomies of life - death and victory - defeat. Masutatsu plays an important role in long-term sitting meditation - za-zen and mandatory short-term meditation with closed eyes, preceding and finishing training, moku-so.

And yet, the most important thing in the Masutatsu system is what resonates in the hearts of millions, not lifeless theory, not meditation and not learning movements that are quite standard for karate, but practical efficiency, maximum vitality. For his students, he developed a whole cascade of mind-blowing tricks that embody the advanced achievements of karate on a physical level:

- punch a sheet of thin rice paper suspended on 2 threads with a blow of your fist and fingers;
- split a board (or brick) suspended on a rope with a blow from the fist, elbow, edge of the palm, edge of the foot and forefoot from a standing position on the ground or while jumping;
- split several inch boards, which are held in the hands of 2 assistants, using all possible blows of the hands and feet, including jumping at a height of about 2 meters;
- split an inch board floating in a barrel of water;
- split up to 20 layers of tiles with your hands, feet and head;
- split 3 bricks lying on top of each other with a “hand-sword” or “iron hammer” blow;
- split with a sword-hand blow 3 ice slabs, each 3 inches thick, lying on top of each other at intervals;
- break through an ice block with your hand and head;
- split a massive cobblestone with the base of the edge of your palm;
- cut off the neck of a standing bottle;
- penetration with a “hand-spear” blow into a tightly connected bundle of bamboo rods;
- pierce a suspended cow carcass with a “hand-spear” blow.

All of the above actions belong to the category of positive (Yang), embodying the principles of active attack. Another significant place in the exhibition program Kyokushin and are also occupied by numbers that reveal the body’s extraordinary ability to passively resist and belong to the category of negative (Yin). For example, a 2-inch thick stick breaks when it hits the back, chest, arms or legs of a calmly standing person. Or this: a karateka lies with his back on a board from which nails protrude, a granite boulder weighing at least 50 kg is placed on his chest, and the boulder is broken with a blow from a sledgehammer. Impressive! However, even more amazing tricks are present in the performances of Indian yogi-fakirs or Chinese qigong masters.

Strength routines in Kyokushin are combined with all kinds of tests for speed, clarity and accuracy. These are the exercises: extinguishing a candle from a long distance with various blows of the hands and feet, cutting a matchbox made of thin plywood with the edge of the palm, pulling out a paper sheet from under a pack of cigarettes, a glass or a standing cigarette, shaking off the ashes from a lit cigarette in a partner’s teeth with a kick, etc. .P. bright demonstrations designed to be spectacular.
However, Sosai attracts supporters not only with circus demonstrations. Oyama personally trained athletes from different countries and travels around the world giving lectures and demonstrations. He was the author of many books, brochures, technical manuals and developments. At his request, a large number of advertising films were shot, including both documentaries and feature films. But here’s what’s worth highlighting: his students won championships. And it’s not just school Kyokushinkai was not part of the All-Japan Karate Federation, opposing it with its World Federation. Sosai went his own way.

Sadly, in April 1994, at the age of 70, the founder of Kyokushinkai karate, Masutatsu Oyama, died of lung cancer, although he was not a smoker.
Shokei Matsui (5th dan) remains in charge of the organization.
Oyama's death led to a lot of political and economic controversy around the world Kyokushinkai, which, unfortunately, are still relevant after a lot of time. The result is a split in Kyokushinkai, much like the split in Shotokan karate. Now, it seems, every group will claim that "only they" are the true heirs of Masutatsu Oyama's Kyokushinkai, spiritually or even materially. One of the chapters Kyokushinkai in Australia, Harry Rogers even suggested (jokingly) that perhaps Masutatsu Oyama created the commotion on purpose because he didn't want Kyokushin to survive without him!
However, it makes sense to make the assumption that all Kyokushinkai groups, regardless of their ultimate allegiance, will uphold the principles and standards set by Masutatsu Oyama. Perhaps the Kyokushinkai organization will be viable, and like all good schools, some of the students eventually leave their home and open their own schools. Some of the splinter groups may pay lip service to the principles of Kyokushin, as they did in 1991 Steve Arneil In Great Britain.
Others, such as Shigeiru Oyama in the USA, went further, founding and developing their own style based on the principles of Kyokushin karate.

Masutatsu Oyama (07/27/1923 – 04/26/1994), better known as Mas Oyama, was a karate master and the founder of Kyokushinkai, probably the first and most influential style of full contact karate. Born in Gimje City in Jeollabuk-do Province, South Korea. During the Japanese occupation, being an ethnic Korean, he lived almost his entire life in Japan and in 1964 decided to become a Japanese citizen.

early years

At a young age, Oyama was sent to Manchuria to live with his sister on a farm, where at the age of 9 he began learning martial arts from a Chinese seasonal worker. His name was Lee, and he gave young Oyama grain to grow; when the grain began to grow, he had to jump over it a hundred times a day. When the grain became a plant, Oyama said: “I could jump over walls back and forth without any effort,” but as the story of young Oyama was played out more than once in manga and films, the line between fiction and real facts gradually blurred.

In March 1938, Oyama went to Japan following his brother, who entered the Yamanashi Aviation School Imperial Japanese Army aviation school.

After World War II

In 1945, after the end of the war, Oyama dropped out of aviation school and founded the "Eiwa Karate Research Center" in Suginami (Suginami - one of the districts of Tokyo), but quickly closed it - "I soon realized that I belonged to ` "unwanted Koreans" and no one will even rent me a room to live in." Eventually, he found a place to live in one of the corners of Tokyo, where he met his future wife, whose mother ran a dormitory for university students.

In 1946, Oyama entered Waseda University Sports Education.

Wanting to improve his teaching skills, Oyama established contacts with the Shotokan karate school, which was run by Gigō Funakoshi, the second son of karate master Gichin Funakoshi. As a student at this school, he began a lifelong career in karate. Feeling like a stranger in this country, he was isolated and trained alone.

Oyama applied to Takushoku University in Tokyo and was accepted as a student in the dojo of Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan. He trained with Funakoshi for two years, then studied Gōjū-ryū karate for several years with So Nei Chu, one of the best students of the system's founder, Chojun Miyagi, and achieved 8 dan in the system of Gogen Yamaguchi, who at that time headed the Goju ryu school on mainland Japan.

Korea was officially annexed by Japan in 1910, but during World War II (1939–1945) a wave of discontent swept across Korea, and South Korea began fighting against North Korea over political views, and Oyama became increasingly "problematic." . He said: “Although I was born in Korea, I unwittingly acquired liberal views; I was disgusted by the strong feudal system of my homeland, and this was one of the reasons that forced me to run away from home to Japan.” He joined the Korean Political Organization in Japan, which advocated for the unification of Korea, but soon became the target of persecution by Japanese police. He then consulted another Korean from the same province, Mr. Neichu So, who was a master of Koju Karate.

Around the same time, he traveled around Tokyo and took part in skirmishes with the US Military Police. He later recalled this time in television interviews on Nihon Television (“Itsumitemo Haran Banjyo”): “I lost many friends in this war - it happened that early in the morning before they departed as kamikaze pilots, we would have breakfast together, and in the evening "their places were already empty. After the end of the war, I was terribly angry, so I fought with the US military as long as I had enough strength, my photo hung in all the police stations in the city." At this time, Mr. So suggested that Oyama retire to the mountains to calm and train his body and mind. He decided to spend three years on Mt. Minobu, in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. Oyama lived in a shack he built on the side of a mountain, in the company of one of his students, Yashiro, but after grueling isolated training, deprived of any amenities, the student ran away one night, leaving Oyama alone. Contact with the outside world was limited to monthly meetings with a friend in the city of Tateyama, in Chiba Prefecture. As time passed, the loneliness and grueling training became more and more unbearable and Oyama began to doubt his decision to retire and wrote a letter to the person who advised him to retire. Mr. So enthusiastically advised Oyama to stay and offered to shave off his eyebrows to avoid the temptation to leave the mountains and show himself to anyone. Oyama remained in the mountains for another fourteen months and returned to Tokyo an even stronger and more brutal karateka.

He was forced to leave his mountain retreat after his sponsors stopped supporting him. A few months later, after winning the National Japanese Martial Arts Championship in the karate category, Oyama was worried that he had not achieved his original goal of training in the mountains for 3 years, so he decided to retire to the mountains again, but this once on Mount Kyosumi, in Chiba Prefecture, Japan and spent 18 months there.

Kyokushin Basics

In 1953, Oyama opened his own dojo, called the Oyama Dojo, in Tokyo, but continued to travel throughout Japan and the world demonstrating martial arts, including fighting and killing live bulls with his bare hands. His dojo was initially located in a vacant lot, but over time, in 1956, it moved to the premises of a ballet school. Oyama's technique soon gained fame as a hard, intense, percussive, but practical style that was eventually given the name Kyokushin at a ceremony in 1957. He also developed a reputation for being "rough" as students were often injured during training. As the dojo's reputation grew, so did the number of students arriving by train from different parts of Japan and the world. Many of today's leaders of various Kyokushin organizations began training in this style at that time. In 1964, Oyama moved the dojo to the building that still serves as Kyokushin's home and world headquarters. In this regard, he formally founded the "International Karate Organization Kyokushin kaikan, more often called IKO or IKOK" to unite under one authority the many schools that began to teach the Kyokushin style. That same year, his dojo was challenged from Thailand by Muay Thai (Thai Boxing). Oyama, believing that no other style could compare to his own, sent three students (Kenji Kurosaki, Tadashi Nakamura, Noboru Ōsawa) to Thailand, where they won 2 of the 3 fights that took place, which established the reputation of his style of karate .

After the official creation of Kyokushinkai, Oyama set a course for popularization and expansion. Oyama and his associates, selected from among the instructors, showed remarkable abilities in popularizing the style and attracting new members of the community. Oyama would personally select an instructor to open a new dojo in another city in Japan, and the instructor would travel to the designated city while demonstrating his karate skills in public places such as civilian gyms, local police gyms (where many students practiced judo), local parks, and martial arts demonstrations. arts at local festivals and school events. Thus, the trainer soon received students for his new dojo. After this, news of the new dojo spread throughout the surrounding areas until a “core” of students was recruited. Oyama also sent instructors to other countries such as the USA, Holland, Great Britain, Australia and Brazil to spread Kyokushin in the same way. Oyama also promoted Kyokushin by holding the annual All Japan Full Contact Open Karate Championship and the World Open Full Contact Karate Championship held every four years, in which anyone could participate, regardless of style.

Notable students:

Terutomo Yamazaki, first champion of the All Japan Full Contact Open Karate Championship, former professional kickboxer;
Sonny Chiba, famous Japanese actor and fighter;
Tadashi Nakamura, founder of Seido juku;
Bobby Lowe, 8th Dan;
Steve Arneil;
Hideyuki Ashihara, founder of Ashihara Karate;
Yoshiji Soeno, founder of Shidokan;
Loek Hollander;
John Jarvis;
Miyuki Miura;
Howard Collins;
Takashi Azuma, founder of Daido Juku;
Phillip C. Haynes;
Shokei Matsui, who succeeded Oyama as director of IKO;
Tae-hong Choi, one of the pioneers of taekwondo in the USA.

Public demonstrations

Oyama tested his strength in kumite, improved in fights, each of which lasted two minutes and emerged victorious from each. Oyama developed a system of 100 battles, which he completed three times in three days.

He was also famous for fighting bulls with his bare hands. He fought 52 bulls in his life, three of which were allegedly killed with just one blow, earning him the nickname "Hand of God." The reliability of this information is disputed; one of Oyama's students, Jon Bluming, said: "The story about Oyama's bullfights is a fiction, he never met real bulls, since he had never been to Spain. I also doubt that he was gored because he never told me about it, but he told me everything. Kenji Kurosaki was there and told me what happened. Early in the morning they went to the Tateyama barnyard, where they a worker was waiting with an old fat bull already prepared for Oyama, the worker used a hammer to knock the bull's horns so that they almost fell off. Oyama did not kill the ox, he only tore off its already poorly held horns. Bill Backhus and I saw sixteen-minute film in 1959, Oyama himself showed it to us. I advised Oyama that he should never show this film in Europe, because it looked too fake and would be laughed at. Since then, as far as I know, no one saw this film,” in addition, Oyama himself admitted that the bulls were quite old...

