Legendary karate master’s quotes and episodes.

About Oyama Masutatsu

Oyama Masutatsu was the karate master who established Kyokushin Karate.

He has served as President of the International Karatedo Federation and Director of Kyokushin Kaikan, and is still respected around the world as a legendary figure for his presence and his many out-of-the-ordinary episodes.

We have compiled a brief chronology of Oyama Baetatsu’s life. The chronology of Oyama Baetatsu’s life varies greatly depending on one’s point of view, but this time we have extracted important events from several sources, including Kyokushinkaikan profiles.

date	Major events/famous anecdotes
1923 (year of birth in Japanese family register, 1922 in Korean family register)	Born as the fourth son of Choi Seung-hyun, a wealthy farmer in Jeollabuk-do, Korea under Japanese colonial rule
1931.	He is sent to live with his sister in Manchuria, where he is taught a martial art called “Chakriki” by a martial arts master, Lee Sang-chi.
1937-1939	In Busan, he met his karate master, Sou Ningzhu. Entered Yamanashi Aviation Technical School in Japan.
1946	He entered the Physical Education Department of Waseda University, and in October he dropped out of college and reportedly entered Mt.
September 1947	Wins first postwar All Japan Karate Championship
1948	Entered Mt. Seicho-zan in Awa-gun, Chiba for 18 months of ascetic training
1950.	In Tateyama, Chiba Prefecture, he confronted cows and killed 47 of them, four of which died instantly.
1951	At the request of the Occupation Forces, he taught karate to U.S. troops.
1952	He traveled to the U.S. to teach and demonstrate karate. He has also participated in wrestling shows and fight shows, performing beer bottle slashes and coin bending.
1964	Kyokushinkaikan Sohonbu completed and the International Karatedo Federation established.

Kyokushin Karate, founded by Oyama Baidatsu, is characterized by its “full contact” system. This was a departure from the “light contact” methods of other schools, in which the techniques were generally stopped or lightly hit.

In mainstream karate, which has been adopted as an official event from the Tokyo Olympics, the techniques are not applied to the opponent in a shunyoku manner. Oyama Baidatsu called this type of karate “radio gymnastics karate. Oyama Baidatsu harshly described this type of karate as “radio gymnastics karate.

Reference: How did Oyama Baidatsu win a fierce bull…Americans were also crazy about it, too bad “the strongest legend” (Shukan Gendai)

Although it was difficult to establish Kyokushin Karate as a school, Oyama Paibutatsu’s karate skills and clever media strategy helped him to become well known and popular both in Japan and abroad.

And the karate manga “Karate Baka Ichidai” based on Oyama Baidatsu Karate Baka Ichidai was a huge hit, and in the 1970s, Kyokushin Karate enjoyed an unprecedented boom throughout Japan.

Even after the founding of Kyokushin Karate, the annual Open Tournament All Japan Karate Tournament and once every four years Open Tournament World Karate Championship The system was created to promote the karate world regardless of style.

Oyama Baidatsu (before founding Kyokushin Karate)

Oyama Baidatsu spent his boyhood in blood and fights.

Before moving to Japan, I had studied boxing and other sports at the Korean YMCA, and I had always preferred practical martial arts to kata and demonstrations. I have always preferred practical martial arts to kata and demonstrations, and I had my doubts about the “stop just before you hit the ground” style of karate.

After moving to Japan, he studied in various styles, but felt that none of them were close to his ideal of karate, and as a result, he left the traditional schools. He then studied various domestic and international martial arts and combat sports, including judo, aikido, and muay thai, in order to create Kyokushin Karate with direct attacks.

As a young man, he was still a fighter, and he once told his own story of how he helped women by fighting with American soldiers right after the war ended. This episode is also depicted in the movie “Kenka Karate Kyokushinken” (released in 1975, starring Shinichi Chiba).

He sometimes beat even large U.S. soldiers, and such actions caught the attention of the yakuza, who bought his skills to the extent that he became a bouncer for gang leaders, karate world leaders, and even politicians.

There is no shortage of tales of youthful heroism, such as the legend that he was wanted for rebelling against the Occupation Forces that occupied Japan just after the end of the war.

generation of karate enthusiasts

It was serialized in Weekly Shonen Magazine from 1971 to 1977, Karate Baka Ichidai. created an unprecedented karate boom in Japan.

This biographical work by Oyama Baidatsu, written by Kajiwara Ikki and drawn by Jiro Tsunoda and Joya Kagemaru, captured the hearts of the boys of that time.

