Mas Oyama

Mas Oyama was a Korean-Japanese karate master who founded Kyokushin karate, a full-contact style known for rigorous training and fighting.

Connect

Gichin Funakoshi: A Japanese martial artist who established Shotokan karate and helped popularize karate in mainland Japan. Oyama trained in karate traditions shaped by Funakoshi before developing his own style.
Kyokushin: A full-contact karate style founded by Mas Oyama, emphasizing demanding training and powerful bare-knuckle body strikes. It is the martial art Oyama created and the clearest expression of his teaching.
Shotokan: A Japanese karate style founded by Gichin Funakoshi, known for deep stances and linear techniques. Oyama studied Shotokan before forming a distinct approach to karate.
International Karate Organization Kyokushinkaikan: The organization Oyama established to govern and spread Kyokushin karate internationally. It institutionalized Oyama’s style and carried it into training halls worldwide.
So Nei Chu: A Korean-born martial artist and Buddhist teacher associated with Oyama’s early training and spiritual discipline. Chu encouraged Oyama’s austere training and influenced his early development.
Knockdown karate: A karate competition format in which fighters seek to defeat opponents with forceful strikes, commonly without punches to the head. Kyokushin’s signature contests test the contact and endurance Oyama valued.
Goju-ryu: An Okinawan karate style combining hard linear techniques with soft circular movements and breathing methods. Oyama also trained in Goju-ryu, another major influence on his martial development.
World Karate Organization: An international organization formed by Kyokushin practitioners after divisions within Oyama’s movement. Its emergence illustrates how leadership and succession disputes fragmented Oyama’s organization.
Shigeru Oyama: A Japanese karateka who became a senior Kyokushin instructor and later founded World Oyama Karate. His career shows how Oyama’s students carried Kyokushin beyond its founder.
Kumite: Sparring practice in karate, ranging from controlled drills to full-contact competition. Oyama made hard sparring central to testing karate skill.