Oyama also had many matches with professional wrestlers during his travels around the United States. In his 1958 book, What Is Karate, Oyama revealed that he only fought three professional wrestling matches, thirty exhibitions, and nine television appearances. The Electronic Journal of Martial Arts and Exercises (EJMAS) noted: "All matches between American professional wrestlers of the 1950s, as well as Oyama's fights, should be classified as exhibitions and not fights, and thus Oyama should be considered to have participated in 33 -x demonstration performances and 9 television shows, in some of which he was openly supported."

Last years

Before his death, Oyama had built IKOK into one of the world's most prominent martial arts associations, with branches in more than 120 countries and more than 10 million registered members. In Japan, many books, films and comics were dedicated to him, telling about his bright and adventurous life.

Oyama died at the age of 70, on April 26, 1994, from lung cancer, and he never smoked.

Images

A manga about Oyama's legacy, Karate Baka Ichidai (literally: "Life of a Crazy Karate"), was published in Weekly Shonen Magazine in 1971, written by Ikki Kajiwara and artists Jirō Tsunoda and Zoya Kagemaru (Jōya Kagemaru). The 47-episode anime was released in 1973, with some changes made from the original plot, such as Mas Oyama being replaced by the fictional character Ken Asuka. However, despite the plot changes, the anime still followed the events described in the manga about Oyama's legacy.

In the trilogy of martial arts films (Champion of Death (1975)), Karate Bearfighter (1975), Karate for Life (1977) based on the legacy manga, Oyamu played by Japanese actor Sonny Chiba. Oyama also appears in several episodes of the first two films.

Oyama's life story was also shown in the 2004 South Korean film Baramui Fighter.

The character in the SNK (Shin Nihon Kikaku Electronics Corporation) video game King Of Fighters, Takuma Sakazaki (aka Mr. Karate), was based on Mas Oyama. Takuma Sakazaki is the founder and supreme master of the fictional Kyokugenryu Karate, which is based entirely on Oyama's karate.

The manga character Grappler Baki, Doppo Orochi, is a karate master, also created in the image of Mas Oyama, the founder of his own school of Shinshinkai Karate; Another of Keisuke Itagaki's most famous works is Garouden, a special character whose main character is Shozan Matsuo, who is probably also based on Oyama.

Kyokushin Honbu Dojo

Hyakunin Kumite (100 fights)

By creating Kyokushin, Oyama sought to develop a system that would allow a person to rise above himself, turn body and spirit into steel, go beyond the limits of the possible and thus know the absolute truth - Kyokushin. For his extraordinary tenacity and perseverance, he was even nicknamed “the demon.” Oyama was not a pioneer in his developments in this area. The creator of a test similar to Hyakunin Kumite is considered to be one of the greatest masters of kenjutsu, the founder of the Muto-ryu school, Yamaoka Tesshu (1836-88). Yamaoka Tesshu was a great swordsman. He is the founder of the Hokushin Itto-ryu style. This man is believed to have fought 100 consecutive matches, defeating 100 different opponents with a shinai (a bamboo sword used in kendo training).

Yamaoka, in his search for supreme mastery in the art of the sword, came to the idea of merging martial art and Zen Buddhism - this is evidenced by the very name of the school (“muto” means “without a sword,” which cannot but recall the famous Zen expression “mushin” - “without a sword”). consciousness”, “lack of consciousness”), as well as the name of his dojo - “Syumpukan” (“Hall of the Spring Wind”), borrowed from a poem by the 13th century Zen master Bukko Kokushi. In his youth, Yamaoka Tesshu underwent very harsh training in the dojo of one of the best ken-jutsu masters, Chiba Shusaku. Tesshu did not know defeat until he faced the master Asari Gimei in battle. Yamaoka attacked first, furiously striking with all his might, but... this entire outburst of aggression did not make any impression on his opponent, he did not even change his face. In this battle, Tesshu suffered the first defeat in his life, but was not offended - the enemy simply turned out to be a master of a much higher flight. To achieve the same level of mastery, Tesshu became Asari's student. At that time he was 28 years old. Studying under the guidance of a new teacher, Yamaoka became increasingly convinced of his strength. It was impossible to force Asari to retreat, to impose defensive tactics on him. His body was like a rock, and his terrifying gaze seemed to be imprinted on the minds of his opponents. One of the most important methods of achieving a breakthrough (prepared by many years of training using a special method) in the knowledge of the truth of being is Hyakunin Kumite. Asari simply suppressed his spirit, even when Yamaoka closed his eyes, his mentor’s fearless face and his smashing sword, from which there was no escape, appeared in his inner gaze. Yamaoka unsuccessfully struggled with himself for a long time in search of a state of consciousness that would allow him not to break under the heavy gaze of his mentor. In search of a solution to this problem, he turned to the famous Zen master Tekisuyu of the Tenryu-ji Monastery in Kyoto for help. Tekisui offered him a koan that would lead to the desired insight. This koan was a short poem of five lines: "When two blazing swords meet, There is nowhere to run. Move calmly, like a lotus flower Blooming amidst the roaring flames, And pierce the Heavens with all your might!" For many years, Yamaoka could not comprehend the essence of this koan. But one day, when he was already 45, during a sitting meditation, the meaning of the monk’s poem suddenly became clear to him, and he experienced an epiphany. Tesshu momentarily lost his sense of time and space, and the threatening sword of Asari disappeared from his memory. The next day, Yamaoka went to the teacher to test the effectiveness of his new state of consciousness in a duel with him. But as soon as they crossed swords, Asari Gimei suddenly lowered his bokken and said: “You have reached the desired state!” After this, he announced Tesshu as his successor as the chief master of the Nakanishi-ha Itto-ryu school.

Yamaoka was convinced that the true purpose of martial arts is to strengthen the spirit and body, improve a person, and lead him to insight. To denote “training,” he used the term “shugyo,” which implies not just exercise, but ascetic activity, asceticism. The master believed that fencing “should lead a person straight to the heart of things, when a person comes face to face with life and death.” To implement this idea, Yamaoka Tesshu developed a special type of training, called “seigan-geiko” - “oath training”. The very name of this training method indicates that it requires the utmost dedication and determination from the student. Only trained students who had several years of training behind them were allowed to participate in seigan-geiko. Thus, after 1000 days of continuous training in kenjutsu, a follower could be admitted to the first test in seigan, which consisted of conducting 200 consecutive fights in one day with one short break for eating. If the candidate passed the test successfully, he could be admitted to the second test: 600 contractions over 3 days. The highest seigan test consisted of 1400 fights over 7 days. It was a terrible test that required truly superhuman efforts and unbending will from the candidate. The fighter had to use all his physical and mental strength without reserve, to root in his heart the idea that the only choice he had was to win or die. Fights were carried out wearing protective equipment (bogu) with bamboo swords. At the same time, certain rules were observed, dictated by common sense and designed to alleviate the fate of the subject. For example, a fighter followed a special diet, eating semi-liquid or completely liquid food. His hands were specially bandaged with soft silk to prevent the skin from being worn out by the hilt of the sword, etc. As a rule, on the first day, when the fighter was still full of strength, the test was relatively easy (it must be taken into account that Yamaoka’s senior students trained daily for 4-5 hours), on the second day the fatigue became very noticeable, and on the third the swordsman’s hands were barely held a sword and could not effectively manipulate it, their legs lost mobility, and their reaction rate dropped catastrophically (we add that on the third day the fighters’ urine usually turned reddish, i.e. mixed with blood, which indicates numerous internal injuries and extreme dehydration). The seven-day test in seigan-geiko was the lot of the greatest fighters, and only a very few achieved success in it.

One of Yamaoka’s students, Kagawa Zenjiro, who successfully passed the three-day test, later said: “On the third day of these difficult tests, I could not get out of bed, and I had to ask my wife for help. When she tried to lift me, she felt as if she was lifting a lifeless body, and she unconsciously withdrew her hands, which were supporting my back. I felt her tears on my face. Touched to the depths of my soul, I asked her not to be so soft-hearted and with her help I managed to sit up. I had to rely on a cane to get to the dojo. They also helped me put on my training suit. I took a position, and then my numerous opponents began to appear. One of them approached my teacher and asked permission to fight me. Sensei immediately gave permission, and I saw that it was a fencer who had been punished earlier for dishonest behavior in battle. Even after defeat, when the fight was stopped, he struck at places unprotected by God. This was prohibited by the rules. When I saw that he was approaching me, I decided that this was my last contraction, because I would not survive it. When I thought this, suddenly, out of nowhere, I felt a surge of strength within me, as if some source had opened within me. New energy came to me, and I felt like a person in a new capacity. My sword took the correct position, I approached the enemy, feeling this inexhaustible flow of energy within me, raised my sword above my head and was ready to defeat the enemy with one blow. Then my teacher shouted for us to stop the fight, and I lowered my sword.” According to Kagawa Zenjiro, Yamaoka Tesshu said then that he saw how the student experienced the state of “sword of no-sword” (muto no to), and realized that he had achieved insight.

Another predecessor of Masutatsu Oyama was the legendary Masahiko Kimura, who fought a duel with 200 opponents. Masahiko Kimura, perhaps the most famous judoka in the history of the sport, was a close friend of Masutatsu Oyama. Oyama said that Kimura was the only person he knew who trained as hard or even harder than Oyama himself! Kimura's record in the Japanese judo rankings (which he held for 12 years, including the period of World War II, during which championships were not held) was broken only by Yasuhiro Yamashi-toi, who held the title of champion for 9 years in a row. There is a proverb in the world of Japanese judo that says: “Before Kimura, there was no Kimura. After Kimura, there will be no Kimura.” Although Shihan author Cameron Queen could not confirm this information, it is said that Kimura performed 100 throws in matches against 200 black belts for two days in a row, invariably winning. It was this feat of Kimura that motivated his good friend ( Masutatsu Oyamu) introduce a similar test into Kyokushin.

Oyama himself, shortly after finishing his famous training in the mountains, went through a test of 300 fights - 100 fights for 3 days in a row! His strongest students took part in these fights. Each of them, according to preliminary calculations, was supposed to have 4 fights against the sensei, but for many the first round ended so badly that they could no longer physically fight with their mentor the second time - the blows of the great karateka were so strong. They say that, having stood for 300 fights, Oyama felt the strength to exchange the fourth hundred, but he did not have partners for this - almost all of his students received serious injuries in previous fights. However, the master himself suffered a lot. He suffered several serious injuries, not to mention the bruises that covered his entire body. Having thus given an example to others, Masutatsu Oyama began to introduce kumite against 100 people as a prerequisite for obtaining IV and V Dan. However, he soon discovered that not every applicant is mentally prepared for this test, despite the fact that in the physical aspect he can be prepared quite “easily.” The indomitable will to win, courage, determination - all those qualities that underlie the “Spirit of Osu” - are not present in everyone. Thus, kumite against 100 people became a voluntary test for people with the appropriate character. In the beginning, if the challenger so desired, the fights could last for two days, but after 1967, Masutatsu Oyama decided to reduce the trial time to one day. In addition to the basic requirement of surviving 100 fights, the challenger was required to win a clear victory in at least 50% of the fights, and in the event of a knockdown, be able to get to his feet in no more than 5 seconds. In Australia and perhaps elsewhere, 50-opponent kumite is the minimum test possible. In the UK and other countries under the auspices of Hansi Steve Arneil, the student, whether he or she, can choose a challenge from any number of fights - for example, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, etc. - and receive the appropriate certificate. The point is that not everyone is able to reach the Kyokushinkai maximum of 100 fights, but personal results also matter a lot. In addition, even 10 consecutive knockdown fights can be equated to a half-hour intense fight. In Russia, fights with 100 opponents have never been held. In August 1997, in the presence of Steve Arneil, Ulyanovsk resident Andrei Anufriev tried to pass the 30-bout test. But in the 12th fight he suffered a broken arm. In June 1998, again in the presence of Steve Arneil, Andrei tried again to pass this test, but the test was stopped at the 22nd fight, again due to a hand injury. There, following Andrey, Muscovite Arthur Oganesyan also tried to pass the 30-fight test, but the fights were stopped at the 27th fight due to Arthur’s elbow injuries and the inability to continue fights. Please note that these tests were conducted while low kicks to the legs of the fighter being tested were prohibited. Perhaps this was the reason for the injuries to the fighters’ hands.