This is a serial work that began as a non-fiction work based on a true story by Oyama Baidatsu. This is a true story, and this man is real. This is a true story.

Inspired by this work, important Kyokushin Karate players such as Shokei, Akira Masuda, Hiroki Kurosawa, and others who would later take up Kyokushin Karate, are said to have knocked on the door of the Kyokushin Kaikan.

Ten famous quotes by Oyama Baidatsu

Oyama Baidatsu is also known for his numerous quotations.

Effort saved earns interest on merit. Talent squandered earns a debt of frustration.

If you’re not a good talker, be a good listener. Be a clumsy hard worker.

Dig one spring while you are young! From there, countless interests will spring up.

To improve your skills is to improve yourself. To improve oneself is to improve one’s self-confidence.

The person you can have a quick fight with is the best friend you can count on when the time comes.

People can see the faces they cannot see, that’s life.

Speak with consideration for the feelings of the other person, which is the true meaning of honorific speech.

We have selected 10 of the many quotes. Did any of them resonate with you?

I find it fascinating that the quotes of Oyama Baidatsu have a spirit of self-discipline, but also a sense of nostalgia.

The Legend of Oyama Baidatsu

Oyama Baidatsu is not only the founder of Kyokushin Karate, but also has his own legends and episodes that are said to have been out of the norm.

Here are some of the most representative of the many legends.

Oyama, the Cow Killer

Speaking of Oyama Baidatsu, “Oyama the Cow Killer. Oyama Baidatsu is also known by his other name, “Oyama the Cow Killer. The phrase “can kill a cow” is a strong one, but it is said that he started fighting cows as part of his training.

It is said that at first he could not compete with the cows, but he reexamined his fighting style by learning judo kumite, and confronted them more than 60 times. Legend has it that he ended up defeating 47 cows with his bare hands, and four of them died instantly with a single blow.

Footage of killing a bull was filmed in 1954 in the movie Karate Fighting Bulls and it caused a sensation in Japan. The film became synonymous with the strength of Oyama Baidatsu, who also fought bulls in the United States and Mexico.

Legends of the American Expedition

In 1952, Oyama Baidatsu was invited by the Chicago Karate Association to the U.S. During his one year stay in the U.S., he Oyama Baidu demonstrated and taught karate and teaching karate in 32 locations throughout the U.S.

And in the U.S., he participated not only in karate but also in wrestling shows and circus-like fight shows. There, he had serious fights with many professional wrestlers and professional boxers.

In Chicago, he also performed a fight with a bull. He not only broke the bull’s horns with his sword, but also defeated the bull with a single blow, which became a big topic of conversation, showing the power of Kyokushin Karate as a martial art to the local people.

10 yen coin bending

Oyama Baidatsu is said to have been a karate practitioner with an extremely strong grip. Among various anecdotes, the most famous is the 10-yen bend.

It is said that a 10-yen coin could be bent perfectly with the thumb, index finger, and middle finger.

It is said that Wakagi, a weightlifter, started training after he bent a 10 sen coin in front of Oyama, and that his teacher, Cao Ningzhu, advised him to do so.

At the same time, Mr. Wakagi also provided us with training and guidance on how to prepare for practice such as push-ups, fingerstands, and breech-stands.

Oyama Baetatsu’s own book Be Strong! My Theory of Physical Reformation” says that his grip strength exceeded 100 kilograms when he was young as a result of constant training of his five fingers since his training days.

When you bend a 10-yen coin with your fingertips, you break out in hives all over your body, a kind of side effect of the human body’s extreme movements. The story is also told that the editor-in-chief decided to serialize the story in the magazine after hearing the story of the “double”.

Practice of Oyama Paibutatsu

Oyama Baidatsu, in order to master karate to master karate to master karate.

At first, he stayed at Mt. Minobu and practiced push-ups, three-finger fingerstands, and three-finger upside-down stands every day for eight months.

At the next mountain, Mt. Kiyosumi, he wrapped a large, thick stone as big as his face in a furoshiki (wrapping cloth), He practiced Shoken for 18 months. This episode is also depicted in the book “Karate Baka Ichidai.

Was the legend true?

Now, when a superhuman legend is told to this extent, one wonders. “Was the legend true?” isn’t it?

Since the death of legendary karate master Oyama Baidatsu, several books have been published that attempt to get to the bottom of his life and the truths that were never told during his lifetime.

Published by Shinchosha in 2006 The Authentic Biography of Oyama Baidatsu” by Kazushi Kojima and Yoshiko Tsukamoto (written by Kazushi Kojima and Yoshiko Tsukamoto), published by Shinchosha in 2006, carefully unravels the character of Oyama Baidatsu based on interviews and in-depth research with his brothers. Many pages are devoted to the question of whether the legend was true.

