Sosai Mas Oyama

Masutatsu Oyama was born Choi Young-Li in Korea, 1923. At the age of 9 yrs. he studied the empty handed combat (Chinese Kenpo) in Korea. He accomplished and mastered the eighteen techniques of Kenpo by the time he left Korea. At age 15 he moved to Japan and took a Japanese name. In Japan he became a student under Gichin Funakoshi and continued his study of the Martial Arts with Shotokan Karate. By the age of 17 he achieved ni-dan in Karate.

Mas Oyama had a pursuit of budo which led his training to include Goju-style Karate. He was inspired by stories of the samurais which soon after led him to pursue solitary training. He spent several months on Mt. Minobu. When he came down the mountain he tested his self training and was rewarded by winning the First All Japan Karate Tournament in 1947, Kyoto.

Still not satisfied with his accomplishments he invited the advice of a buddhist who suggested he seclude himself further to attain a complete mental, spiritual, and physical disciplinary training. Mas Oyama returned to the mountains for another 2 yrs. His unimaginable strict training without any luxuries included repeated pounding of his hands and feet into sandbags and tree bark, Zen meditation under ice-cold waterfalls, and smashing river rocks with his hands.

In 1952 he traveled to Hawaii and most of the states in America to introduce Karate. Through exhibitions and breaking techniques he acknowledged respect and gained peoples interest to know and study this art.

Mas Oyama opened his first dojo in Tokyo, 1954.  Several dojos were formed around the world. The official birth of Sosai Mas Oyama's own style of karate, Kyokushin, was in 1956. After traveling around the world, by 1960 there were 72 branches of the Kyokushin Kaikan in 16 countries. In 1965, a five story dojo was opened which became the International Karate Organization of Kyokushin Kaikan. Sosai Masutatsu Oyama past away in 1994 at the age of 70.

Today, Kyokushin has over 10 million members in 130 countries. Shihan Stuart Corrigal (based in Vancouver) is the head of the Canada Kyokushin Organization. The Honbu (headquarters) is still in operation in Tokyo, Japan.