Initially, applicants had the opportunity to complete the test in two days, with 50 fights per day, but later one day became a mandatory rule. Few dared to do this, and those who did show courage most often suffered defeat. Therefore, in the entire history of the existence of the Hyakunin Kumite test at the Kyokushinkai school, only 13 people, in addition to Oyama himself, managed to survive this fierce battle. They were:

List of fighters who passed Hyakunin Kumite:

Steve Arneil (Great Britain, 21 May 1965);
Nakamura Tadashi (Japan, October 15, 1965). Now known as Kaicho Nakamura, founder of the World Seido Karate Organization, headquartered in New York;
Oyama Shigeru (Japan, September 17, 1966). Has no relation to Sosai, is the founder of his own style - the World Organization of Oyama Karate, whose headquarters are located in New York;
Luke Hollander (Holland, August 5, 1967);
John Jarvis (New Zealand, 10 November 1967);
Howard Collins (UK, 1 December 1972). It is believed that the “white samurai” was the first in Kyokushinkai to conduct hyakunin kumite on one day. However, others believe that Steve Arneil was the first;
Miura Miyuki (Japan, April 13, 1973). The first Japanese to pass the test in one day, currently the head of the Western Branch of the World Oyama Karate Organization, (WOKO);
Matsui Akiyoshi (Japan, April 18, 1986). Akiyoshi Matsui is currently the head of the International Karate Organization (IKO-1). He was the winner of the 1985 and 1986 Japan Open Championships, as well as the IV World Open Karate Championship in 1990;
Ademir da Costa (Brazil, 1987). This Brazilian took fourth place at the 1983 World Championships;
Sampei Keiji (Japan, March 1990);
Masuda Akira (Japan, March 1991);
Yamaki Kenji (Japan, March 1995);
Francisco Filio (Brazil, some sources claim that Filio performed hyakunin kumite twice: first in February 1995 in Brazil, and then in March of the same year in Japan; the second case can be considered official).

Over the thirty-year history of Hyakunin Kumite in Kyokushinkai, this test has undergone many metamorphoses: the technical arsenal of participants, the set and level of training of test partners, the rules and regulations of fights, etc. have changed. Thanks to this, almost every test was new and unique, but I would like to dwell in more detail on the very first successful test, because being the first is always more difficult.

Steve Arneil from Great Britain (currently IX Dan) became the first person to pass the test, completing it in one day. Today he is the head of the International Federation of Karate (IFK), whose headquarters are located in the UK and operates completely separately from the Japanese Honbu. There are two versions of Arneil's passage of Hyakunin Kumite. According to the famous Kyokushinkai fighter Michel Bebel, Arneil fought 50 fights for 2 days in a row. However, Liam Keaveney, editor of the English magazine "Kyokushin Magazine" and a close friend of Arneil, claims that the test took place on one day - "...Steve Arneil had been in the Oyama dojo for four years when a teacher suddenly approached him and said the words, which the young Englishman could hardly bring himself to believe: “Do you want to try the Hyakunin Kumite?” It was 1965. By that time, Arneil had reached the rank of 2nd dan. During the four years he spent in Japan, he had already witnessed fighters trying to stand a hundred fights in a row, but none of them succeeded. And now it was his turn... Teacher Oyama stood and looked at him, waiting for an answer, and Arneil's thoughts were racing in his head. He simultaneously felt pride and joy for the trust of his mentor, and fear, and self-doubt. He could not say “no” to the Teacher, who gave him so much and who with this question showed his faith in his steadfastness and courage, so Arneil said “yes!” Oyama told Arneil that he was confident in his abilities. He did not say a word about the date of the test and only assured the student that he will have enough time to prepare, physically and mentally, for this extremely difficult test.Oyama also advised Steve to concentrate entirely on the task of winning Hyakunin Kumite, give up all entertainment and avoid all distractions: do not go to cinemas and clubs, do not drink alcohol etc. The master told him, “You must live in purity,” meaning the need to clear your mind of all worldly affairs and immerse yourself in preparing for the test.

The next day, the life of the young karateka changed dramatically. Although Arneil had been training hard every day for several years, it was only now that karate came to the fore in his life. And it was not very easy. I had to give up many habits, abandon other things, establish a harsh regime... Let us add that shortly before this, Steve Arneil married a young Japanese woman, Tsuyuko, and did not know how his wife would react to his intention to fight in a hundred fights: after all, this is fraught with serious damage to his health , or even death. Arneil was lucky: Tsuyuko understood the situation perfectly and decided to take all the worries upon herself, becoming the fighter’s main assistant. Every day Steve rose at dawn and went for a run through the deserted streets of Tokyo. Each time he timed the distance, trying to beat the previous day's record. Sometimes this was successful, and Arneil felt a surge of strength, sometimes not, then disappointment and despondency overwhelmed him. After his run, Steve did various stretches and then went to the dojo, where he spent the entire day. His training included working on a heavy bag, jumping rope, practicing basic techniques and freestyle fighting. Oyama was nearby all the time and daily helped Arneil reach the limits of endurance of body and psyche. Steve paid a lot of attention to weight training to increase his strength and thus compensate for his short stature. In this regard, the conditions in Oyama's dojo were not very good, so sometimes Steve went to train at the Kurakoen gym, which was considered the best athletic gym in Tokyo. Having trained with regular groups almost the entire day, Arneil was the last to leave the gym, since his “real classes” began only after the end of general training. It was at this time that Masutatsu Oyama personally worked with him. He gave Steve advice, checked his level of training, and developed special training methods. The main emphasis was on achieving maximum strength in strikes and improving technical and tactical skills. Steve and his teacher were well aware that to be successful in Hyakunin Kumita, a fighter must finish fights as quickly as possible, i.e. knockout or knockdown. Progress was tested in tough fights with comrades. Gradually, Steve gained confidence that he was capable and would be able to successfully pass the test in Hyakunin Kumite. His determination grew stronger day by day. Arneil felt that the day of his examination was approaching. Oyama increasingly asked him about his well-being and injuries, but still did not give the slightest hint about the date of the Hyakunin Kumite.

Early in the morning of May 21, 1965, Steve, as usual, went from home to the Ikebukuro area, where Oyama's dojo was located. When he entered the locker room, he was immediately alerted by the unusual atmosphere that reigned that day. Usually at this time the locker room was full of people, there was a cheerful hubbub, but now it was completely empty. Arneil put on his karate gi and walked into the training room. It was about 10 o'clock in the morning. The hall was filled to capacity with karatekas with black and brown belts. Steve was met at the door by Oyama himself and his closest assistant, Kurosaki Taketoki. Oyama said, “Dojo!” (Please!) - and with a nod invited him to enter. After this, Arneil was informed that the day of his test had finally arrived. The karatekas exchanged greetings, Steve went to the center of the hall, and his comrades sat around the perimeter. Teacher Oyama once again explained the rules of Hyakunin Kumite: an attempt will be considered successful if the challenger wins the majority of fights, and a significant part of them with a “pure victory” (ippon); he does not have the right only to defend himself and take blows to the body, but must definitely attack; the fighter should not be knocked down for more than 5 seconds, otherwise he will be considered a clear loss and the attempt will be considered unsuccessful, even if this happens in the last fight; Strikes to the legs are permitted, including strikes to the joints, to the body, as well as strikes to the face with the palm of the hand. Oyama added that he would closely monitor Steve's actions and if he felt that he did not meet the necessary requirements, he would immediately terminate the test, regardless of the number of fights performed. After this, one of the students hit the drum, announcing the beginning of the first fight... Arneil's strategy was very simple: he tried to end the fights as quickly as possible in order to save strength to continue, and tried to knock out his opponents. They, in turn, did not condone this at all - who wants to get kicked in the head?! Therefore, they fought brutally, aggressively, giving it their all, and Arneil, despite his brilliant form and technique, had a hard time. Time stopped for him. Having no idea how many fights he had already fought, he simply defended himself and hit, hit, hit... Subsequently, Arneil recalled that he was never able to knock out anyone, but there were a lot of knockdowns. Steve himself was knocked down several times, but always got back to his feet within the set time. He doesn't remember being in any particular pain, or having to make any incredible effort to get up from the floor. He never felt that he would not be able to continue fighting due to injury or lack of strength. His motivation was so strong that even in the most difficult moments the thought of saying “Maitta!” did not pop up in his head. (“I give up!”). 100 fierce battles merged into one drawn-out, harsh battle, and today Arneil cannot remember almost any details of individual battles. He only says that he had the most difficult time in battles with the strongest karatekas of Kyokushinkai - Oyama Shigeru and Nakamura Tadashi (both later successfully overcame the test in Hyakunin Kumite). When it was his turn to fight them, he was already very exhausted, his whole body ached and groaned from countless bruises and abrasions.

Seeing Oyama Shigeru in front of him, Arneil felt that the end of this terrible “marathon” was close. He said later: “Shihan Oyama was and remains an outstanding fighter. He was renowned as a particularly capable fighter. He fought extremely hard. Then Shihan Nakamura came out, he fought mercilessly, attacking me with low kicks and hands in the face...” When the command “Yame!” interrupted their fight, Oyama Masutatsu rose from his seat, walked up to Arneil and simply said: “You did it.” And Arneil answered just as simply: “Yes.” Hyakunin-kumite ended so unexpectedly that the karateka’s emotions instantly overwhelmed him, and he screamed with all his might. Happiness that he managed to emerge victorious in the highest test of Kyokushinkai, that he had earned the recognition and respect of the Teacher, filled his heart. Then he was taken, almost by the arm, to the shower room, where he freshened up and relaxed. At this time, someone called his wife, Tsuyuko, who had no idea that her husband was facing a test that day, and reported his success. Soon she arrived at the dojo. Then there was a gala dinner, during which Oyama spoke about the courage, dedication and discipline of the new true devotee of karate. He said that he had long dreamed that one of his students could walk this path, and that Arneil was the first who could make his dream come true. Oyama expressed the hope that other Kyokushinkai students will find the strength to accept the challenge of Hyakunin Kumite and make a breakthrough to the absolute truth of karate. Arneil was given a modest gift - not only as a prize for his personal achievement, but also as a reward for what he had done for Kyokushinkai and karate in general, providing a wonderful role model for other fighters. By this time the winner had already completely lost his strength. There wasn't a place on his body that didn't ache or pierce with pain. Every movement became painful. Only a few weeks after the Hyakunin Kumite, Arneil was able to finally recover from exhaustion and injuries received during the battle, which lasted almost 3 hours! Later, Oyama Masutatsu told him: “It’s good that you only had bruises and didn’t break anything...” (In fact, during one of the fights, Steve’s nose was broken with a blow from the heel of his palm, which Arneil himself said: “During kumite with a hundred fighters, one of my opponents managed to break my nose with a shotei blow. After the test was over, I went to the hospital to straighten it out, but the anesthesia was too much for me. So the Japanese doctors did the operation without anesthesia, and it was quite painful," Apparently Oyama didn’t even consider a broken nose to be a fracture).

