✦ Member ⌕

Kyokushin

The ultimate truth.

Full-contact karate founded by Mas Oyama in 1964, famous for bare-knuckle body punches, low kicks and hard conditioning.

Fact file

Country
Japan
Founder / origin
Mas Oyama
Year / period
1964
Type
Striking
Style of
Karate
Main federation
I.K.O. Kyokushinkaikan (International Karate Organization Kyokushinkaikan) — IKO · International Federation of Karate (Kyokushin) — IFK
Sources: International Karate Organization (IKO) Kyokushinkaikan · Encyclopaedia Britannica

History

Kyokushin — "the ultimate truth" — was founded by Mas Oyama, a Korean-born karateka, who opened the Kyokushinkaikan headquarters in Tokyo in 1964. Oyama wanted karate tested in real contact, and his tough training and public demonstrations made it famous.

Kyokushin tournaments are full contact with bare fists: punches to the head are not allowed, but kicks and knees to the head are. After Oyama's death in 1994 the organisation split into several groups. Its fighters strongly influenced kickboxing and the K-1 tournaments.