History · February 12, 2013

Masutatsu Oyama

大山 倍達 (1923–1994)

Osu!

Welcome to this section we will call “Where we come from,” which aims to share some history about the people who brought the discipline of Kyokushin. There is no other figure with whom to begin than our founder: Masutatsu Oyama.

The beginnings

Mas Oyama was born on July 27, 1923. At age nine he began practicing Kempo, and during his youth he continued martial training in different disciplines. At 15 he traveled to Japan, where he trained in boxing, judo and later karate.

The karateka

Oyama’s progress was rapid. After the Second World War he deepened his dedication to martial arts and, under the influence of So Nei Chu, decided to withdraw for long periods to train physically and spiritually.

The mountains

His isolated training became one of the best-known stories of his career: intense days of physical practice, meditation and study of budo. After returning to public life, he continued developing a karate approach centered on effectiveness, endurance and the direct testing of technique.

Kyokushin

In time, Oyama established the system that would become known as Kyokushin, “the ultimate truth.” His proposal combined demanding physical training, contact kumite and a philosophy of self-improvement that gave rise to an international organization.

This article comes from the historical archive of So-Kyokushin Mexico. The original publication contains a much longer biography and external visual references; during the migration, an editorially reduced version is kept here until the historical sources and image rights can be verified.

Historical article migrated from the original archive. It keeps the published text and is pending editorial and source review.