When Luke Hollander was preparing to return to Holland, he received orders from Kante Oyama to attempt a “fight with a hundred opponents.” Luke's attempt had several additional difficulties: firstly, the dojo was very crowded with white belts (the ones who get the most serious injuries), and secondly, there was a very high temperature that rose above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (approx. 45 degrees). Celsius). Luke's main advantage was his height - 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm) - and also his “long range”, because of which many Japanese had difficulty closing the distance. During the entire test, Luke adhered to the hard locking system, i.e. met strong blows with blocks with hard contact. And although he had shields on his arms that protected his arm from hand to elbow, they had to be cut at the end of the test due to tumors that formed on both sides of the shield. At certain times he had to take blows on his body, which was less painful than taking them on his hands. Luke's reward for his efforts was two weeks of inactivity due to two dozen minor injuries. I received my order to take the test three months later. Luckily the weather got cooler and I had time to learn from Luke's attempt and practice to correct some of the shortcomings. I remember very little about this ordeal. In the last weeks leading up to it, I had put aside all thoughts except the desire to perform successfully. The “battle with a hundred opponents,” as it seemed to me at times, was happening somewhere around me, but not with me. I remember the beats of the taiko (drum) that announced the beginning and end of each bout, the marks of each fight made on the board, the critical eyes of the cante. The first 15 opponents were black belts. I discovered that by using the softer circular block system taught to me by Oyama Shigaru, I could avoid the terrible bruises that Luke Hollander suffered and use my opponents' mistakes to my advantage to perform my own moves. I also took the advice of my teacher on jo fighting (a stick about 120 cm long). He reminded me of the words of the great Miyamoto Musashi: “When you go on a long journey, think only about the next stop, and not about the whole journey. When you fight many opponents, do the same.” One of the black belts gave me a lot of trouble every time I fought him. (It was later suggested that I may have hit him too hard in the past. ) And it was very important to save a little extra energy for the time when his turn came again. At the end of the test, my year of training 6 hours a day, 6 days a week paid dividends in the form of a fresh burst of energy just when I felt close to exhaustion. Recent memories involve some controversy over the number of fighters I fought (later it turned out that I fought approximately 115 opponents), the feeling of jubilation I felt when I was thrown into the air an unfathomable number of times by my training buddies, and liters of beer, drank in record time at the local pub after everything.”

JOHN JARVIS (New Zealand, November 10, 1967) This is what New Zealander John Jarvis says about hyakunin kumite. I remember very little about this test. In the last weeks leading up to it, I had put aside all thoughts except the desire to perform successfully. The “battle with a hundred opponents,” as it seemed to me at times, was happening somewhere around me, but not with me. I remember the beats of the taiko drum that announced the beginning and end of each fight, the marks of each fight made on the board, and the critical eyes of the cante. The first 15 opponents were black belts. I discovered that by using the softer circular blocking system taught to me by Oyama Shigeru, I was able to avoid the terrible bruises that Luke Hollander suffered and to take advantage of my opponents' mistakes to perform my own moves. I also took the advice of my teacher on jo fighting (a stick about 120 cm long). He reminded me of the words of the great Miyamoto Musashi: “When you go on a long journey, think only about the next stop, not about the whole journey. When you fight many opponents, do the same.” One of the black belts gave me a lot of trouble every time I fought him. It was later suggested that I might have hit him too hard in the past. And it was very important to save a little energy for each time his turn came. At the end of the test, my year of training 6 hours a day, 6 times a week paid dividends in the form of a fresh burst of energy at a time when I was already close to exhaustion. My most recent memories involve arguments over the number of opponents (it was later revealed that I fought 115 opponents) and the feeling of exultation I felt as I was thrown into the air countless times.

Francisco FILHO (Brazil, February and March 1995) Winner of the IKO-1 World Championship in 1999. Passed ku-mite at the same time as Francisco Filho. This Brazilian passed two tests within a short interval of two months. The first time this happened in Brazil, and the second time in Japan, on the same day with Kenji Yamaki. Moreover, in the same year he took third place at the 5th World Championship in November 1995. Sensei Ademir da Costa from Brazil confirmed that Francisco Filho practiced kumite with 50 opponents every Friday! And although this was not full contact sparring and Sensei Filho limited his strikes, fifty people were clearly not required for this. However, it should be noted that for each participant in the 1995 World Championships this was standard training. And it wasn’t just Francisco who did this. To this, Francisco can only say: “OSU!”

Matsui's success was particularly impressive. He fought 100 fights in 2 hours 25 minutes in the presence of 500 spectators. At the same time, he squeezed small pieces of wood in his palms. which excluded his use of open-hand strikes and grabs. while his opponents were allowed to do both. In the words of Oyamys, “Matsuya’s way of conducting 100 kumites was magnificent. He won more than 50 fights with ippon. He did this for Kyokushin karate, for Japan and for the world history of karate”...

Fight statistics:

Certified	Victory			Draws	Defeats
Certified	Ippon	Waza-ari	Hantei-kati	Draws	Defeats
A. Matsui	46	29		13	12

K. Yamaki	22	61		12	5

F. Filio (in Brazil)	41	18	9	32	0

F. Filio (in Japan)	26	38	12	24	0

H.Kazumi	16	15	27	42	0

Almost everyone who has written about Hyakunin Kumite in Kyokushinkai draws attention to the fact that none of the fighters (and among them there were very strong masters, for example, the two-time world champion 130-kilogram giant Nakamura Makoto) in the period from 1973 to 1986 failed to complete Hyakunin Kumite. This phenomenon is explained in different ways. Michel Wedel associates this with the introduction of a circular kick at the lower level (low kick) into the practice of fighting. He states that “if in kumite with a hundred opponents only the first fifty fighters can land one low kick, the task will become impossible.” John Jarvis refers to the fact that the first followers of Kyokushin-ryu studied this style from wonderful mentors. In particular, he says: “I attribute my success to the fact that I was lucky enough to study under the guidance of excellent Kyokushinkai instructors, who, including Sensei Kurosaki (Kurosaki Taketoki, the first senpai of Oyama Masutatsu, later quarreled with the teacher and left Kyokushinkai - author’s note), more continued to train actively during the first half of my stay in Japan.” Steve Arneil explained this “hole” 1973-1986. because, in his opinion, today's karatekas are gradually losing the dedication, assertiveness and supreme devotion to karate, which are absolutely necessary to achieve success in Hyakunin Kumite.

However, relatively recent successful attempts at hyakunin kumite refute all these arguments. Fighters have long learned to hold low kicks, even if they are thrown by very, very trained people. There are also plenty of excellent coaches in Kyokushinkai now. It is enough to mention only the Tokyo sensei Hiroshige, who trained such brilliant fighters of our time, possessing original fighting styles, a huge technical arsenal and excellent physical condition, as Midori Kenji (winner of the 5th World Championship) and Yamaki Kenji (winner of the 6th World Championship, winner in Hyakunin Kumite in March 1995), as well as the Brazilians Sensei Ademir da Costa (winner in Hyakunin Kumite in 1987) and his student Francisco Filio (winner in Hyakunin Kumite in 1995). Well, as for spirit and dedication... one can hardly agree with Ariel. There are still people on earth with a will of steel and a fiery heart!

It is interesting that some fighters, in search of support in passing the highest test of Kyokushinkai, turn not to ultra-modern methods of physical training, but to good old recipes tested many centuries ago. For example, Yamaki Kenji claims that Zen meditation in the standing position Ritsuzen (analogous to “pillar work” in wushu) helped him achieve success in the Hyakunin Kumite test. Here is what he says about his experience of “fighting with a hundred opponents”: “Unfortunately, I began to practice ritsuzen only recently, after the end of the All-Japan Championship in 1995. Before that, I only did what immediately gave a clear effect in training, for example, working with weights or training on a heavy bag. However, I really wanted to ensure that by the 6th World Championship (1996) there were no gaps or deficiencies left in my karate. Just before the Hyakunin Kumite, I began to introduce Ritsuzen standing meditation into my training ". The practice of ritsuzen greatly strengthens the legs and lower back, and when you have strong legs, the power of punches and kicks increases greatly. Concentrating on the tanden and regulating your inhalations and exhalations, you should try to breathe slowly and evenly. If your breathing is correct, then you will be born explosive power. During Hyakunin Kumite, the only thing I remembered all the time was how not to lose my breath and survive to the end. I will say from experience that if the breathing is regulated, then you can find calm and not lose a sense of your own integrity. I think the one who finishes to the end wins. consumed only by the desire to win. The most important thing is to have the mindset for absolute victory. If you are afraid, you will definitely lose. It’s the same in breaking: if you strike, imagining that you will break, then you will definitely break. In competitions, you can’t allow yourself to worry and think that you will lose. When I won the 26th All Japan Championship, everyone said that I was surrounded by an energetic aura. I entered this championship with a great desire to win at all costs and had to fight with faith in myself. It is the attitude that is most important. If you have a fighting spirit, then even if you get injured, you will win, because losing is truly worthy of regret. As for the 1995 All-Japan Championship, I entered it injured; during the filming of the film, I twisted my right leg. While protecting it, I also dislocated my left one, so before the championship I could not run at all. So I took to cycling instead of running, but my general condition was not the best as my injured legs and wrists were causing me a lot of pain. When I won the 21st All-Japan Championship, in the very first fight I broke my leg while lifting. Having applied a hard bandage, I continued the performance, and in the decisive battle with the thought “It will break, well, to hell with it!” struck with this foot, after each of which pain pierced the entire body from the heels to the top. Although my wrists also hurt, I hit with my hands without thinking about the consequences. They said that at the 21st Championship I literally radiated the vital energy “ki”. Feeling good does not guarantee victory. I think when you get injured, on the contrary, you become more collected. I was probably as scary as a wounded lion. During the Hyakunin Kumite test, my health was again not satisfactory. About a couple of weeks before, I took a preliminary test of 50 continuous fights, during which I pulled a ligament in my right knee. Even squatting slightly to stand up was painful, and although on the day of Hyakunin Kumite I could already walk normally, when I tried to kick, it was immediately pierced by a sharp pain. I entered the Hyakunin Kumite with a bandage on my knee, both ankles and my wrist, which was also injured. After the 30th opponent, apparently due to the bandages interfering with normal blood circulation, I began to experience cramps in the biceps of my right thigh. During the break, they removed the bandages and massaged my leg, but then the cramps resumed. It continued until the very end and I felt like I was fighting in a swimming pool filled with water. I was going to hold out until the last minute. It hurt everywhere: arms, legs, and all the organs inside. I didn't care what happened to my arms and legs. I fought with the thought that I might even die on the spot. The diagnosis that I was given at the end was this: acute renal failure due to numerous blows throughout the body. And indeed, I think that in such a state it would not be at all surprising if I died if I made even one mistake. But the 100-fight challenge gave me self-confidence: I felt that I could do anything, in any conditions."

Hyakunin-kumite became the peak in Kyokushinkai, to which, in theory, every follower of the school should strive. The softened versions of the test that appeared later (50 battles, 30, etc.) allowed a flexible approach to assessing the individual capabilities of each student, but reduced the value of the test as some kind of absolute limit.

Masutatsu Oyama was born on July 27, 1923 in South Korea. His real name was Yong Yi Choi. Oyama set out on the path of martial arts at the age of nine, while in Manchuria. There he studied a style of Chinese Kempo called "Hand of the 18 Arhats".

In 1938, at the age of 15, he returned to Japan and entered flight school. By the way, it was very difficult for Koreans to live in Japan, since at that time Korea was a Japanese colony, and its residents were treated as second-class citizens. But, despite this attitude, Oyama continues to practice martial arts, in particular boxing and judo. At the same time, he became a student of Funakoshi Gichin, and under his leadership he mastered Okinawa Karate, in our time this school is called Shotokan Karate. In just two years he receives 2nd dan, and by the time he enters the service he is already 4th in both Okinawa karate and judo, and this is only twenty years old.

The rise of Oyama Masutatsu as a karate master.

Masutatsu Oyama's development as a karate master began in 1945, after Japan's defeat in World War II. It is worth saying that this defeat had an extremely negative impact on the entire Japanese population; a huge number of people committed ritual suicide “harakiri”, unable to bear the shame of defeat. Oyama also took all this very seriously and fell into a deep depression. He even gave up training completely for a while. Master So helped him cope with himself.

With Her Chu, Oyama's fellow countryman who lived in Japan, was a recognized master of Goju-Ryu. It was he who suggested that Oyama devote his life to the Way of the Warrior and retire from society to train his body and spirit for 3 years.

At 23 Oyama was fortunate to meet Eiji Yoshikawa, author of the novel Musashi, which describes the life of Japan's most famous samurai, Musashi Miyamoto, and his understanding of the code of Bushido.