For example, the martial art of Chakuriki, which was taught by an old man in Manchuria, is not only a creation in itself, The book clearly states that “the double had never even lived in Manchuria,” citing the testimony of his brothers and others. It is written clearly in the book, citing the testimony of his brothers and others.

However, in the same book, doubles,

• Having studied various domestic and international martial arts such as boxing, judo, karate, aikido, and Muay Thai voraciously since his boyhood.
• That he actually fought and won against other wrestlers and boxers during his tour in the U.S.
• That the Kyokushinkai Kaikan trained as harshly as mixed martial arts.

He also touched on such topics as the following, Even if we remove the false image of Oyama Baidatsu, we cannot shake the fact that he is a fascinating person and a karate practitioner of superhuman ability. The book also says

Although many of the legends and sagas told to the media by Oyama Baidatsu were staged, we should understand today that it was not only his hawkish and detail-oriented nature as a Showa-era star that forced him to conceal his career in order to make his mark on the world as a Japanese man. We should understand that he was not only a Showa star in his own right.

There is no doubt that he was a legendary karate fighter who studied various martial arts from his youth and worked hard to pursue his ideal of martial arts, even though he was at the mercy of the times.

Reference: “Oyama Baidatsu Shoden” by Kazushi Kojima and Yoshiko Tsukamoto, 2006, Shinchosha Publishing Co.

What is Kyokushin Karate that Oyama Baidatsu aimed for?

Oyama Baidatsu’s goal in karate is to fight in a way that everything is over before the opponent has a chance to show his power.

No ordinary karate is good enough. It has to be enough to knock a cow down with one hit.” He said, “You can’t do that with ordinary karate.

Practical Kyokushin Karate, also known as Kenka Karate, gradually grew to become so huge that it influenced martial arts and combat sports around the world.

Not only quotes about karate, but also many quotes about the way of life are still spoken today.

Full contact practical karate

Oyama Baidatsu established Kyokushin Karate with full-contact (direct-strike) rules, replacing the previously dominant “shin stop” rules of karate. established Kyokushin Karate with full contact Kyokushin Karate was established by Oyama Baidatsu.

Full-contact karate differs from the traditional karate styles that were mainstream in the following ways

	Kyokushin Karate	traditional karate
Contacting the other party	Yes (direct hit)	Basically none (short stop)
paired karate kata	few	numerous
Attack on the lower part of the body (lower body)	ant	nashi (Pyrus pyrifolia, esp. var. culta)
way of deciding who wins or loses	Ippon, technique ari	point system

In Kyokushin Karate matches, where attacks are directed at the opponent, the dynamic of the techniques and the power of the sound of the blows are quite different.

Kyokushin Karate Spreads Abroad

Full-contact karate (direct striking system), established by Oyama Baidatsu, has attracted many martial artists from abroad. Today, there are more than 1,200 dojos in 124 countries around the world, with a cumulative total of more than 12 million members (including non-officials). Reference: Shigeru Tabata – International Karatedo Federation Kyokushinkaikan

Some of the most famous martial artists of the era, such as Andy Hug and Francisco Filio, also have their roots in Kyokushin Karate.

If you would like to explain karate in English to guests from overseas, please refer to this article.

If you would like to introduce the karate experience to your foreign guests and friends, please refer to this article.

Oyama Baidatsu’s life and very existence were legendary.

Oyama Baidatsu is one of the world’s most successful karate practitioners, with many legends and quotes to his credit.

He was the founder of Kyokushin Kaikan, an achievement so great, and a star whose image had been created by various media strategies even before his death, that it may have been difficult to understand what kind of person he was.

Looking inside the anecdotes, Oyama Baidatsu is not a legendary, flawless karate practitioner, but also as a muddy human being in pursuit of an ideal martial art. Oyama Baidatsu was not only a legendary karate master.

The legends left behind by Oyama Baidatsu and the works based on them are all very powerful. However, the reason why they have captured the hearts of so many people is not only because of the content of the legends and episodes, but also because Baidatsu himself was a fascinating person who loved karate more than anything else.

Although there have been many dramas since his death, such as the Kyokushinkaikan splitting and the creation of several factions, the way of life and ideals of the times still live on in karate-do without fading away.

Reference book: Kaze to Ken – Shosetsu Oyama Baidatsu Shugyohen, Eiji Oshita (Kosaido Shuppan)