Kyokushin Karate

Kyokushin Karate is a form of full contact karate that requires fighters to completely use the stand up style while fighting. It was founded in the year 1964 by Oyama Masutatsu Kyokushin in Japanese, translates to “the society for ultimate truth” Kyoshukin has its roots in the philosophies of self improvement, hard training and discipline. The style of using full contact in the fights has had massive appeal among martial arts enthusiasts, and more and more people are taking towards Kyokushin Karate day by day.

Kyokushin Karate’s full contact style of fighting has influenced almost every other school of karate to such an extent mainly because of it realistic combat scenarios, physical toughness, and simple and practical nature of the training and curriculum. A number of new martial arts schools have taken inspiration from Kyokushin and branched off as organizations of their own, by incorporating some additional techniques such as grappling, and at the same time, continuing with the philosophy of practical training and real life combating. While the additional techniques such as grappling are only back ups, most experienced and enthusiastic fighters prefer to stand. Currently, there is no sole authority on Kyokushin, as ever since the master’s death, there was a big split in the organization leading to the formation of many offshoot organizations, each practicing Kyokushin in their own styles and manners.

Kyokushin basically advocates the three Ks:

• Kihon
• Kata
• Kumite

These are Japanese terms for technique, forms and sparring.

Kihon (Technique)

The Kyokushin form of karate though allows, full-contact fighting, does not permit striking the head or face with the fist, or elbow. However, one can strike a kick at the face or head. This is because it was noticed that hand strikes on the head were dangerous and detracted many people from practicing because of injuries. Many countries did not allow bare knuckle strikes and blows on the head and face during competitions and tournaments either. This only complicated things. Since the master was sure he did not want participants wearing protective material like gloves or head masks, he simply banned use of hands to strike the head! According to him, the use of protective gear would only make it look less realistic, and the entire cause disappears with the use of protective gear.

Kata (Forms)

Kata is nothing but a form of standard training wherein the movements of attack and defense are in a pattern and these patterns are memorized by the fighters. Kata is basically a form of intense combat maneuvers. The different forms of Kata are Northern Kata, Southern Kata, and Unique Kata.

Kumite (Sparring)

Kumite or sparring is the aspect of Kyokushin that involves application of various techniques learnt during training in a real life fighting situation. Sparring is an important part of training in Kyokushin, and most experienced and higher level students practice and train extensively in sparring. Speed and movement control are the most crucial aspects of sparring, especially since a training environment is completely different from a real life fight. Whereas in a training scenario, the motive is to bring down the opponent without causing actual injury, a real life fight is the exact opposite.
Full contact style of Kyokushin is the ultimate when it comes to testing the strength, spirit and endurance of the fighters.

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