In the same year, Masutatsu Oyama went to Mount Minobu, by the way, on this very mountain Musashi Miyamoto himself developed his own style of sword fighting, the name of this style is Niten-Ichi-Ryu (Nito-ryu). Among the things Oyama took with him was the book “Musashi”. He was accompanied by a fighter named Yashiro. But after 6 months of harsh training, Yashiro escaped under the cover of darkness. This news shocked Oyama, and he thought about stopping training, since it was very difficult to bear loneliness. Once again So Nei Chu came to his aid and convinced Oyama to continue training.

Unfortunately, the source of funds for the person who supplied Oyama with the means of subsistence dried up, and training had to be stopped after 14 months.

Some time later, in 1947, Masutatsu Oyama won the First Post-War All-Japan Karate Tournament. Inspired by his victory, he again retired to the mountains and decided to completely devote his life to karate.

Masutatsu Oyama training in the mountains

This time he climbed Mount Kiezumi, which, like the previous one, was located in Chiba Prefecture. The training was simply inhuman and lasted 12 hours every day.

There was a strictly developed regime:

4 a.m.—waking up. Meditation - 10 min. Running in the mountains - 2 hours. And this is about 15 kilometers over rough terrain.

7 am - cooking.

8 a.m. - meal, combining breakfast and lunch.

9 a.m. – start of training. Perform a set of five exercises ten times:

lift a sixty-kilogram barbell 20 times;

do push-ups on your fingers 20 times;

do 20 handstand push-ups;

do pull-ups on the bar 20 times;

deliver 20 punches from the right and left into the makiwara. Sometimes trees were used instead of makiwara.

In 1964, the time came to establish his own style. They decided on the name of the style for a very long time, and in June of the same year they adopted the name Kyokushinkai - “Society of Absolute Truth”. Very quickly Kyokushin gained momentum and spread in 120 countries around the world, at the moment the number of followers of Oyama's art amounts to 12 million karatekas around the world, this is one of the largest martial arts organizations around the world.

To summarize, we can say that Oyama completely achieved his goal, founding and popularizing his contact style of Kyokushinkai karate.

Masutatsu Oyama died in April 1994 at the age of 70, the cause of death being lung cancer. It should be said that Oyama had no addiction to smoking or bad habits in general (take an example!!). Although he appointed an official successor, Shokei Matsui, who was at that time 5th dan, Kyokushinkai still split into many groups. It is believed that Oyama deliberately divided his school into several branches so that it could function and without it.

At the end of this article, I would like to give a few quotes from Masutatsu Oyama, which will be useful for any fighter:

Divine fist Masutatsu Oyama Gorbylev Alexey Mikhailovich

Oyama Masutatsu. "Deadly Bullfight"

Oyama Masutatsu. "Deadly Bullfight"

Oleg ARTEMENKO

Kyokushinkai karate has become widely known in the world, not least thanks to the sensational fights of Oyama Masutatsu with bulls, which were called nothing less than “deadly bullfighting”. However, these fights played not only a promotional role. It is difficult to overestimate their importance for the formation of the technical features of Oyama’s style and the development of the master himself. Here’s what one of his first students, Kato Shigeo, wrote: “Oyama’s sucking technique is not a technique that someone taught him. Of course, this is a karate technique, but it is still a technique that he internalized in his body while retreating in the mountains and fighting bulls in the slaughterhouse.<…>He gained his absolute, perfect sense of time, which allowed him to evade enemy attacks, when bulls rushed at him, and he, without trying to stop them by force, instantly grabbed them by the horns and turned their heads away. He also acquired that remarkable speed, which allowed him to get closer to the enemy at the moment of his blow, while fighting with bulls. I am absolutely sure of this. Anyone who managed to control the speed of a rushing bull could easily cope with the attacks of human opponents.”

Bullfighting, like no other episode in the biography of the founder of Kyokushinkai, gave rise to many questions and heated debates and acquired both ardent supporters and no less ardent opponents. From our point of view, what is more correct is not blind admiration for Oyama’s “exploits” and not equally blind criticism of them, but a sober analysis of the available facts.

Unfortunately, information about bullfighting, as well as other details of Oyama’s life, is very scattered and in some places strikingly contradictory. This especially applies to dates, details of fights, etc. Many facts are recorded only from the words of Oyama himself, who very skillfully used advertising opportunities to promote his style. Nevertheless, we will try to analyze this particular case of the “Oyama phenomenon”, but before moving directly to the fights, we will make a short excursion into the history of the relationship between man and bull.

The bull is one of the oldest animals with which man came into close contact in his life, from hunting to agriculture. Among different peoples, the bull is the bearer of the idea of fertility and cyclicality in nature, a symbol of strength and power. History is replete with examples of the use of bulls in ritual customs and rites, going back thousands of years. Here, in addition to pagan sacrifices, one can encounter other examples of the manifestation of the animistic cult of the bull - fights between man and animal. In different countries and on different continents, fighting and games with bulls were practiced in Ancient Egypt, Crete, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, among the peoples of the Iberian Peninsula and the Caucasus, among the peoples of Africa, the Vikings and the peoples of India.

In China, bullfighting is a traditional sport of the Hui people in the Jiaxing region of the southern Chinese province of Zhejiang. According to legend, in ancient times, in order to slaughter a bull, several people knocked it down and tied it up. But one day there was a daredevil who, with a deft movement, knocked down and then tied up the bull, thus winning the admiration of people. Since then, fighting with a bull has become a favorite sport among the Hui people. Before the start of the fight, the wrestler teases the bull, bullies him and even beats him with his hands and feet, driving him crazy. The bull is knocked down in different ways: with one or both hands, with a shoulder push, etc. The fight, depending on the strength and degree of skill of the wrestler, ends at different stages: the bull is simply knocked off its hooves, knocked on its side, or turned over on its back with its hooves up. In the latter case, the highest score is awarded.

In general, an impressive picture emerges: the martial arts of a man with a bull, a symbol of the strength and power of Nature, goes in parallel with the development of all human civilization right up to the present day. Oyama is not a pioneer here, but one of those few “spirit fighters” who dared to challenge the world around them in search of the limits of human capabilities.

What are the specific reasons that prompted Oyama to engage in “deadly bullfighting”? It is mentioned that he was interested in the exploits of the Greek wrestler Milon of Croton, who killed a bull with a blow of his fist, as well as stories about a certain Okinawan karate master who fought with a bull, and the founder of the Shibukawa-ryu school of jujutsu Shibukawa Bangoro, who, while saving a child, knocked down with one blow mad bull. Oyama himself answered this question like this: “...Simply, I no longer had opponents among people.” By the way, a similar reason was put forward by the Chinese master of wushu and hard qigong Chen Dou, who also fought with bulls in the first half of the 20th century. According to contemporaries, to test and develop the strength acquired through the practice of hard qigong, Chen fought a bull every day, grabbing it by the horns, and successfully throwing it to the ground. This Wushu master also used a car in his training. Having already fought a sufficient number of bull fights, Oyama said that he did this “in order to test to the end the limits of human capabilities and the amazing power of karate.” A more logical rationale will become obvious a little later.

The story of Oyama’s “deadly bullfight” dates back to 1949, when Oyama, after an 18-month seclusion, descended from Mount Kiyosumi in Chiba Prefecture. This is what he says in an interview published in the book “Karate Hayawakari” (“Public Guide to Karate”): “At the same time as winning in Kyoto, I was filled with such confidence that it seemed like I could kill a bull. Coming down from the mountains in 1949, I opened a dojo in Tateyama. Occasionally, when I tried to hit the roadside poles with all my heart, the electrical wires hanging above my head began to tremble. That’s when I thought I could take down the bull with one blow.”

In the small town of Tateyama in Chiba Prefecture, where Oyama arrived, one of his friends introduced him to a man who was engaged in cattle breeding and had a slaughterhouse in Tateyama. Strength and the desire to test his capabilities were boiling in young Oyama. He immediately decided to try to kill the bull with a punch, but the result was very disappointing. In the aforementioned interview, Oyama further says: “When I went to the slaughterhouse and laid out my plan there, the workers there became interested and decided to give me a try by tying one of the bulls. I hit him with all my might, but for some reason the bull did not die...<смех >Usually the bull is hit with a hammer on the forehead above the bridge of the nose. I did the same with a shuto strike, but the bull did not fall on its side. With a muffled grunt he leaned forward. If I had collided with him head-on, I would have been unable to offer any resistance, so, having struck, I was forced to immediately jump back. Meanwhile, from my blow, blood gushed from the bull’s nose and mouth, but instead of falling, he became terribly furious. I couldn't strike a second time. And if I had hit, it would have been extremely difficult for me to inflict a mortal wound on the bull, since there was a possibility of bumping into the horns. After the slaughterhouse workers killed the bull, they showed me its head. If you make a crack in a person’s skull, he will die from a cerebral hemorrhage, but the bull is just stupid, his head is clouded, and he begins to go on a rampage, but doesn’t even think about dying...<смех>Therefore, he must be hit so that a dent is formed in his head. Even if there had not been such a failure, I would still be chopping bricks and tiles every day. Since this was all I did, the locals began to treat me like I was crazy...<смех>Unable to bear such an environment, I returned to Tokyo and gave up the idea of killing a bull in the future. Therefore, it is a lie that I kill bulls.<смех>If there is a man who can kill a bull, I would like to try to fight him.”

Thus, the reason for Oyama's first failure was a misconception about the weak point on the bull's body. Since bulls were previously killed with a sledgehammer blow to the forehead, Oyama decided that the “deadly point” for a bull was “miken” (literally, “between the eyes,” i.e., glabella). As already mentioned, his blow split the bull’s skull bone, but he remained alive. Oyama simply did not know that bulls are slaughtered with a blow from a heavy sledgehammer with a sharp protrusion on the working surface, which pierces the skull and damages the brain, which causes the death of the animal. When this became clear, Oyama was forced to look for another way to kill the bull with one blow and went to the slaughterhouse every day. In the end, it turned out that the bull’s vulnerable points are located on the back of the head, just behind the ears in small pits, and that it is impossible to hit these points with any blow - the horns get in the way, and the target itself is located in an inconvenient place. “On the bridge of a bull’s nose there is a layer of fat between the skin and the bone, which makes it impossible to kill the bull unless you use something sharp like an axe. There is also a vulnerable spot in the cavity between the horns, but it is too small, and it is unlikely that it will be possible to strike there with a fist or the edge of the palm. So when a slaughterhouse employee once said to me, “Shouldn’t you try breaking the horn?” - I decided to try breaking off the horns of bulls. I had a very good shuto-uchi, and I succeeded. Every day I went to train at the slaughterhouse and in total I broke off the horns of 47 bulls, large and small,” Oyama said.

A broken horn for a bull is not a fatal injury, but is equivalent to a good knockout. Thus, unnoticed by Oyama himself, the emphasis in his goals shifted: no longer to kill the bull with one blow, but to break its horn, i.e., ultimately, to demonstrate the ideal tameshiwari on a living opponent.

For about six months, Oyama went to the farm to train in breaking bull horns. Here is what is written about this in the master’s brief biographical information in Oyama’s book “Karate-o hajimeru hito-no tame-ni” (“For Beginners to Learn Karate”): “In 1949, in order to study the techniques of breaking off bull horns [Oyama] for I lived near a slaughterhouse for 7 months and during that time I broke the horns of 50 bulls...”

Rumors that Oyama broke horns with his bare hands and killed bulls with one blow spread throughout Japan, and he began to be called “ushigoroshi no Oyama” - “Oyama the bull killer.” It was 1950, Oyama was 27 years old at that time. Not much is known about the period of his life from 1950 to 1952.

