Author: Shihan

Where are we today? Where is Kyokushin today?

The good old days! How many of you have heard that expression, I am sure that you have all heard it at one time or another. Usually its from  parents to their children. Of course not everything was good but we like to remember the good times that made us happy. So what were the good old days for Kyokushin, well naturally it was when Sosai was alive but having stated the obvious what else.

The two years I spent in Honbu when all I had to do was train were good days, eat, sleep and train a simple lifestyle. I suppose this could be described as being an Uchi Deshi, simply put it means an inside student, someone who lived in the Kyokushin dormitory and trained every day,  It does not matter how much I try to describe those days to students its very hard for them to understand, good old days.

I have heard and read about  many people who claim that they were Uchi Deshi. On inquiring how long they were training as Uchi Deshi they say anything between one month and three months! Not really sufficient time to understand what it is like to be Uchi Desh. Kyokushin has changed since Sosais death there is no escaping that fact, the Uchi Deshi system the Hundred man fight those are things from the past because without Sosai they surely have lost their value.

Todays students have many organizations to choose from, comments I made Thoughts for the year 1999  offering a wide variety of arts. Todays society wants a quick fix fast answers and instant black belts. Sometimes I get asked by people if they can try one lesson to see if they like it! I  tell them that one lesson is not enough. And perhaps by asking the question they already have doubts in their minds a negative attitude. When I started to train I did not think about asking for a lesson to see if I liked it, I would not have considered that to be good manners, not only that but I wanted to find out what it was all about, a positive attitude.

Will the Year 2001 bring peace and harmony to the Kyokushin world? I hope so but I doubt it. As long as we continue to fight amongst ourselves about who is the official IKO there will be no true Kyokushin. Sosai said that Kyokushin was for everybody, not just for one group or even one person.

If you surf the net looking for Kyokushin you will come across many pages of information about Kyokushin. For some strange reason we have been categorized into groups, IKO 1,2,3 etc. For my part I am simply a student of Sosai and wish to continue teaching Kyokushin the way I believe it should be taught, the only group I belong to is Kyokushin.

I travel extensively teaching Kyokushin and during my travels I am asked about the situation of Kyokushin in the world and who is the biggest or who is the strongest? Does the biggest mean the most members, does the strongest mean the strongest fighters, my answer is NO. We need to focus on how Kyokushin should develop and grow, technically and morally. Not just to have a big organization.

Self defense is a word I hear very often show me some self-defense, demonstrate self-defense. What is Kyokushin if not self-defense? You cannot take parts of Kyokushin and say that this is self-defense and what is left is not. It is a word that is used to often, now we are going to learn self-defense. This comment shows how little understanding of our style that some people have. Self-defense is not only defending yourself against physical attack but mental also. Consider those moments when you are tired and you feel like giving up, at work, in school or in the Dojo it does not matter, you must have the mental strength to keep going. This is also a kind of self-defense although a more philosophical approach still very important.

For those who were unable to attend the World tournament in December last year I would just say that you missed a good tournament, full of action. Of course there were disappointments, not everybody can win. Being able to represent your country in itself is a fine achievement, so for those who felt a little sad after the tournament I would like to say well done.

Another year has gone by for all of us, young and old time moves on, this is something we all have in common. We are all supposed to have one other thing in common and that is Sosai’s philosophy. We tend to forget what we have learned or even taught? It is easy to tell people what they should do, or how to behave, doing it is another matter. Manners and discipline are just two things that I believe can improve our life style, ” The Martial Way begins and ends with courtesy. Therefore, be properly and genuinely courteous at all times.” The first of Sosai’s mottoes. Genuinely courteous, not just acting, there are always people who act in order to further their own ends, for a better job or even grade.

The person who pretends to be something they are not will always be found out, just be yourself do not pretend to be someone or something you are not. I started my comments with the World Tournament, so I will end on the same subject, although not about the World Tournament.

Over the past few years some competitors in tournaments have forgotten their manners, very often you see them jumping and screaming if they have scored a point or even lost. Before the match their team members gather round in a circle and perform some kind of ritual, ending with a big kiai? Is this Kyokushin? I do not think so; stop it before we degrade the name of Kyokushin.

Choosing, making a choice, is something we do daily, what to eat or drink for example. One could also say that this kind of choice is a reflex, do you want a cup of coffee? Yes thank you, did you think about the choice you have made or not, simple everyday choices are relatively easy.

About four years ago we had to make a choice which organization to support, four years later and people are still making choices but for different and even the wrong reasons.

While Sosai was alive we had no choice. If you wanted to train Kyokushin then you picked Sosai, although some people left Sosai and continued to use the Kyokushin name? Soon after Sosai’s death it became apparent that there would be a split in the organization, (the IKO). This was the first choice, which group to choose.

Over a period of time choices were made who to support. For various reasons only known to ourselves, we chose one or the other, loyalty to Sosai and Kyokushin were two most reasons. What other reasons could there be?

Now you have a choice of who you want to work with. So if you do not like the person in charge then you can simply join the other group; perhaps you want to be in charge?

There is also the question of grades if one group will not give you a grade then join someone who will? There is always the easy way.

There is even the question of Sosai’s will, in the beginning I heard comments that if the will was declared illegal then they would support the other group. It has been declared illegal but nothing has happened?

Sosai’s family is also in this circle as the court cases are still going on who knows how long it will take for these problems to be solved.

What will you do in 1999 will you stay loyal to Kyokushin or change sides in order to benefit yourself.