Kyokushin
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Kyokushin (極真) or Kyokushinkai (極真会) is a style of Karate founded by Masutatsu Oyama (大山倍達) in 1964. Kyokukushinkai is Japanese for "the society for the ultimate truth". It is considered one of the most challenging forms of Karate. Developed by Masutatsu Oyama (a Korean-Japanese), this is probably the hardest form of Karate today, placing great emphasis on combat effectiveness. Oyama himself has fought and killed bulls in demonstration fights, fighting unarmed and without protection.
This form of Karate takes on all comers, the instructor and its students all must have taken part in sparring. Unlike other forms of Karate, Kyukushin demands the black belts spar without any gloves or safety gear on. Each fighter is expected to be not only strong, but be able to take the hits as they come, making this martial art both dangerous and difficult to master.
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Kyokushin today
After the death of Masutatsu Oyama in 1994, his organization, the International Karate Organization (IKO) splintered into several groups. Some also joined Hanshi Steve Arneil who left the IKO in 1991 to form the International Federation of Karate (IFK).
However finding the real form of Kyukushin only involves sparring with the instructor. Most instructors of Kyokushin will accept to "demonstrate" to the student in plain clothes if they are a beginner. In theory a competent instructor would be able to knock a novice down with just one hit. It is not common for a instructor to refuse a request for a demonstration, as this would spoil their reputation. Instructors that fail to demonstrate their skill in this manner are probably fake.
Techniques
The Kyokushin system is based on traditional Karate like Shotokan and Goju Ryu, but incorporates many elements of combat sports like Boxing and Kickboxing in Kumite. Many techniques like Hiza-Geri (knee kick), Kakato-Otoshi (axe kick) and Gedan Mawashi Geri (low kick) aren't found in traditional Karate. Today, some Kyokushin fighters (like Francisco Filho and Glaube Feitosa) appear in Kickboxing events like K-1.
Grading
Kyokushin karate has a belt grading system similar to others in existence. The belt assigned to each student upon commencing training is a white belt. With each successful grading attempt, the student is awarded a kyu ranking, and either a stripe on his current belt or a new belt color altogether. The corresponding kyu and belt colors are as follows: 10th Kyu (Orange), 9th Kyu (Orange with Black Stripe), 8th Kyu (Blue), 7th Kyu (Blue with Black Stripe), 6th Kyu (Yellow), 5th Kyu (Yellow with Black Stripe), 4th Kyu (Green), 3rd Kyu (Green with Black Stripe), 2nd Kyu (Brown), 1st Kyu (Brown with Black Stripe). Once a student has attained his 1st Kyu ranking (the highest of the "beginner grades"), he may apply for Dan grading: the rigorous process of attaining a first-degree black belt, also referred to as 1st Dan or Shodan. This usually consists of a 6-8 hour grading with all required elements of the grading syllabus completed including: Kihon (basics), Ideogeko (moving basics), Goshinjitsu (self defence), Sanbon and Ippon kumite (three and one step sparring), Kata (predescribed series of movements/forms), Tameshiwari (board, tile or brick breaking) and Kumite (contact free fighting). In Australia and New Zealand, Kumite for Shodan normally consists of 40 rounds: 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per round with no rest time between rounds. The last 10 to 15 rounds are usually against fresh Black Belts. Anyone wearing a Kyokushin Black Belt usually has earned it the hard way.
External links
- International Karate Organization (IKO) 1 (http://www2.kyokushin.co.jp/)
- IKO 2 (http://www.iko-kyokushin.com/)
- IKO 3 (http://www.kyokushin.us/)
- Internation Federation of Karate (IFK) (http://www.ifk-kyokushin.com)
- Internation Federation of Karate Belgium(IFK-Belgium) (http://www.ifk.be)
- Canadian Kyokushin Karate Organization-CKKO (http://www.kyokushin.ca)(Most Informative Site)
- Australian Kyokushin (http://www.australiankyokushin.com)
- United States IFK Karate (http://www.uskyokushin.com)
- Sutani Dojo, Belgium (IFK club) (http://www.kyokushin.be)
- [1] (http://www.nkkb.be/)ja:極真会館