In 1952, Oyama received an invitation from the film company Shochiku Motion Pictures to film a fight with a bull and agreed. By January 1953, everything was ready for filming, which was decided to take place on the Yawata coast near the city of Tateyama. During preparation for filming, 29-year-old Oyama had to lose weight to 82 kg, because he understood that the agility of the bull had to be countered with no less speed of movement. The weight of the bull reached 450 kg (according to some sources, 500 kg), and the length of the horns was 25 cm with a diameter at the base of about 10 cm. Planning the battle tactics, Oyama decided to first exhaust the bull, dodging its attacks, then throw it to the ground and break the horn. From the very beginning of the fight, Oyama grabbed the bull's horns and tried to knock the animal down, but he failed to do so. He also failed to break the horn in a standing position. At one point, the bull managed to catch him in the stomach with its horns, but this did not stop Oyama from carrying out the fight to the end, knocking the bull to the ground and cutting off one of the horns with a shuto-uchi blow. The entire fight lasted about 30 minutes. Unfortunately, the further fate of this film is unknown.

The master’s dream of a public fight with a bull came true, but in the karate world his achievements were called nothing less than “perverted, vicious karate.” In karate circles, Oyama was subjected to very harsh criticism for violating all norms and canons, openly demonstrating strength and “denigrating” budo. In such a situation, Oyama left for America in 1952 at the invitation of the Professional Wrestling Association. There he fights with wrestlers and boxers, breaks bricks and boards, hits his fist with a hammer, demonstrating the power of karate to the whole world. He also demonstrated fighting a bull at a stadium in Chicago, but, unfortunately, we do not have reliable information about this event. A brief description of this fight is available in the widely known comic series in Japan “Karate Baka Ichidai” (“Life of a Karate Fan”), which is perhaps the only publication (besides autobiographical books) telling about the life of Oyama in the early period of his asceticism in the field of karate . However, Oyama’s “exploits” are heavily mythologized there; he is presented to the reader as a sort of “knight without fear or reproach,” so it is not possible to distinguish truth from fiction. For example, the description of his fight with a bull in Chiba in 1954 is replete with fantastic techniques. Oyama strikes the bull with his elbow from bottom to top in the jaw, strikes with the edge of his foot in a jump to the head, and in the end jumps on top of the bull and rains down on him a hail of all kinds of blows, completing the combination with a “death touch” in those very vulnerable points behind the ears that were mentioned higher. And the very date of the fight indicated in the series - April 16, 1948 - is fantastic - at that time Oyama was in seclusion on Mount Kiyosumi and had not yet thought about any bulls.

Oyama held the most famous public bull fights throughout the world immediately after returning from a tour of the USA. Regarding the date of his first exhibition fight, in the interview “Confrontation with an Angry Bull” (Professional Wrestling and Boxing magazine, January 1957), Oyama says that “in Chiba Prefecture he held a public fight with a bull on November 7, 1954.” Apparently, it is this fight that is discussed in the article “Bloody Death Battle. Real shooting: karate against an angry bull,” published for some reason four years later in the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper (a separate issue of Chiba Prefecture dated January 15, 1957), where it is written: “Is it possible to break off the horn of a bull, even if it has been knocked down, when it is documented that this cannot be done even with a large hammer weighing more than 5.5 kg, this is interesting in itself. It seems that the owner of the 6th dan of karate, Oyama, was only 70% confident in his abilities... Finally, having knocked the bull to the ground with the last blow, and then breaking off its right horn at the base with another blow, the owner of the 6th dan, Oyama, won a triumphant victory."

In general, all descriptions of Oyama’s fights with bulls in the press are guilty of excessive expressiveness and the spirit of advertising. In reality, everything took place much more modestly, as can be clearly seen from the surviving fragments of film and photographs. Not all bulls were big and ferocious, which Oyama himself admits in an interview included in the article mentioned above: “Until now, I have only had 3 fights with bulls, but only today the bull was big, and the horns are far from ordinary, so I wasn’t completely sure.”

Ten months before the November 1954 battle in Chiba, namely on January 14, 1954, a famous documentary was filmed on the Yawata coast of Chiba Prefecture near the city of Tateyama, which really brought Kyokushinkai world fame. Titled Karate vs. the Fierce Bull, the film was shot on 8mm film (directed by Hara Chiaki, distributed by Higashiyoko Eiga, produced by Tokyo News and Toyo Productions). Part of it has survived to this day. A small fragment from this film is presented in the documentary “Oyama Masutatsu - Bull Killer” produced by Media 8, which is known to fans of Kyokushinkai in Russia. The footage presented here from this film captures all the technical techniques used by Oyama in this and subsequent fights.

Shot 1: A young, vibrant Oyama shows off his impressive muscles.

Frame 2. Grasping the bull’s horn with his left hand, Oyama strikes the bull on the head between its horns with the edge of his right palm, migi shuto-uchi, but...

Frame 3...the bull doesn't fall! Moreover, despite a powerful blow to the head and a locking grip, the angry bull almost hooks Oyama in the stomach with its horn.

Frame 4. Oyama moves away from the straight attack to the left, waiting for the moment when the initial pressure of the bull weakens and his strength is a little depleted.

Frame 5. Sensing weakness in the bull’s actions, Oyama immediately intercepts its left horn with his right hand, and the rope threaded through the nose ring with his left. Turning in front of the bull's head, Oyama twists it clockwise.

Frame 6–8. Using all his strength, Oyama continues to twist the bull's head to the right. Finally the bull can't stand it and falls to the ground. Oyama wins.

Let's try to figure out what tactical and technical elements Oyama used in the fight with the bull.

1) Avoiding the blow with horns from the line of attack and moving to a safe position on the side of the bull’s head, closer to his neck, where he cannot reach the fighter with his horns. In principle, the entire tactics of Spanish bullfighting are based on such a maneuver. Initially, Oyama wanted to try to immediately knock him down with a blow to the legs of the gedan mawashi geri, but then he abandoned this option. A rushing bull was far from the most convenient target for such a strike, and intercepting it on a collision course carried an unjustified risk.

2) Twisting the bull's head and then throwing it to the ground. Many may have a question: “Why was it necessary to overwhelm the bulls with a wrestling technique? Where is karate here? However, if you understand the “technology” of fighting a bull, it will become clear that knocking over a bull is not an end in itself. The fact is that you can only break a horn at the base (if you strike in the middle of the horn or closer to the end, it will simply spring back), and this is very difficult to do on a standing, much less actively resisting, bull. Therefore, Oyama was forced to first bring the bulls to the ground. When knocking over the bulls, Oyama used the same circular movements that he used during karate training. Moving in semicircles to the left and right of the animal with simultaneous circular movements of his hands allowed Oyama to effectively neutralize the powerful linear pressure of the bull and overturn it to the ground. The same principle of circular movements is used, for example, in aikido, when the opponent is twisted in an arc in one direction, and then, abruptly changing direction to the opposite, a throw is performed. The technique of twisting a bull's head by grabbing the horns is far from new. Heroes of many times and peoples twisted the heads of bulls, demonstrating their strength. Another hero of the Icelandic “Saga of Egil” acted in exactly the same way: “Egil... ran to where the sacrificial bull stood. He grabbed him by the muzzle with one hand, by the horn with the other, turned him upside down and broke his neck.” It is curious that even in the USSR in the 50s and 60s. in the parks one could find the “Bull’s Head” strength-testing attraction. It was necessary to grab the “bull’s head” by grabbing the horns to the maximum possible angle. It is extremely difficult to twist a bull's head by grabbing both horns; it requires enormous physical strength. It is easier to knock over a bull by grabbing the muzzle and one horn, like the aforementioned Egil. Which, incidentally, was what Oyama himself did, turning the bull’s head to the right clockwise (this is the direction of the natural turn of the bull’s head). However, there is one “but” for which Oyama was heavily criticized - the bull had a ring with a rope threaded through his nose. Even people ignorant of animal husbandry know that the nose is an extremely painful place in bulls. By pulling the ring, you can easily force the animal to obey commands. Frames 5 and 6 show that Oyama, turning the bull's head, pulls the rope with the ring.

3) The most important element and culmination of the fight is tameshiwari. With a blow from Shuto-uchi, Oyama knocks off the bull’s horn. Let us note that even such a master as Oyama, with his strikes that were fantastic in power and speed, could not knock down the horn with one blow. This required 4-5 attempts. In a fight in Mexico City, Oyama knocked off the horn of a fallen bull with one blow, but before that he struck multiple blows while standing. During his last performances, the Humane Society generally forbade Oyama from breaking bull horns.

There is no doubt that in fights with bulls 5-6 times heavier than a person, the decisive role was played by Oyama’s athletic training, namely his training with weights, simply put, bodybuilding, for which Oyama was repeatedly reproached by his karate colleagues. who saw this as yet another “heresy.” Oyama’s students recall that Sosai formulated his theory of “power karate” in one phrase: “Strength contains technique.” Kato Shigeo writes that “Oyama said more than once: “The main thing is strength!” But this idea of his, apparently, was born under the influence of bullfights. In a sparring match with a man you can knock him down twice or thrice, but in a fight with a bull, if you do not have enough power to take him down with one blow, you will be finished.” Oyama himself said this: “To gain the upper hand over a bull, first of all, you must not be defeated in mutual pushing, and here you need strength.” What level of strength training did Oyama consider optimal?

In the book “Oyama’s Karate: If a Fight Comes...” Oyama lists the qualities that “a man must have to win a fight with a bull”: 1) run a hundred meters in about 10 seconds; 2) weigh more than 75 kg; 3) do push-ups without a break 1000 times; by grasping the ceiling beam with your fingers, be able to “walk” some distance; 4) break from 25 to 30 tiles with a shuto-uchi blow. In an interview with the monthly “Faito” (“Fight”), Oyama, when asked what strength a person should have to defeat a bull, answers: “First of all, he must be faster than the bull, then strength is important. These two requirements are absolute. The strength must be such that a person can lift a weight of 112–150 kg.” Elsewhere, Oyama says that you need to be able to hang on a tree branch, grasping it with your thumb and forefinger, for at least 10 minutes, for which you should perform 4 sets of 200 push-ups daily on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd fingers ; to develop arm muscles - work with gymnastic dumbbells, and also do barbell presses on a bench, setting yourself the goal of bringing its weight to 200 kg. You can move to the maximum weight only after a total of 500 presses of a light barbell weighing 60–80 kg have been completed in several approaches. As for speed qualities, you need to run a hundred meters in such a way as to cover the first 50 m in no more than 6 seconds. Increased speed is achieved by sprinting up a hill every day, for a total of 10 km per day. It is obvious that fights with bulls left a fairly strong imprint on Oyama’s ideas about the strength training of a fighter, and in some cases it is clearly excessive, as pointed out by masters of other karate schools.

What else was involved in Oyama’s preparation for bullfights? Karate Baka Ichidai describes the scene when the person in charge of the upcoming television filming of the bullfight at Dengen-Koroshiama Stadium in 1957 comes to Oyama's dojo. After sparring with three “opponents” (Nakamura Tadashi and two other older students), Oyama turns to the rest of the students who did not dare to spar with the teacher: “Excellent. Now let’s try the exercise “Dodge the Horns of the Bull,” which Mexican bullfighters often do.” After which the students grab the devices, which are a board with two sharp horns and hand grips attached to it from behind, and from three sides begin to attack Oyama, who only dodges without counterattacking himself. Although the Karate Baka Ichidai comics are not a reliable source, there is documentary evidence that Oyama actually used such devices to prepare for bullfights. Thus, in the documentary film “Kyokushin - the strongest style of karate in the world” (1985), after the story about the 3rd Kyokushinkai World Championship, there is a part dedicated to the early period of the school’s origins, in particular, Oyama’s training in the mountains, the art of Tameshiwari, etc. The device that Oyama used in preparation for bullfights is also demonstrated here. It is a one-wheeled sand wheelbarrow used by Japanese builders, with several sandbags placed on top and sharpened stakes imitating bull's horns inserted into the sides. The wheelbarrow could be pushed by one or two people, and one wheel made it easy to maneuver. According to eyewitness accounts given in the book “Kyokushin Karate: Dare mo Kakanakatta Butayura” (“Behind the Scenes of Kyokushin Karate: Something No One Has Written About Yet”), Oyama forced students to push a wheelbarrow at high speed directly at him, and waited until the very last. moment, and then dodged the sharpened stakes, grabbed them and tried to turn the car over. At the same time, it was very difficult for even two students to hold it. Probably, from the outside, training with such a device looked like some kind of stupid child's play, but in reality Oyama was taking a lot of risks - the exercises were similar to using military weapons, since if the care was unsuccessful, one could get seriously injured.

