The Man The Legend. This is the History of one of the Greatest Martial Artist whoever lived. He was a legend in his own time.

A man who has practiced this (Tensho) a thousand times and has a firm grasp of its theory can not only take any attack, but can turn the advantage in any attack and will be able to defend himself perfectly.

Since olden times, it has been said that the karate grip requires three years to learn, the standing method another three years, and the thrusting method still another three. In other words, making a powerful weapon of the body is the most important of all karate basics. Completely and correctly mastering this basic requires intensive training, and ..., The very act of mastering it is the road to an understanding of karate's inner essence.

The spirit of Kyokushin Karate-do is to fight to overcome oneself, not others.
Success depends upon goals and on diligence in pursuing them.

Because the formal exercises were developed by superior karate technicians and teachers after many years..., they are dynamically and physically concerned with the strength and weakness of the body, with the good and bad points of technique...

We might call the individual thrusts, blocks, and kicks we have been discussing the alphabet of karate, that is, the individual parts from which karate is made. Karate formal exercises (kata), by combining all these isolated elements and giving them concrete forms, are the spelling that make the words and sentences of the karate alphabet."

Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it. Ten years of learning is not the same as one year of learning repeated ten times.

We never flee from an anemy, we never retreat from pain and we will never give up a fight. This is our Kyokushin spirit.

Rhythm is defined as any kind of movement characterized by the regular recurrence of strong and weak elements. All things in the universe have rhythm, either external, like music, or internal, like the atomic structure of a rock. The martial arts are no exception, and the student who has a sense of rhythm will improve in karate much more quickly than one who does not. It would be of great assistance to a karate-ka to become involved in the rhythmic occurrences in everyday life such as music, dance, and so on. This will lead to a UNIFICATION of the mind and body wich will serve as the firm foundation for Growth and excellence in any undertaking.

In teaching karate, I have encountered all kinds of students with all kinds of personalities. Some have the makings of fine karate man. Other are lazy. In a short period of six months or a year, it is difficult to know the extent to wich people will develop. Some are well-coordinated and make rapid progress at first only to rest on their laurels, become lazy, and ultimately see themselves surpassed by people who were initally much less promising.

Without real fighting, one cannot prove one's strength, and without proof there is no trust, and without trust, there is no respect

One thousand days of training, a beginner; ten thousand days of training, a master.

It's a pleasure. They are pure innocence. They come to be Uchideshi (inner disciple) solely because they want to be strong. And they only want to pursue this. I tell them, 'When you say that you train Karate because you want to grow spiritually and physically, that's only a gesture. Truth is that you want to be strong in street fighting.' And they grin.

During the match, if you look down because you are scared of your opponent, you're gonna be murdered! In Karate, eye is the most important. If you are scared, he is also scared. Your opponent is not a god. You must widen your eyes and look at the enemy's moves and his eyes. If you're scared, he is scared too. If you look elsewhere, you are lost already.

The spirit of Kyokushin Karate-do is to fight to overcome oneself, not others.

Success depends upon goals and on diligence in pursuing them.

Always keep one's head low (modest), eye's high (ambitious), mouth shut (silent),heart open, stress filial piety and work hard for the benefit of others

An improper attitude inhibits the application of even the most superb technical skill. The karate man's archenemies are agitation, lack of mental flexibility and carelessness. Since it involves tremendous speed and great destructive force, karate requires special control. The proper mental attitude in this case is the one that enables you to manifest maximum power, to achieve your goal, and to defeat your opponent psychologically.

Because de practice suit is much like the soldier's battlefield equipement, anyone who practices Karate should regard his practice suit with respect and affection and should always take good care of it. It is important for a karate man to value his suit just as highly as a judo man value his. Famous judo master are said to value all their practice suit, but particularly those that have a long history of many of many matches. The man who has a real fondness for karate, too, must take care of his practice suit and keep it clean. To repair a torn practice suit is no disgrace, but to wear a torn or dirty one is.

