Masutatsu Oyama - The Fighter in the Wind

Thanks to +Myriam Malengreau for introducing me to this film.  While I had done my research on Sosai Oyama and Kyokushin Karate, I did not really know his background before he became famous in Japan.  The movie, The Fighter in the Wind, is fictional portrayal of Sosai Oyama however it does touch on many points to which he is famous for.  For the hardcore Mas Oyama / Karate enthusiast, the movie did omit much of his actual Karate training in Japan, as many practitioners do not know that Sosai Oyama did have a heavy Shotokan and Goju Ryu background. (This is pretty evident if you look at certain Kyokushin Dojo Kata lists, which include katas such as Pinan, Taikyoku series, Higaonna Sanchin and Tensho)

While famous for his 100-man kumite and defeating raging bulls with a single strike, Sosai Oyama was known for his straight-forward no-bull sh!t attitude for training.  NHK, Japan's most prominent broadcasting agency, ran a few mini-documentary specials on Sosai Oyama following him on his seasonal training gassukus. (even if you are not Kyokushin Karate, I would check out some of these specials on YouTube... if I can find them again, I will insert them into this post.... for the time being here is a snippet of a YouTube vid that I found from one of the many videos on him.)



Also... for those who might be thinking about the 100-man Kumite... there was a video put up by one of the members on the G+ Communities that I thought was pretty interesting and that I had never seen before. Take a look at this and ponder if you have enought stamina and training to get through a 100-man train and put up the same numbers as Shokei Matsui did. (I know that there were a lot of people on YouTube that said that this was a hoax... but hoax or not... I dare those to try it. I know that this is a pretty amazing feat no matter what the rules are or how much those change from your style.)  BTW... the results from Shokei Matsui's 100-man challenge is pretty awesome.  If you don't get through the whole video... just skip to the end and just check out his results. If you are having trouble with the Japanese... please see his results below.

46 Ippon wins
29 regulation wins
13 draws
12 regulation losses

However... Out of a 100 matches... No Ippon losses.

Regardless... as a Goju practitioner, I needed to do more research on this extraordinary Karateka. What better way to do this but to talk to someone directly from the source. I have lined up an interview with one of the most prominent Kyokushin Karate instructors here in Los Angeles and will be asking questions about Sosai Oyama's training methods and how much of them are still being used today. Once I get approval and permission, I will post the findings of my interview to share with you the Karate Community.