Oyama's last public performance in Japan took place on November 11, 1956 in Tokyo. The fight was held under the patronage of the Channel Six television company in the arena of the Tokyo sports complex Dengen Korosiamu. Oyama prepared for it in Chiba in the town of Aohori. The famous karate master and current editor of the magazine “Gek-kan Karate-do” Kinjo Hiroshi, who lived with Oyama for some time, says: “For the purpose of special training, he [Oyama] attached horns to a board mounted on a handcart and forced students to push it towards him, instantly intercepted them, and also performed dodges and movements.” According to Kinjo’s recollections, members of the Gojukai Association helped in preparation for the performance, and the son of the famous Yamaguchi Gogen, Yamaguchi Goshi, who was then 14 years old, personally tidied up the stadium lawn. This bull fight is also notable for the fact that it took Oyama only 3 minutes to knock the bull to the ground. Here's what Professional Wrestling and Boxing magazine wrote about it (January 1957) in the article “Karateka Oyama brings down Thunder and Lightning.” The bull capitulates in 3 minutes!”: “Come on, come out!” - the energy-filled words of Oyama, who was waiting for the bull opposite the entrance of a square arena with a side of 20 meters, surrounded by a wooden fence, made the audience hold their breath and swallow saliva. The bull, apparently also stopped by Oyama's fighting spirit, freezes at the entrance. Then, urged on by the driver, he takes a step forward. Oyama watches him closely. The bull is motionless. Oyama advances towards him. Turning sharply to the side, he grabs the huge bull by the horns with both hands and, straining all his strength, twists its head. The bull persists and tries to break free, but Oyama, having slightly let go of the bull, twists his neck with one last powerful force. Then the bull can’t stand it and crashes to the ground. Oyama presses him with such force that his head almost flies off, and even such a huge bull cannot move at all. The manager shouts into the microphone: “If you continue to squeeze the bull like this, he will lose his life, so the fight stops.” Oyama, who wanted to knock off the bull's horn with his fist, had tears in his eyes from frustration. However, he again grabs the rising bull. The bull only tries to hold on, but, having lost his freedom, he again falls on his side and, having exhausted his strength in an attempt to resist the monstrous force of Oyama, who twists his head, remains motionless. Oyama's victory. The bull, unable to do anything, is defeated.” As Kinjo Hiroshi recalls, only at the very beginning of the fight there was one dangerous moment when Oyama grabbed the bull by the horns and slipped on the grass.

After the fight, Oyama was asked in the rest room why he decided to fight bulls? Oyama replied: “Karate is the art of killing with one blow, and you cannot use people as partners in it. So I chose a bull, which is much heavier than a man. In other words, I want to know the limits of my capabilities - the strength that I gain in training, and I want others to know this. The bull weighs from 375 to 535 kg. When I can cope with it and move on, I will be able to push my limits even more, and that is my greatest desire. People may think I'm a strange person. But, you see, although I have already done this many times, but every time, to be honest, I doubt my abilities. Because this is a fight for life and death. In the worst case, you can immediately lose your life...” However, after this fight, Oyama felt some disappointment: the bull too quickly lost his fighting spirit, and the real fight was reduced to a banal clownery. But life gave Oyama another chance to demonstrate the power of real karate.

Not much is actually known about the most dramatic fight in Mexico City in July 1957, when a bull nearly killed Oyama. Perhaps the fight is described in the most detail in the book of Oyama’s student, the “King of Nukite” Maki Hisao, “Oyama Masutatsu: Dense-tsu no ketto juban shobu” (“Oyama Masutatsu: 10 Legendary Death Battles”). Oyama initially planned a public performance in the United States, but encountered strong opposition from members of the American Humane Society, whose calm he outraged with his performances during his first tour of the country. Therefore, the performance had to be moved to neighboring Mexico, where bullfighting was one of the most beloved folk entertainments. It was a terrible July heat in Mexico City. Local bullfighters, seeing Oyama as a competitor, greeted him with a hail of ridicule. Oyama himself also did not expect a warm welcome. Upon arrival, he was faced with a more serious question: to choose a fighting bull for bullfighting or a “food” bull from those that go to slaughterhouses. The difference was obvious: a fighting bull, unlike a “food” bull, is an extremely aggressive animal, with longer and harder horns, greater weight and much more agile. However, Oyama still decided to fight the fighting bull, feeling that his rating would plummet if he refused. The chosen animal was relatively small in weight - about 250 kg, but unusually agile, with a pair of sharp and rock-hard horns. Entering the arena and looking into the bull's eyes, Oyama intuitively felt that something was wrong here. As he later guessed, the bull was given a stimulant injection, which is, in general, a common thing for bullfighting. However, the karateka has never had anything to do with bulls while “high”. The first lunge of the bull fell into the void - Oyama managed to jump to the side and grab the bull by the horns. An attempt to immediately bend the bull by the head to the ground failed - the bull began to actively resist and began to describe circles around the arena, dragging Oyama behind it. In such conditions it was completely impossible to try to break the horn, and Oyama decided to wait until the bull got tired. After the fifth circle, the bull slowed down a little, but was still full of strength. And now I’m already on the 10th lap! Here Oyama struck the bull's horn several times with shuto-uchi, but in vain - the attempt to break it failed. Then he tried again to bend the bull down by the head, but made a mistake. Instead of falling forward, where Oyama was pulling him, the bull, having lost his balance, turned sharply to the side and crushed Oyama under him. The crunch of the knee joint was heard... Feeling that he would no longer be able to move freely, Oyama decided to end the fight in the same place. Having forestalled the bull, Oyama managed to pull his legs out from under him, stand up, and deliver a monstrous blow with the edge of his palm, putting the weight of his entire body into it. The moment of impact and the angle of inclination were chosen very well. The horn broke with a crash, a fountain of blood shot up from the bull’s head, and he fell to the ground. After this speech, Oyama spent 6 months in the hospital.

The history of Kyokushinkai knows another case of an attempt to conduct a “bullfight” with a real fighting bull, which, however, is more reminiscent of a funny incident. Let us quote: “As you know, Oyama made great efforts to promote Kyokushin Karate, trying to get breathtaking photographs for advertising purposes. One day A. Matsui decided not only to repeat the feat of his teacher, but also to surpass him by organizing a fight with a real Spanish bull. When the representative of Spain A. Pinheira found out about this, it was clear that he was embarrassed, but did not dare to dissuade Matsui. As a result, with the help of Pineira and Arneil, a trip was organized for A. Matsui, Masuda, Huga and Thompson to Spain. Together with the photographer, they arrived at a farm where bullfighting bulls were kept. However, the seriousness of the situation immediately became clear. One of the adult bulls, seeing the camera pointed at him, rushed at the photographer, and he barely managed to jump behind the fence. However, we decided that for advertising purposes it was necessary to take several photographs. Then the manager offered to take a young bull and give him a calming injection. However, this was not enough. As the fighters entered the fence, the seemingly stalled bull charged Hug, who fell and ran away screaming while Thompson tried to hold the bull from behind. In the end, everything ended well, but we had to abandon Matsui’s spectacular photos.”

How many bulls did Oyama defeat during his career? Only 4 or 5 public fights (including filming) were documented and covered in the press of those years. It is alleged that throughout his career, Oyama fought against 52 bulls, three of which he killed, and the remaining 49 he broke the horns of. However, it seems that all this is nothing more than another myth. Maybe Oyama tried to fight bulls at the slaughterhouse in Tateyama, but all these 49 (according to other sources 47) “defeated” bulls were simply victims of tameshiwari (their horns were broken), and not full-fledged “fighters”. It is no coincidence that most of the fighting data comes from the period 1950–1954, especially during training at the Tateyama slaughterhouse. In addition, it is known that Oyama experimented extensively on dead animals. Apparently, that’s why the really famous battles can be counted on one hand.

The most unpleasant moment, perhaps, for Oyama in the entire epic with the “deadly bullfight” was that from the very beginning he was harshly criticized by representatives of Japanese karate, and a little later - by representatives of other martial arts. The reason for criticism, in addition to the elementary feeling of envy of grandiose success, also served as moral and ethical considerations about the inadmissibility of “desecrating” the purity of true budo by killing living beings, the commercial use of karate, the obvious display of one’s strength and skill, etc. “Envious” asserted in unison , that partially domesticated and weak young animals were always used in fights, although, looking at the footage of the film “Oyama Masutatsu - Bull Killer,” it can hardly be argued that an actively resisting adult bull weighing under 500 kg is a weak animal. Wrestlers know how difficult it is to deal with an opponent weighing more than you, let alone a fight with an animal 5 times heavier. This fact in itself deserves respect. Among the critics were a certain “gold medalist” in judo, who stated that the bulls were weak, and cattle dealers, who unanimously claimed that animals used to people were used, and many other specialists and amateurs.

It is interesting to cite the opinion of one of the ordinary Japanese martial arts lovers on this matter: “...In my parents' house they kept a bull. It was a quiet animal, used for arable land, but one day I, then a primary school student, and my older brother began to play with the bull, grabbing it by the horns. Suddenly the bull became enraged and hit my brother in the head with its horn. The brother flew far to the side and had a large wound on his head. The parents and people in the house got angry and started screaming stupidly, but fortunately the blow that hit the bridge of the nose did not hit the eye. Although I was a junior schoolchild, even now I cannot forget how one blow from the horn sent my brother flying into the air. There are a lot of people who say that Oyama fought Japanese bulls, so that doesn't say much...but strength is a relative concept, and what looks like strength to some people looks like weakness to others."

To a large extent, the criticism was provoked by Oyama himself, who, for the purposes of self-promotion, exaggerated his achievements and treated the facts somewhat loosely. He was often reproached for arrogance, hearing phrases like: “There is no karateka stronger than me... Other karatekas exchange punches and kicks with their opponents, but I began to fight with 500-kilogram bulls. This is completely different than winning by decision of the judges! On the other hand, Oyama really was a great karate master, and even his most malicious opponents could not deny this.

Against the backdrop of all the advertising hype in the press, Oyama’s statements occasionally slipped through, convincing that he was always aware of the real state of affairs: “Of course, the bulls with whom I fought were not all young and huge. About half of them were, by human standards, 50 or 60 years old, in other words, bulls past their prime. But they were by no means decrepit. Although, even if they think that all the bulls were decrepit and sick. I wonder if those making fun of me could kill at least such a bull? Try it, kill it once! By the way, the nickname “bull killer” given to Oyama, in general, is not true, since only 3 animals out of 52 died, and even then according to indirect data, since there were no cases of bull deaths at Oyama’s public performances.

Be that as it may, bullfighting was truly a severe test for Oyama: “My bullfights seem to many to be a show and perhaps look like self-promotion, but for me it is a severe test of spirit and body, a challenge to find the limit of “all my strength.” Therefore, although I was not killed by the bull, if it happened suddenly, there would be nothing surprising in it, I think I would be satisfied. Fighting a bull is an extremely dangerous adventure.” And, in another place: “Courage in a battle with a bull is first born at the moment when, standing in front of the eyes of a huge bull, you come into contact with its pressure and incredible strength. Desperate effort manifests itself when you are scared and think that life is over. If you don’t really try to go against the bull, you will never understand this state either physically or psychologically. Therefore, I think that courage is not at all irresponsible bragging, but the ability to stand in the face of the highest danger.”

Returning once again to the goals that Oyama pursued when entering into single combat with bulls, it should be clarified that after several years he began to formulate them more consistently and logically, which reflects the evolution of his own views on karate as a universal martial art. It is known that Oyama considered fights in real full contact impossible, since the core of his concept of karate was always the motto “one blow - on the spot.” For this reason, he considered fights with animals as a real opportunity to test the strength of a karateka, and beating off horns with bare hands was an alternative to tameshiwari on a moving target.