In modern Karate contests of today, the competitors are never allowed to actually strike each other for fear of causing serious injury... It is my belief that this type of match takes away a great deal from the very essence or spirit of karate... The two combatants should be permitted to actually strike one another so that the judges and the audiences can clearly see who is winning, and how the match is proceeding. Karate should never be thought of or displayed as a vehicle for public entertainment. Nonetheless, so long as it is performed cleanly and according to the rules of the sport, interested spectators should be allowed to observe karate competitions. This would serve as an excellent way to promote and expand the general public's interest in the sport

Old message to the Kyokushin members by Sosai Mas Oyama
Kyokushin Karate will save the world
"I send this message to all of you with a lament for the confusion that exist in the world"

We are a strong organization that maintains the same belief, purpose, and idea without consideration of the frontier, race, or religion. Together we choose our own destiny, and we even consider ourselves as one big family, because of this I decided to send this call out to all of you. These days, the egoism, synonymous of individualism, the licentiousness, and the indolence instead of liberty are the common denominator between the youth well fed and well dress on some liberals countries. The immorality go on (advance) and the decency become relaxed.

Not only the spirit but also the body have been damage because of the bad habits people have to choose their food, which have to depend on preservatives in order to preserve there foods. This inclination (tendency) are more notorious on places called developed countries. On the other side there are countries like the ones in Africa where they do not have even the guarantee of a bite of food, as a consequence they become exposed to famine.

From the national point of view we can observe some countries taking advantage of others for their own benefits. We know that antagonism of Ideology, races, and religions exists in this world. Unfortunately, it looks like we have a long way to go before we can establish peace in this world. I as a Budoka and one who have dedicate my life to Karate, can not avoid been deeply concern about these phenomenon. Under these circumstances it is very natural for all of us to arm ourselves physically with Kyokushin Karate, however what is more desirable is to arm ourselves spiritually. In a confuse world, if we only pursue the physical force of karate, and neglect to obtain the spiritual part of Karate, then is very easy to divert ourselves from the path of rectitude.

Then, how we can arm our spirit? This can be done by Kyokushin Karate, with their spirit and ideology, to became a reasonable human been. There are no witness if there are not tangible prove, not credibility if we do not have an evidence, not respect if we do not have a believe. Kyokushin Karate is stimulant, because the physical force and the spiritual superiority is evident. This is the Kyokushin Karate as a Martial Art.

The ideology of Kyokushin Karate put emphasis on the family and our homes. In other words, the essence of Kyokushin spirit is " Bend your head and rise your eyes, keep your mouse closed and free your mind, as a starting point you should serve other with filial humility ". "Bend your head and rise your eyes" mean that you must be ambitions, but always be modest with with your words and your behavior. "Keep your mouse closed and free your mind" mean that you must not show to much your own feeling and be generous to others. You should be friendly and make diligent effort, also be honest in everything you do. "With filial humility as a starting point" mean that this filial humility toward your parents is the center of everything. This loyalty will allow you to be modest, respect the sky, believe in God, be humble with your parents, trust on your friendship, and respect your teachers, all of this will drive you to love your home, your city of birth, and your country. "Serve others" mean that you must contribute to the people around you, in others words contribute to society. This also mean be loyal to your country.

Again I will like to emphasis the fact that the Kyokushin spirit and the ideology of Kyokushin Karate have a significant meaning in today world, in which to sacrifice the society and your country to found your own happiness is very common. All of you who love Kyokushin Karate should also arm themselves spiritually and physically. I would like to emphasize that there is no other than the spirit of Kyokushin that could save this confuse world of today. I have travel abroad 280 times on the past, to spread, to teach, and compete on Karate. Thanks to those visit and the cooperation of the Chiefs in charge of each country of the world, the Kyokushin Karate have become a big organization of 12 millions of adepts in 123 countries, the number is not small. We are a well organize organization and we can consider ourselves like a big state.

As I have always toll you, Kyokushin Karate is expanding trough the nationals frontier, races, religion, and Ideologies. Overcoming these barriers we should arm ourselves with the Kyokushin spirit in the real sense of the word to become an influent body, so we can save this confuse world. I am very anxious respect to the end of this century. We should eliminate the crisis of the war and make a healthy and peaceful world. I am sure you will understand my feeling. I would like to request you to make all the effort possible, in your own countries to obtain a real peace on this planet. Once more I would like to insist over that there is no other than the spirit of Kyokushin that could save this confuse world. The Kyokushin KaiKan had tried to establish an organization and promote Kyokushin Karate, however, now we think we should emphasize on the strength of the spirit and also on the formation and development of character.

MASUTATSU OYAMA
Director of the International
Karate Organization
KYOKUSHINKAIKAN