The bull turned out to be the most accessible moving “target”. But it is known that Oyama’s plans included fights with a bear, a tiger and a gorilla. In an interview with “Confrontation with an Angry Bull,” Oyama says: “The preparation period for fighting a bull is approximately two months. Therefore, when I actually fought with bulls - now I’m too old for this and I’m unlikely to be able to defeat a bull, I wanted to try to meet a bear once. [Success] in fighting a bear is also decided in an instant... They say that a bear has a weak jaw, and I thought about trying to knock him down with one blow to the chin... If I were younger, and they allowed me to train for three years, then “I think I could handle a bear weighing about 190 kg.”

It is reliably known that Oyama specially traveled to Hokkaido to the Ainu settlements in order to prepare for a fight with a bear. It seems, however, that Oyama’s dream was “embodied” by one of his followers, the American Willie Williams. The second part of the documentary “The Strongest Karate on Earth” (Chijo Saikyo no Karate; 1976) presents filming of Willie Williams’ fight with a bear. We do not undertake to analyze this case, we will only note that in occasional comments about this fight it is noted that the bear was a circus bear, quite decrepit (and also muzzled), and Williams simply beat the poor animal.

As for the tiger and gorilla, most likely Oyama announced his intention to fight them in order to advertise Kyokushin karate. Firstly, it is unlikely that anyone in Japan would allow such gladiatorial lists to be held, considering, moreover, that Oyama had already greatly “annoyed” the Animal Welfare Society. Secondly, these animals are very expensive. Well, and thirdly, combat with these animals is, perhaps, at the limit of human capabilities. An adult gorilla tears off a man's head as easily as we break a match. This was proven by a gorilla named Martha in one of the German circuses, in an instant tearing off the head of her “tamer,” a female wrestler, whom many male strongmen did not dare to go on the mat against. In the history of wushu schools, there are often legends about the patriarchs of the schools, legendary masters who somewhere and once defeated a tiger with their bare hands. However, legends remain legends, but, alas, there are no facts.

In the excitement of advertising, Oyama encouraged his students to engage in equally exotic duels: “Once he turned to Steve Arneil with a proposal: “You are young, strong, from South Africa. Why don't you fight the crocodile"? Arneil protested because he really knew what a crocodile was. However, Oyama was persistent. He wanted to get spectacular pictures of the confrontation between the Kyokushin fighter and the crocodile. Arneil had to say "Os" in the end! Arriving in South Africa, he turned to the manager at the farm where crocodiles were kept with a request for help in his plan. The manager had doubts, but suggested that they first simply approach the crocodile. When Arneil did this, the crocodile became furious and rushed towards him, its mouth open. Hansi says that he has never run so fast or squealed so loudly in his life. He was lucky - he managed to break away from his pursuer. For the advertising brochure, we had to limit ourselves to the image of yoko-geri, standing on the wall, and at that time the crocodile was below, menacingly baring its teeth. With another “crazy” proposal, Oyama once turned to John Taylor, convincing him to fight a kangaroo. Taylor was shocked by this prospect, realizing that he would be killed by a blow from the animal's incredibly strong leg. Then Oyama proposed a compromise, saying that before the fight (more precisely, before photographing), the kangaroo could be given calming injections and soft protectors put on its legs... This is how the legendary master sought to create legends.”

After reading this article, someone may think: “What did this Oyama really have nothing to do? Why does a karateka need some bulls? I would like to answer this with the words of the famous physicist Werner Heisenberg, who said: “You can never arrive at absolute truth through rational thinking.” Oyama Masutatsu was a living example of this.

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Masutatsu Oyama

“I dedicated my whole life to karate. I was alone, but now, all over the world, 10 million young followers follow me this way. If there is a first one, then a second one will definitely appear after it, a third one after the second one, and tens of thousands after the third one.”

Oyama Masutatsu

Sosai Masutatsu Oyama, founder of Kyokushin Kaikan

Masutatsu (Mas) Oyama, born Yong-I Choi, was born on July 27, 1923 in South Korea, in a village near the city of Gunsan. Masutatsu Oyama was the youngest brother in a large family that belonged to the Yangban class (noble class). Oyama's father and three older brothers were very large men - strong and gifted athletes. Each of the brothers excelled in their own sport. As a child, Oyama was sent to live on his sister's farm in Manchuria, southern China. It was here, at the age of nine, that Oyama first began to master martial arts, learning a southern Chinese style called "Eighteen Hands" from Mr. Yi, who was working on a farm at the time. At age 12, Oyama returned to Korea and continued his martial arts training, practicing Korean Kempo. After four years of hard study and training, Oyama was already known as Gaki Taisho, or “little protector of the weak.” Even at this age, he challenged boys 2 and 3 years older than himself when they dared to bully his friends.

In 1938, when Oyama was 15 years old, he traveled to Japan to attend aviation school. Since childhood, he dreamed of becoming a pilot. However, circumstances turned out differently - Oyama did not enter aviation school, and found himself another occupation. He continued to study martial arts, taking up judo and boxing. One day he noticed students who were practicing Okinawa-te (Okinawa karate). Karate immediately attracted the attention of young Oyama, and his burning interest led him to Gichin Funakoshi's dojo, Takusoku University.

Mas Oyama began to study karate, and advanced in karate training at a rapid pace that surprised everyone. By the age of seventeen, he already had a second dan, and when he joined the Imperial Japanese Army, at the age of 20, he already had a 4th dan in karate. Japan's defeat in World War II was followed by an occupation that brought incredible hardship and misfortune. During this period, Oyama met So Nei Chu, a Korean teacher of Goju-ryu karate, who was from Oyama's native province, but at that time lived in Japan. After several years of training together, Master Seo advised his young student to withdraw from the world to train his body and mind.

In 1946, Oyama goes to a remote location on Mount Minobu, in Chiba Prefecture, to train. He took with him only the essentials - a katana (traditional Japanese sword), yari (spears), dishes, as well as some books, among which was a copy of Eiji Yoshikawa's epic novel "Musashi".

Oyama was also accompanied by one of his students, Yashiro. Together they built a hut on the mountainside and decided to lead an ascetic lifestyle for three years in order to direct all their strength and desire to training. However, after some time, such isolation from society and loneliness began to be felt too acutely. Oyama and Yashiro experienced psychological discomfort. With the help of various trainings, Oyama learned to overcome loneliness, but Yashiro could not withstand such stress, and after six months he left Oyama. Every month, Yashiro visited Oyama briefly, delivering him some groceries. Oyama, despite everything, continued his training. He overcame his loneliness by training, meditating, chanting scripture, and reading Yoshikawa's stories. All this gave him special courage and fortitude. In the evenings, Oyama painted by candlelight or played the Japanese flute.

Due to financial circumstances, Oyama was forced to interrupt his original plan of a 3-year stay. After 14 months of training on Mount Minobu, Oyama packed his bags and descended on the city of Tateyama, in Chiba Prefecture.

While in the mountains, Masutatsu Oyama trained every day for 12 hours. The training included various exercises - exercises under a cascading waterfall, breaking river stones with hands, stuffing tree trunks and natural makiwaras. Oyama adhered to a strict diet and kept fasts. He developed his jumping abilities by jumping over flax plants hundreds of times daily. Each day also included time to study the ancient Martial Arts classic, Zen. Oyama lived according to a strictly developed regime, which often appears in biographies of the master and serves as an edification to frivolous students:
4 o'clock in the morning - rise. Meditation with closed eyes - 10 min. Jogging in the mountains - 2 hours.
7 am - cooking.
8 a.m. - meal, combining breakfast and lunch.
9 a.m. – start of training. Perform a set of five exercises ten times:
1. lift a sixty-kilogram barbell 20 times;
2. do push-ups on your fingers 20 times;
3. do 20 handstand push-ups;
4. pull yourself up on the bar 20 times;
5. deliver 20 punches from the right and left to the makiwara.
After completing each complex, do breathing exercises and immediately begin the next complex. After completing this complex ten times, rest for up to 11 hours.
11 a.m. - performing kata.
At the same time, perform any one kata 100 times every day. For example, on the first day of Heian-1, on the second Heian-2, etc., until all five Heian complexes are completed, and then perform them in the reverse order. Do the same with the rest of the kata.
2 pm - lifting weights. Lift a sixty-kilogram barbell 20 times, then gradually increase the load. Do 1000 push-ups: 200 times on two fingers, 200 times on four fingers, 400 times on five fingers. Before each complex, take a short break. Sometimes, for variety, do 1000 push-ups with fists, with a break after 500.
3 pm - development of sparring techniques; exercises with makiwara; rope climbing; abdominal exercises - 200 times; breaking stones.
5 pm - cooking. Dinner.
6 o'clock in the afternoon - meditation and going to bed.

Oyama devoted a lot of time to the philosophy of martial arts. After 18 months of intense training, Oyama returns from his mountain retreat. In 1950, Oyama held his first fight with a bull in the city of Tateyama - and defeated the bull. Oyama continues his famous bullfighting to test what he has achieved through his years of training. In total, he fought with 47 bulls, of which he killed 4. These fights may seem pointless and brutal, but Oyama staged them to demonstrate to the world the capabilities of Japanese karate. For fighting with bulls, Oyama received the nickname "Oyama - Bull Killer."

In April 1952, Oyama was invited to the United States to teach martial arts at one of the military bases. At the same time, he continues to train in judo and becomes the owner of the 4th dan.

In 1953, Oyama held a series of performances in the United States and demonstrated his technique. His breaking of stone blocks, tiles, and also the famous breaking of an empty beer bottle especially attracts public attention - in America he receives the nickname “Hand of God.” His performances are shown on national television. In subsequent years, he participates in matches against professional boxers, wrestlers and all those who accepted his challenge. In total, Oyama fought with 270 volunteers, defeating them all.

In 1953, after returning from the USA, Masutatsu Oyama opened his first dojo (practice hall). The dojo was located in the Mejiro area of Tokyo. It was a small area of lawn where training took place. Shihan Kenji Mizushima became the main instructor of the dojo.

In June 1956, the official opening of Oyama’s karate school, “Oyama Dojo,” took place. The dojo was now located in a former ballet studio, behind Rikkyo University, 500 meters from the current Honbu (headquarters). Mr. Mizushima continues to serve as chief instructor. Along with him, Kenji Kato, Ken Minamoto and Eiji Yasuda teach at the school. In a short period of time, the number of dojo members increased to 300. By 1957, it increased to 700, despite the hard, grueling training that Oyama conducted.

In 1958, Masutatsu Oyama published his first book, “What is Karate?”, which instantly became a bestseller not only in Japan, but throughout the world. Oyama often travels abroad - he demonstrates techniques and conducts training. He also carries out the main work of establishing schools and creating branches, appointing his own branch chiefs in each. A huge amount of work is yielding results - Oyama unites 76 brunches in 16 countries within the framework of the organization.

In 1965, Masutatsu Oyama founded the International Karate Organization (Kyokushinkaikan). At the same time, construction began on the official headquarters of the organization in Tokyo, Kyokushin Kaikan So-Honbu. So, Masutatsu Oyama’s karate received the official name - Kyokushin (Kyokushin) karate of the “Absolute Truth Society”. Four years later, the first All Japan Open Karate Championship was held in Tokyo, attended by more than 7,000 people.

After the championship, karate became a mass sport not only in Japan, but throughout the world.

In 1975, the First Open World Karate Championship was held in Tokyo, which was unofficially called the Olympic Games of Karate - this championship became so famous.

From that moment on, the World Championship was held every four years. A little later, in 1976, a documentary film about the First Open World Karate Championship was released - the film “The Strongest Karate in the World” (“Chijou Saikyou Karate”) became popular all over the world. In 1991, at the 5th World Karate Championship, Sosai Oyama made his last performance - he demonstrated Tensho Kata.

On April 26, 1994, at the age of 70, Sosai Oyama, founder of Kyokushin Karate, died. The grave of the founder of Kyokushin karate is located in Tokyo. He is buried in the Gokokuji Temple cemetery.

After the death of Sosai Mas. Oyama's world of Kyokushin was divided into many Organizations, which essentially remained true to traditions and are currently continuing his Path throughout the world.

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